skip navigation

The (Abbreviated) Sentinel Title Services Division II Basketball Preview

By Dave Haley, 12/15/13, 11:15PM EST

Share


f Jourdain Bell & Brady are to win a title they'll need to get by Pembroke

Dave Haley takes a look at Division II in his third pre-season preview.
 

Between Jamborees, Neighborhood Fundraising events and 45 minute conversations with Division III & IV basketball coaches the first night of Division II snuck up and passed me by. With that said there was no way I was letting a season get under way without putting my thoughts & predictions out there for the world to see and so today I bring you an abbreviated version of my annual preview. Division I will follow on Tuesday morning in all of its 4,000 word glory…I’ll make this up to you Division II I swear it..
 
 Division II Predicted order of finish
 

  1. Pembroke Academy
  2. Pelham
  3. Bishop Brady
  4. Lebanon
  5. Hanover
  6. Windham
  7. Portsmouth
  8. Plymouth
  9. Hollis-Brookline
  10. Coe-Brown Academy

 Lurking outside the Top 10: Oyster River, Kennett, Goffstown & Milford

 When it came to labeling Pembroke Academy as the team to beat you had me at ‘Patrick Welch, Dominic Timbas and Kafani Williams are coming back’ but do not underestimate the loss of Rene Maher. It was Matt Alosa’s first team all-state point guard who carried the Spartans for stretches in the championship game when Welch was in foul trouble and Pembroke’s bigs weren’t able to get going. The Spartans have shooters, size and experience but this is still a team that relies on jump shots and as we saw in Coe-Brown’s 2012 quarterfinal shocker if the shots are not falling you can quickly find yourself being escorted off stage. That being said Welch is the best basketball player in New Hampshire and Timbas & Williams have put in the work to be considered much more that supporting characters. The champs are still your team to beat.

 Matt Regan looks like the kind of guy who would lap you in the mile race in gym class and his Pelham team seems just as suited for their up-tempo style of play. Keith Brown is one of the premier sophomores in the state and he is joined by do everything guard Jake Vaiknores & the emerging Ryan Frank. Regan will have to get through a very tough early slate of games without his point guard Joe Slattery (recovering from a football injury) and James LaPolice but this is team more concerned about where they are in March than the results in mid-December. Pelham is commited to defense and has enough playmakers to take advantage of the turnovers they’ll create. Regan has worked tirelessly to build this program up from the junior levels and in 2014 he has his first true title contender since Stephen Spirou graduated.

 Watching Bishop Brady head coach Mark Yeaton coach his all-state point guard Jourdain Bell is like watching a guy try directing a pilot to land a plane on a tiny air strip; there are lots of hand signals, a good amount of exasperation and even a little confidence building at the right moments. Yeaton will tell Bell to go after it, slow it down and share it in the span of three possessions. As long as Bell keeps listening Brady will keep winning. Brother Joe Bell gives this team another player who can get into the lane and that combination likely means a lot of trips to foul line for a team that plans to be aggressive for 94 feet.

 The fact that Kieth Matte’s Lebanon team nearly shocked Pembroke on opening night should neither shock nor startle you. This is a team that shares the ball and has shown early signs of getting huge offensive rebounds when they have to have it. Shooting guard Kalin Sau leads by example and is one of the better outside shooters in the division. Nick Shepard and Dom Morrill give the Raiders size and those all-important rebounds while sophomore Austin Whaley and freshman standout K.J Matte promise that Matte’s team will compete for return trips to UNH for the next three years at a minimum. Sometimes you get a sense a team has that ‘it’ factor that good things are just going to happen for them because of their effort and chemistry. This team has that feel to it…

 I can nearly guarantee you that when you sit back and name the best ten coaches in the state of New Hampshire you’ve mistakenly left Tim Winslow off your list. The veteran Hanover coach always has his team prepared and in the mix for a trip to the Final Four. Jon Flory leads seven returning varsity members seeking a return to UNH after a one year absence.

 Todd Steffanides has a Windham team that can beat you with size and speed, in 2014 he looks like he has the rotation to make the school’s first ever trip to the Final Four after a quarterfinal appearance a year ago. Andrew Lowman will step into a bigger role in his senior season while David Carbonello will lead a very talented backcourt.

 Jim Mulvey’s Portsmouth Clippers won’t feature a top 10 scorer but they will get after it defensively and with athletes like Donovan Phanor, Nick Mackey, Zach Hansler and Pat Glynn they should find themselves taking the floor in the quarterfinal round with yet another trip down the road to UNH on the line. The X-Factor is center Devon Wilson-Miles who has terrific footwork on the low block for a big man and has the chance to be an all-state player if he can transfer that ability to the other end of the floor. If Miles can protect the rim with Glynn it will allow Mackey, Phanor and Hansler to play more aggressively on the perimeter in what could be an excellent defensive team by the time the second half of the season rolls around. Count on Mulvey to again get the most out of this group.

 Mike Sullivan has done a terrific job building back a Plymouth basketball program that would like to emerge out of the shadow of its own football team. Collin Sullivan is one of the top point guards in Division II while the frontline of Kyle Reisert and Jared Kuehl protects the paint. Gavin Brickley provides scoring from the backcourt for a team that feels like its time has come for a run to Final Four in March.

 Hollis-Brookline lost its all-state backcourt to graduation but still returns seven players from last year’s 14-4 unit. Mike Soucy will again count on his guards to set the tempo defensively as the Cavaliers hope for a tournament run in 2014. Coe-Brown Academy was your surprise at last season’s semifinals but won’t sneak up on anybody with high scoring guard Sam Langdon leading David Smith’s team. Nick Lazar will contend for the Division II scoring title and will lead an Oyster River team that is consistently good under head coach Stuart Mitchell. Kennett has a chance to get back in the conversation as three year starter at point guard Brandon Dilucchi leads a talented core that includes Nick Graziano, Will Pollard, and Tom Loynd. Head coach Steve Cote will mix up defenses and push tempo for a team trying to get back into the tournament after a recent absence.
 
 Pre-season First Team All-State
 Patrick Welch of Pembroke Academy
 Jourdain Bell of Bishop Brady
 Nick Lazar of Oyster River
 Dominic Timbas of Pembroke Academy
 Keith Brown of Pelham
 
 Second Team
 Andrew Lowman of Windham
 Joe Bell of Bishop Brady
 Kalin Sau of Lebanon
 Kafani Williams of Pembroke Academy
 Jake Vaiknores of Pelham
 
 Pre-season Player of the Year: Patrick Welch 

Most Popular

Tag(s): Home  Boys Basketball