In recent years the Division IV semifinals at Plymouth State University have felt a lot like that holiday party you go to every year where everyone seems to have a story as soon as they walk in the door.

 There’s the person who shows up every year but never seems to leave with the gift they want (Littleton, Derryfield & Newmarket), the guy who lights up the room for one year that no ever expects to see again (Lisbon & Wilton-Lyndeborough) and even the guy who fell in love here two years ago (Epping) only to then get dumped at the last minute a year later (still Epping).

 In 2016 the four teams that arrive off exit 25 will have certainly earned the trip. Division IV promises to be one of the two most competitive divisions in the state (Division I is the other if you were curious) where you are likely to see 6, 7 or 8 seeds advance all the way to the final Saturday of the season. “In years past you might see a pair of 17-1 teams in the final, I can’t imagine that is going to be the case this year,” said Newmarket head coach Jamie Hayes. “The division from 1 to 8 is as tough as I’ve ever seen it and it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see a couple of 4 or 5 loss teams in the final.”

 Today we will take a look at the Division IV basketball landscape in the first of our four high school basketball previews on NHsportspage.

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 Division IV Predicted order of finish
1.Epping
2.Littleton
3.Groveton
4.Wilton-Lyndeborough
5.Newmarket
6.Portsmouth Christian
7.Woodsville
8.Sunapee
9.Colebrook Academy
10.Derryfield School

Lurking outside the Top 10: Pittsfield, Canaan-Pittsburg, Nute & Lin-Wood



Dylan Derosier and Epping are looking for a return to Plymouth in March 

 With four returning starters and two first team all-state performers Epping hopes a 10 man rotation with plenty of big game experience is enough to earn their second championship in three seasons. “ In 15 years of coaching this is by far the most athletic team I have ever coached,” exclaimed head coach Sean Young, “ If we are able to create a post-presence we have a chance to be there again at the end.”

 First team all-state center Brett Couture has graduated but the all-state duo of Dylan Derosier & My Man Colby Wilson return to a team that went 14-4 a year ago. Derosier is one of the top guards in the division if not its best and his improvement has coincided with increased confidence over the past 12 months. Wilson feels like he can bury a shot from the line out in the lobby and thinks Stephan Curry could stand to show a bit more range. That and his ability to take smaller perimeter defenders into the low post is going to be a match-up nightmare as it may be Wilson and not forward Jackson Rivers, who gets the bulk of the touches in the paint.

 Tommy Bullock gained a reputation a year ago as one of the best on the ball defenders in the division. What his head coach is looking for in year number two as a starter is more production offensively. “He’s worked really hard on his shooting over the summer as well as on his ability to get to the rim. I want him to be more aggressive and assertive offensively.” If Bullock gets winded chasing an opposing point guard up & down the floor Young can immediately turn to younger brother Hunter Bullock, who is just as hard to shake in the open court.

 Forward Nick Padgett returns after not playing last season. Padgett played valuable minutes during the 2014 title run and has the ability to become a major factor by the middle of the season. Cam Osgood will contend for minutes at the forward spot alongside Rivers and is one of the Blue Devils best rebounders.

 Sean Young talks about the guys at the end of his rotation the same way Tommy Heinsohn talks about John Havlicek. That tells you that whether it’s Glenn Hagan (“He’s a knock down shooter”) or Doug Nadeau (“He’s a natural scorer.”) the head coach doesn’t see a drop off when he goes to his bench. “This division is loaded and there are a few teams up north I could easily see going 17-1 or 16-2 so every game counts in the rankings. We know how difficult it will be to get back to Plymouth again.”

 Two years ago Littleton was a team thought to be a year away that made it all the way to the final four. Last season Trevor Howard’s Crusaders returned as the higher seeded underdogs, losing to eventual champion Wilton-Lyndeborough.

 For a talented group the time is now if Littleton is to win their first state title since Howard & Matt Vaughn led them to the Class M title in 1990. “We understand what we are capable of and it’s a group that has won a lot of games together, going all the way back to junior high school,” said Howard. “It’s about taking that next step and winning our last game this time. We have been sort of the bully on the block up north the past few years but we haven’t taken care of business against the southern teams. This group knows that has to change this year.”

 Twelve varsity players and five starters return led by shooting guard Danny Brammer, forward Kuba Kubkowski and center Logan Briggs. Howard wants to see more consistency out of Brammer, a sharp shooting guard who could score 28 one night but then 6 the next, “ I’ve been on him about playing at a consistent level because he has shown that he has the ability to do it all out there.” Kubkowski needs to become a dominant rebounder in his third season as the starting power forward but may be Littleton’s most consistent performer.

 The X-factor is the 6’5 Briggs who turned into an elite shot blocker at the end of last season but struggled to finish in the paint against more physical teams like Woodsville & Wilton-Lyndeborough. “Logan has looked good early in the pre-season,” said Howard, “if we can get him to finish down low and clean up some of his fundamental skills he could have a very big year for us.”

 Howard will rotate Ethan Ellingwood & Eric Shafer into the frontcourt mix and feels comfortable with any one of half a dozen combinations from his top ten players. “We can rotate any one of those guys depending on the match-ups. There shouldn’t be a team we can’t match up with.”

 Michael Rodriguez is fully recovered from a knee injury suffered during the soccer season and will share point guard duties with Cooper Paradice. Howard noted the strong pre-season junior guard Gabe Anan is having while Cy Kezerian has shown an ability to knock down shots off the bench. “Every scrimmage we will have during the pre-season (including a match-up with Division I Winnacunnet in our Coaches for a Cause Jamboree this weekend) will feature a different starting five. The message is pretty clear; playing time is there to be earned.” For the Crusaders it will have little to do with where they are in December and everything to do with how they end up in March.

 Groveton head coach Mark Collins, who has 6 championships on his resume, has a team capable of getting a seventh. A team of mostly juniors that has made back to back quarterfinal appearances is ready to take the next step. “This group has grown and really matured,” said Collins. “They see the big picture, the last two years they were happy to be there (in the quarterfinals) but this year the talk is about getting to Plymouth. That is definitely the goal from day one.”

 Leading the talented group will be all-state shooting guard Corey Gadwah. The rail thin freshman from two years ago now has added some weight and forty games of experience to what will be a 1,500 point plus career.

 Joining him in the backcourt will be his junior running mate Daegan Lurvey who is now one of the best point guards in all of Division IV. In high school there is no greater leap physically than from your sophomore to junior year and just from watching Groveton beat Berlin in the Littleton summer league you could see the maturation of this group. Their Hall of Fame head coach see’s it too. “Daegan makes better decisions with the ball now and has been more aggressive offensively,” said Collins. “You see that with the whole group. They are starting to understand their roles better than in previous years.”

 Austin Lesperance impressed as a freshman and now steps up into a bigger role in year two. Christian Guay, who Groveton was hoping would materialize as their second scorer behind Gadwah a year ago, has had a very good pre-season. The x-factor may be White Mountains transfer Lucas Simpson, a 6’2 forward who gives Groveton another rebounder and a physical presence in the paint. “He’s working his way into the mix. He brings some toughness down low.”

 Dylan Rogers will again be in the mix at forward as will his younger brother Derek, a lefty who had a very good summer for the Eagles. Trent Labonte & Ben Atkinson will add even more depth to the frontcourt when Atkinson returns from an injury. “We are going to have Corey & Daegan out on the floor pretty much for the entire game but the other three spots are all going to depend on how we are playing that night. I’m pretty comfortable going 9 or 10 deep with this group.”

 Ken Garnham is happy to re-live the moments that led to the first basketball title inWilton-Lyndeborough’s history but he also makes it clear this group, which returns four starters, is ready to forge an identity of their own. “This group wants to prove they are an elite team and that it wasn’t all about one player (2015 player of the year Jordan Litts) last season. We have three returning players who averaged double digits last year so the nucleus is there.”

 It begins with what could be a dominant front court. 6’4 Trey Carrier will man the low block after an all-state campaign a year ago. Returning alongside him will be 6’3 Duncan Rae and newcomer Sean McClure (6’4) who was the leading scorer on the Warriors JV team a year ago. “We are going to be a better rebounding team this season, without a doubt,” said Garnham. “Having Sean in the mix gives us an ability to have three very strong rebounders on the floor. Trey has drastically improved from a year ago and I think Sean in particular could be a match-up nightmare on a lot of nights.”

 Ty Carrier, who played very well in Plymouth, will take over the point guard duties. Carrier will be joined in the backcourt by talented sophomore Casey Lane (son of Nashua North head coach Steve Lane) who also had some big moments last March. “We want to play Casey off the ball but he is fully capable of handling the ball when we need him to,” said Garnham.

 How many defending champions return four starters and are picked fourth the next season? Wilton-Lyndeborough, our pre-season #1 a year ago, has designs on saying I told you so come March. “Last year it took some time for us to really come together as a team and that seems to be a theme with most of my teams,” said Garnham a longtime head coach in New York. “By the end of the season I felt like we were the best defensive team in the division and I think that played out in the final four. I think we can be that same type of team again come March.”

 While his team was down only 5 points late in a Division IV quarterfinal round game at Derryfield Newmarket head coach Jamie Hayes took a brief moment to notice two things 1) his young team was right in it with a chance to go back to Plymouth on the line and 2) every player on the floor would be back next season. “ We lost one of our seniors to an injury late in the year so it was this group that won a playoff game and battled Derryfield to the wire. There isn’t a superstar in the group but we have seven or eight players who can really help us every night,” said Hayes whose teams have advanced to the Final Four seven times since 2005.

 The Mules feature a very good backcourt of Anthony Senesombath, Alex Souvannaseng (thank God they don’t put the names on the back of their jerseys..) and sharp shooter Cam Jordan, last seen knocking down a 23 footer on our year end highlight video. “Cam has really improved and as a group we had a very strong summer,” said Hayes. “We have enough depth and inter-changeable parts where we can do a lot of position less stuff. We can have a post presence with Ian (Bentley) out on the floor or just go to a five guard lineup. We have a lot of kids who have been in this program for years. They get the system and what we are trying to do.”

 The 6’5 Bentley has been an asset for the Mules when he has been out on the floor. The issue has been getting him there. Bentley suffered an inadvertent hit to head two summers ago during a game and has been in & out of the lineup because of it for the last 18 months. When dialed in he gives Newmarket a rim protector and double/double production but when he is out of the lineup the team is susceptible to better post players like former Epping center Brett Couture, who had a field day against the Mules last season.

 Ben Leahy and Craig Hounam will both be key contributors as will forward Matt Wilson, cousin of My Man Colby. “Matt has really improved,” said Hayes, “Where he was once just a jump shooter he now can put the ball on the floor and beat you in a couple of different ways.”

 All of which gives Hayes enough to make another run at the Final Four. “We like what we have as a group and how hard they are working. This is a loaded division, I can’t see any team losing less than two or three games…we want to be one of those teams competing at the end.”

 Going into the final two weeks of the regular season Portsmouth Christian was in a position to earn a Top 4 seed and a pair of home playoff games before three of their top six players chose Carnival Cruise Lines over a tournament push. The result was enough losses to drop the Eagles to a 7 seed where they were knocked off by a very dangerous Newmarket team at home. In 2016 head coach ‘The Big Smooth’ Lewis Atkins will welcome in two former Dover players and a returning nucleus that should lead PCA back into Final Four contention.

 Into the Division IV mix comes Kylani Lafleur, who was the second leading scorer last season for 4-14 Dover. Lafleur immediately becomes one of the top players in the division and when asked what position the talented senior will play Atkins responded, “All five of them,” with a laugh. “We want the ball in his hands a lot. He can score but he is also is a very good facilitator as well, he finds the open man.”

 Joining Lafleur is 6’3 forward Devin Smart, the nephew of former NBA head coach and NCAA tournament hero Keith Smart. “He’s a good shooter but where I think he can really do damage is on the low block and on the glass,” said Atkins. “This group has the potential to be a great rebounding team and that will lead to us getting out in transition. We want to run, but it always starts with securing the rebound.”

 Guard Shaun Bradley, steady all season for the Eagles a year ago, returns along with last season’s second leading scorer Paul Staude. Atkins feels like if there is one player in particular who might benefit from all the attention that will be paid to Lafleur it will be Staude, who has shown a knack for finding a way to score when he gets in the lane.

Forward Drew McCormack stepped up in a big way late in the season during Vacation Gate but now will find himself fighting for minutes with the two new additions. How that plays out will tell a lot about how PCA adapts to its new lineup. Caleb Gendron is another reliable contributor who will round out a very good eight man rotation. “ Eight different kids could start so it will be a daily battle for playing time,” said Atkins who prefers to be called The Big Smooth, “ we feel like we can play any style you bring at us; we can get out and run or be comfortable in a half-court game.”



Can Jaret Bemis and Woodsville take the next step?

 No team was closer to reaching the Final Four without getting to Plymouth than Jamie Walker’s Woodsville Engineers. Trailing Littleton by only a point in the final seconds Woodsville couldn’t get off a good shot in front a packed house and watched the Crusaders fans mob the floor as the final buzzer sounded. With all-state shooting guard Jaret Bemis, rock steady point guard Derek Maccini and forward Sam Pushee returning its Plymouth or bust for a group that has made two straight trips to the quarterfinals. “This is a group that wants to put themselves in a good position to get to Plymouth. We had to go on the road to Derryfield two years ago and then over to Littleton last year so this year the goal is to try and get that second home game,” said longtime head coach Jamie Walker.

 For Woodsville it starts with their excellent backcourt. Bemis is a 20 points per game scorer who will see every junk defense teams can come up with over the next three months. “He scored twenty a game last year so I would expect him to exceed that this year. The key will be how he adjusts to the different looks he is going to get defensively,” said Walker.

 Maccini is one of the more dependable point guards in the division and gives his head coach the floor general every team is looking for. “All coaches talk about having that quarterback on the floor and that’s what Derek gives us. This season what I’d like to see from him is a more aggressive approach as far as his offense. Last year he averaged about 8 points a game and I would like to see him get to about 14 points a game knocking down the open looks teams are giving him.”

 Sam Pushee is the team’s best rebounder (“He has a knack for finding the ball coming off the rim,”) and will be joined up front by Nick Stokes and Cooper Davidson, a sophomore with good size who has the opportunity to be a contributor. Garrett Olsen gives Woodsville another knock down shooter to compliment Bemis while Eric Thornton will see minutes in the backcourt as well. “We have very good senior leadership from Jaret & Derek, who have been building towards this season since they were in junior high school together. We know we have an opportunity for a very good season and so it now comes down to getting it done.”

 How many players would it take to replace the production of Division IV’s reigning scoring champion Issaiah Chappell? Three players? Four?

 Sunapee head coach Ed Tenney doesn’t know and isn’t interested in guessing. What he knows is that with four newcomers who didn’t come out for the team last year surrounding the best point guard in the division the Lakers have a shot to get back in the mix one last time before Tenney retires from coaching at the end of the season. “We are unproven right now but we have the potential to be a very good team by the end of the year. A much better team than we were a year ago. We are playing team basketball and this is a group with a very good attitude coming right out of the gate. We have a lot of kids who are winners in other sports like soccer & baseball and that is the mentality they are now bringing to basketball.”

 It all starts with Matt Tenney, a first team selection a year ago who runs the offense and controls the tempo of the game as well as any point guard in the state. Just because his best friend decided to leave for prep school doesn’t mean Tenney is ready to put up Kobe like shot attempt totals. “He understands the added responsibility on his shoulders but he’s not going to change his game. He wants to raise the level of the guys around him and set up his teammates for good looks. That’s his job,” said Ed Tenney.

 Mike Platt returns at the forward spot after being a bit overwhelmed a year ago but steadier as January turned into February. “He had a lot thrown at him when Matt & Issaiah were out at the beginning of last season. This season he is a different kid, he has assumed more of a leadership role and he has grown in confidence as well.”

 Ben Robinson, a standout baseball player, Cole Cruz (soccer & baseball) and sophomore Cade Robinson all will step in immediately for what should be a much deeper Sunapee team than we saw a year ago. Hank Vincent is a junior guard who will be in the rotation as will athletic forward Keir Lucas & Austin Leblanc. In the end it all comes back to Tenney and how he is able to handle being the focus of every opposing defense he faces.

 For the head coach it is the final season in a long & very successful career and he enters that final season believing his team may sneak up on a few people. “I feel like teams are sleeping on us a bit, I can tell you we competed with some of the best teams in the division last season. Where we end up in March is what we are playing for and I think we have a chance to be in the conversation again.”

 Balanced scoring may be a luxury Hall of Fame head coach Buddy Trask does not have in 2016. The Mohawks are going to go as all-state guard Sedrick Mckinnon goes. How other players take advantage of the open looks he affords them will tell a lot about how far Colebrook, who lost to eventual champion Wilton-Lyndeborough in the quarterfinals last season, can go. “Sedrick is going to see a lot of different defenses; box in ones, double teams..and he is going to have to be able to handle that,” said Trask. “I think he is capable of averaging 8 or 9 assists a game as he begins to understand what the other team is trying to take away from him.”

 One thing Mckinnon will not have to do is handle the point guard duties as Colebrook found their point guard by way of Rhode Island when 5’8 guard Jose Alvardo arrived this fall. “ He can really handle the ball and he’s a very good passer as well. What we are working on is getting him acclimated to playing in the half-court but as far as his ability in transition, he’s very good,” said Trask. “ He needs to be able to take the pressure off of Sedrick and allow him to play off the ball.”

 Mike Hastings returns after an injury riddled 2015 season and is joined by Garrett Purrington, who is most comfortable shooting 15 feet from the basket but will have to move inside with the loss of big man Richard Davis to graduation. “ We need Garrett to play in the post for us, we have enough guys on the perimeter already,” said Trask. Brandon Crawford will join the rotation (“He has shown a knack for blocking shots early on.”) as will freshman Jon Sherer & Dylan Carpino. Are they ready to contribute? Low numbers make that question irrelevant..they will need to play.

 Buddy Trask usually goes zone as often as we elect our Presidents but anything is in play with a smaller/inexperienced group. “ The dreaded zone word….but we will do whatever it takes to help us compete.”

 With Mckinnon, one of the best players in Division IV, and Alvardo, Colebrook is set in the backcourt with a pair that can compete with anyone. The question is how do the pieces come together around them?

 You could have penciled Derryfield into your pre-season Top 4 any time over the past eight years and looked pretty smart come March. Few programs have been more successful or reliable but in 2016 it will have to be an entirely new cast leading the way if Rob Bradley’s team is advancing back to Plymouth State. “ This is as young and inexperienced a group as I have had here,” said the longtime head coach. “There is certainly a lot of ability there but this is a group of mostly underclassman who have to adjust to the speed and intensity of the varsity level.”

 One player who will not is all-state center Sam Anderson, who was recently named team captain and takes over where four departing seniors left off. “ Sam has really worked hard at his game and over the summer he was able to get a lot stronger,” said Bradley. “ I would expect him to see a lot of double teams so he has really worked to develop an intermediate game away from the basket.”

 Andrew Dubreuil and Trent Henrich will start in the backcourt and share point guard duties. “ Andrew most likely does the bulk of the ball handling for us but Trent is more than capable as well.” Joe Costa joins the team after a standout soccer season while Burton Owen is expected to contribute in his senior season. “ There are going to be some growing pains at first,” predicts Bradley of a team that features six sophomores. “ The hope is we start to figure things out around mid to late January and are playing our best basketball in March.

 Much like Colebrook, Pittsfield will feature one of the best backcourts in the division. The question is how the rest of the team comes together for head coach Jay Darrah.

 Xenthios Cyr is one of the best pure scorers in the division and is joined in the backcourt by sophomore Cam Darrah who has range out to 25 feet and is not bashful about proving it. “ Cam is healthy again and that is the key,” said his father after Cam missed most of last season with a broken wrist. “ With Xenthios you can see his development as a player. He has a way of finding the angles to get to the basket and early on he has just been a step ahead of everyone out there.”

 Darrah has been experimenting with Darren Hadley at the point guard spot in the pre-season in an effort to be able to run Cam & Cyr out on the wings. Whether that experiment works or not Cam Darrah is more than capable of running the point himself and is joined on the floor by the returning frontcourt of Jesse Slater and Gabe Anthony.

 Freshman Dillon Bocash has impressed during the pre-season and will get his opportunities out on the floor as well. “ We were really hurt by Cam’s injury a year ago, it allowed teams to really throw a couple of different guys at Xenthios so the balance will be better this season. We are still young but I like the group we have going out there every night.”

 The rebuilding job for Sam Natti and Lisbon took some steps in the right direction over a summer that saw the Panthers playing everywhere from Epping, NH to Portland, ME. What Natti has is a team led by two talented sophomores and just as importantly, some genuine senior leadership. “ Zach Smith and Zach Pequeno has really taken on the role of leading this team and it’s great to see,” said Natti who coached Lisbon to the title in 2013. “ They have made their teammates accountable and that is a good place to start.”

 Josh Woods and Josh Brooks are a pair of sophomore guards who will be counted on to produce if Lisbon is to get back to the tournament after a two year absence. Brooks has had to sit out parts of the pre-season due to eligibility issues but could be back by the season opener. He gives the team a guard to navigate through pressure while Woods has the ability to average 15 points a game as a sophomore. “Josh (Brooks) had a very good summer in particular and we will have the ball in his hands every time he is out on the floor.”

 The Panthers have a chance to be a good defensive team but their issue will be with their size (no starter is over six feet tall) and rebounding. “ It is a struggle for us on the boards,” said Natti. “ We don’t have the size so we have to be more physical to get it done. We can’t allow teams up here second and third shots.”

 Veteran head coach Paul Greenlaw knows he has a rebuilding job of his own atProfile but likes what he see’s early on. “ We’re young and inexperienced for the most part so that has maybe allowed us to play a different style than in the last few years.  We will play more aggressively and at a faster pace than we have in the past,” said Greenlaw. Dylan Robie and Reed Weekes will start in the backcourt after each were contributors a year ago. “They will split time at point guard depending on the match-ups. Weeks is someone we want playing off the ball but he is comfortable bringing the ball up as well.”

 Dylan Lalene, River Baker (“He’s a kid with a high motor and very good defensively,” said Greenlaw) and Cam Hoyt, who has shown the ability to knock down jumpers on the perimeter will also see time for a Patriots team that lost a first round game to eventual champion Wilton-Lyndeborough last season.

 Canaan Pittsburg returns Justin & Josh Lindor and is a team capable of sneaking into the Top 10 by the end of the season. Nute can get up & down the floor but will do so without head coach Scott Currier who took the principals job at the school and stepped down as head coach. Connor Bradway and Mark Levesque are one of the better scoring tandems in the division and lead the way for Rams. Rare is the year that Matt Swedberg and Moultonborough are out of the conversation but with four starters gone including forward Matt Norton who transferred down the road to Inter-Lakes it may be year where the Panthers fight to get into the 16 team post-season.Lin-Wood returns forward Devon Rivera as the Lumberjacks look to make a third straight post-season appearance.
 
Pre-Season First Team all-State
Matt Tenney of Sunapee
Dylan Derosier of Epping
My Man Colby Wilson of Epping
Kylani Lafleur of Portsmouth Christian
Sedrick Mckinnon of Colebrook
 
Second Team
Corey Gadwah of Groveton
Sam Anderson of Derryfield
Jaret Bemis of Woodsville
Trey Carrier of Wilton-Lyndeborough
Danny Brammer of Littleton

 With apologies to: Xenthios Cyr & Cam Darrah of Pittsfield, Ty Carrier & Casey Lane of Wilton-Lyndeborough, Nick Padgett & Jackson Rivers of Epping, Logan Briggs & Kuba Kubkowski of Littleton, Daegan Lurvey of Groveton, Jose Alvardo of Colebrook, Connor Bradway & Mark Levesque of Nute, Paul Staude of Portsmouth Christian, Derek Maccini of Woodsville, Devon Rivera of Lin-Wood, Alex Souvannaseng, Ian Bentley & Cam Jordan of Newmarket and Bryson Raymond of Gorham.
 

 

The ALL NEW New Hampshire High school Basketball Show makes it debut Saturday morning from 9 to 11 am on ESPN NH on 900 & 1250 AM or simply listen to the show online from anywhere by clicking the LISTEN LIVE button on the NHsportspage homepage or on the Tunein Radio App.

 Pete Tarrier and I return with Sean Young of Epping as our first guest to talk about his pre-season #1 team and Saturday afternoon match-up with Salem in our Coaches for a Cause Jamboree.

Justin McIsaac will join us every Saturday at 10:30 and we will break down all the Friday night scores and preview our two day Coaches for Cause Jamboree.