Every season comes with its own sub-plots.

Can Littleton repeat after the loss of several key starters?

How will Epping, Portsmouth Christian, Sunapee & Wilton-Lyndeborough perform under a new head coach for the first time in years?

Is the North now the dominant section of the state in Division IV after Final Four runs by Littleton, Woodsville & Groveton a year ago?

All questions that need to be answered, but none of those topics have risen to the top of the mythical Division IV message board.

You see, no subplot could be more vanilla or less interesting than the one that stands out above the others as 2016 will soon move into 2017.

I can’t possibly prepare you for how dull the dilemma we face is but it in fact was the most common topic in the seventeen phone calls I had with Division IV head coaches around the state last week..

The schedule.

Littleton only plays rival Groveton once. Littleton, whose battles with Woodsville have been some of the best basketball in the division over the past two years, also only play each other once.

Groveton vs. Woodsville. The game last year where The Great Jon Kesty turned to me on the Woodsville stage in front of a packed house and said ‘This is awesome man.”

Yeah they don’t even play each other once this season….

Comments have varied from “ How do those teams not play each other twice every year?” to “ Wait, Lisbon (4-14 last year)  got Epping (13-5) in their North-South crossover game??’ to “ Where the heck is Mount Royal?” (Mount Royal is located in Sunapee by the way..)

What it all means is you’re going to have a lot of 15-3 basketball teams tied up at the end of the year as Pete Tarrier & I break out our NHIAA tiebreaker codes to figure it all out.

This is a division where the separation between one and seven might be five points. What it will make for is a very exciting tournament and the makings of an epic quarterfinal round, but you also may not see the best teams square off until March.

That is your subplot for 2017.

Some pretty big personalities leave the stage as Sean Young (Epping and now Great Bay C.C), Ed Tenney (Sunapee), Ken Garnham (Wilton-Lyndeborough) and The Big Smooth Lewis Atkins (PCA to Marshwood (Maine) have each moved on as a host of new coaches arrive to try and take their place.

Opening night is two days away as the chase for Littleton’s title commences.

Today we take a look at Division IV

 

Division IV Predicted order

1.Groveton

2.Wilton-Lyndeborough

3.Littleton

4.Epping

5.Portsmouth Christian

6.Woodsville

7.Derryfield School

8.Pittsfield

9.Farmington

10.Newmarket

Lurking outside the Top 10: Colebrook, Lin-Wood, Hinsdale, Gorham & Profile.

 

 Thank you to our 2016-17 Division IV Gold Level Members: Scott Currier of Nute basketball, Paul Greenlaw of Profile basketball, Jamie Lesperance of Groveton, Nic Fiset of Epping basketball & Cinderella’s Jeff LaBar.

 Each is not only a Gold Level supporter but will also have access to every single game we cover this season in full.

 Become a member today!

 

 After back to back quarterfinal round appearances as freshman & sophomores Daegan Lurvey & Corey Gadwah led Groveton back to the final four for the first time since Mark Collins won his sixth title in 2010. Now as seniors, and joined by all-state shooting guard Austin Lesperance, the Eagles have enough talent back to win title #7 for their head coach. “From the day after we lost to Littleton (at Plymouth State in the Division IV semifinals) they, as a group, have been playing all spring and summer to get better,” said Collins. “They (the seniors) know this is it. This is their last shot at it.”

 Gadwah will end his career as one of the all-time leading scorers in Groveton history. His ability to score, whether it’s from behind the three point arc or with his floater in the lane, is unquestioned. What Collins needs this season is rebounding and with Lucas Simpson, Christian Guay and Gage Charron all graduated and no starter over 6’1, it’ll have to be a team effort. That includes the point guard.

 “Daegan may have to move down to the baseline if we are unable to rebound because he has the toughness to get it done,” said Collins of his all-state floor general. “Rebounding is our Achilles Heel.”

 Lurvey anchors the Groveton press and will be joined in the backcourt by senior guard Isaiah Stone who showed flashes in each of the last two years but now will be called upon for a much bigger role. “Isaiah has had a good pre-season. He makes plays for us out there but he needs to be more consistent,” said Collins. “Sometimes he gets sped up too much and plays out of control. We’re working on that. “

 Gadwah will be joined at the forward spot by 6’1 Ryan Laverty. “He’s a tough kid and if he can rebound offensively and get us second looks we have the shooters to take advantage of that.”

 Shooting guard Austin Lesperance has developed into one of the best outside shooters in the division. Players usually make the biggest leap in ability from their sophomore to junior years and if Lesperance is more constistent from three point range it opens up driving lanes for Gadwah & Lurvey. “Austin has improved as a shooter and that keeps defenses honest. Daegan is going to have to prove he can hit those shots as well because teams will lay off him until he does.”

 Dylan Rogers returns at the forward spot as a four year varsity member while Matt Guay has a chance to work himself into the rotation. “Littleton is still the team to beat until we beat them,” said Collins. “This is a team with a lot of experience who wants to take that next step but if we can’t rebound the ball we aren’t getting very far.”

 New Wilton-Lyndeborough head coach Leo Gershgorin had a simple message when he met his 6’4 player of the year candidate Trey Carrier in the pre-season; the Warriors are going to get out and run in 2016-17.

“We want to shoot the ball every 8 seconds by pushing the basketball at every opportunity.”

They’re going to run a lot….

Junior point guard Jake Levert takes over the point guard duties from the 2015 championship backcourt of Ty Carrier (graduated) and Casey Lane (playing for his father at Nashua North). It is the all-state center/forward/guard Carrier that will lead this team if it is to go back to Plymouth for the second time in three seasons. “ Trey is a phenomenal player, he can do it all,” says Gershgorin like someone just parked a Ferrari in his driveway on Christmas morning. “ I honestly believe he is one of the Top 5 players in the state of New Hampshire this season (Gershgorin served as assistant coach at Division I Bishop Guertin last season) and his play & production will prove that.”

 Sean McClure made a name for himself last season as one of the best rebounders in Division IV. “ Sean gets his nose in there and really has an instinct for rebounding the basketball,” said his head coach. “ We feel like with he and Trey on the low block there won’t be a team that should beat us on the boards all season.”

 Levert takes over the point guard duties and has the ability to bury open three’s when all the attention in the room understandably goes to slowing down Carrier. Gershgorin sees in his floor leader a player who worked extremely hard over the summer to get to where he is. “ He came out of the summer with a ton of confidence and you see that day to day in practice. He’s a born leader and his ability to knock down jumpers will open the floor for his teammates.”

 Cody Swett will be called upon to be a defensive stopper for the Warriors while Jake Yurcak can defend at a high level on the perimeter as well. Open looks will be available with defenses designed to slow down the possible player of the year. “ Trey has an aggressiveness that I didn’t see on film, when I was watching games from last season,” said Gershgorin. “I’m not sure if it is because, with the graduation of his older brother, this is his team now but he is going after every play like it’s the last play of the game. When you have a player like that his teammates follow and so far this is been a terrific group to work with.”

 It’s funny how quickly your fortunes can change. Littleton head coach Trevor Howard stood frozen on the sidelines as one of his senior leaders Ethan Ellingwood squared up on Portsmouth Christian forward Drew McCormick in the final seconds of a tied championship game.

 Five seconds later Howard was on top of a pile of his players. Ellingwood was at the bottom of that pile.

 Eight months later Littleton is back to defend that title and although there are some familiar names like Brammer, Rodrigues and Kubkowski there are a lot of new faces for the Crusaders. “ We lost a ton of leadership from last season,” said Howard. “ Players that were vocal both on the court and in practice. The seniors we have now are all great kids but they are a quieter group. One thing I’ve noticed in the pre-season is how little they are communicating at times on the court and that concerns me. Teams that don’t talk on the floor don’t win.”

 That defense will be led by 6’5 player of the year candidate Logan Briggs, who has missed the pre-season with his foot in a walking boot. When Briggs returns there is no more intimidating defender in the division. Briggs, and his ability to block and alter shots, allows Littleton to be aggressive at the front of their vaunted press. “ We played without him for a long stretch of the season a year ago so the kids are used to it by now,” said Howard. “ But early on in our scrimmages I’ve watched teams like Inter-Lakes score on us in the paint and I stand there thinking, they wouldn’t be scoring like that with Logan in there. We definitely miss him.”

 Cooper Paradice and Cy Kezerian return to the starting lineup alongside Briggs after each made big plays on the way to the team’s first title since 1990. Howard knows he can trust each of his senior guards and both were on the floor for crunch time in Plymouth last March. “ With Cooper we don’t need him to score, we need him to defend and direct traffic out there. With a lot of new players in our rotation that will be more crucial than it was a year ago with a veteran team.”

 Howard wants Kezerian to seize the scoring load left behind with the graduation of Danny Brammer. “Cy can be almost too unselfish at times. There are times in practice where he dominates for stretches at a time,” said Howard. “ We graduated a lot of production so we need him to be our main scorer along with Logan.”

 Gabe Anan goes from glue guy to likely starter this season and is another player who saw valuable minutes under the bright lights a year ago.

 Jaen Rodrigues (younger brother of Michael), Danny Kubkowski (younger brother of Kuba) and Jason Brammer (Sam & Danny) all will have the chance to play their way into the rotation. Jacob O’Lear and Dillon O’Dell will see time on the floor as well.

 All leading into an opening night showdown Friday night at Epping, in a game we will bring you full coverage of with highlights and post-game interviews. “ We are hoping to get Logan back soon but if we need to play without him we’ll adjust. With Logan it’s his time to step into that leadership role on both sides of the ball. We need him to be a force down low because teams in this division are going to have a very hard time stopping him. If he settles for jumpers outside that isn’t going to help us, especially with good rebounders like Kuba and Danny graduated.”

 When Nick Fiset left social media giant Timberlane basketball to take over at Epping he immediately sat down to watch film of the most over-analyzed team in Division IV last season.

 The Blue Devils, who won a title in 2014 and lost in the championship game in 2015 under Sean Young, looked like the best team in the division when they took Division I Salem to the wire in our Coaches for a Cause Jamboree in December but often looked like an NBA team in a ‘third road game in four nights’ haze by February.

 In 2016 Fiset knew this was a group that wanted its own identity and it was a group with enough talent remaining to make a fourth consecutive run for the title. “ This is a group that wants to compete. You have kids that just won the (Division IV) soccer title and that feeling is pretty contagious, “ said Fiset. “ I knew from day one we could score but were the kids going to make a commitment to defend? I saw a lack of focus at times on defense last season and to go anywhere in this league you have to be able to get stops. So far I can tell you they absolutely have bought in and I think we have the chance to be a really good team because of it.”

 Jackson Rivers is poised for a breakout year as a senior and has been a leader from day one of the pre-season. “ I think he has player of the year potential, first team all-state potential,” said Fiset. “ When he is going to the basket, he dominates. We need him to be in the paint to rebound and to frankly, cause some serious match-up problems for other teams because few players will be able to match his skill and aggressiveness. When you have your best player also being the guy who works the hardest it rubs off on the rest of the team.”

 Brothers Tommy & Hunter Bullock will lead the Blue Devil defense as both are elite defenders. Doug Nadeau and Jake Bisaillon will both see time in the frontcourt alongside Rivers. Fiset thinks Nadeau may emerge as the team’s number #2 scoring option. “ I see him getting better by the week and continuing to develop his game,” said Fiset. “ What I think you’ll see from us is a couple of different guys stepping up on any given night.”

 Adam LePage,  a ‘knockdown shooter’ (I knew I could get Nic to roll with Sean’s knockdown shooter title,,,it’s an Epping legacy)  and Cooper Garow, who is back after not playing last season, are going to see minutes right way for a team that gets the defending champs and a statewide audience on opening night. “ This is a really fun group to coach and I’m excited to see us develop week to week,” said Fiset. “This is a very good league with a lot of really good coaches so it’s a challenge to try to get back to the final four.”

 While The Big Smooth Lewis Atkins has taken his act north to Maine athletic director Derek Summers takes over a Portsmouth Christian team that came within a basket of the Division IV championship a year ago. With three of PCA’s top seven players back including a pair of all-state forwards the run for this group didn’t come to an end last March. “ We are still early in the pre-season but I’ve been impressed with how unselfish this group is,” said Summers. “ I’m hoping that as we look back at the season there were four, five or even six different players who ended up leading us in scoring on different nights.”

 PCA had tournament games against Epping, Woodsville & Littleton go down to the wire and in each game Paul Staude was in the middle of the comeback. The 6’0 forward may be the toughest player in the entire division and with a big chunk of last season’s scoring gone with Kylani Lafleur you can expect Staude to step up his scoring in 2017. “ He’s been a beast for us in the pre-season,” said Summers. “Even in practice when I split the team up his team always seems to come out on top. He won’t allow anyone to outwork him and you love that coming from one of your team leaders.”

 Drew McCormick will benefit the most from the extra looks he’ll get this season. McCormick played a big role in the run to Plymouth last season but also would go long stretches without getting a lot of touches. Expect the 6’1 power forward to produce with more looks. “ Drew has really been more vocal this season, he’s been a leader for us,” said Summers. “ He’s capable of having a big season for us.”

 Ethan Foley take over at point guard for the graduated Shaun Bradley (“Ethan does a little of everything for us,” notes Summers) while Joe Yoon returns after spending time in the starting lineup a year ago. “Joe is another very unselfish player for us who contributes on both ends of the floor.”

 Sophomore AJ Chase, Dominic Mancuso, Haakon Lund and freshman Bryson Lund will all get their shot to earn minutes for a team capable of another trip to the final four. “ We have to work in a lot of new players but this is a group led by three players who really came through last year, “ said Summers. “ I’m excited to see how the team comes together.”

 A year ago you could argue there was no better backcourt in Division IV than the all-state duo of Derek Maccini & Jaret Bemis. No team took better care of the basketball than Jamie Walker’s Woodsville Engineers and even though a very good frontcourt returns, someone needs to get that ball over half court. “ There is no player that is going to replace Derek, and on top of that opposing defenses focused their game plan around stopping Jaret,” said Walker. “ We are going to get the ball up the floor passing the basketball and we need to take advantage of the fact we have a pretty good frontcourt returning.”

 All-state forward Sam Pushee returns after averaging over 15 ppg. a year ago and takes over the leadership role once held by Bemis, Maccini and Nick Stokes. “ Sam is going to be our leader,” said his head coach, “ and it’s on him to communicate out there on the floor.” Pushee will be joined in the frontcourt by 6’3 forward Cooper Davidson who is effective in the paint with his size. “ Cooper is a lot more polished than he was a year ago. He will have to pick up a lot of the scoring we lost from last year’s team and he’s most effective in the paint. When he is outside taking jumpers we are down one of our best rebounders and teams are going to be fine with him taking that shot. We need him in the paint because he is a tough match-up for other teams in this division.”

 Junior shooting guard Garrett Olsen is the team’s second returning starter and will be counted on to keep defenses from packing in their zone defenses against Pushee and Davidson. “ Garrett has improved his shooting and we’ll need him to make shots,” said Walker. “ Early on teams are going to make us prove we can knock down that shot but I have confidence in him and (shooting guard) Eric Thornton to do that.”

 Woodsville has little time to get acclimated to life without Bemis, Stokes and Maccini with an opening night date with #2 Wilton-Lyndeborough Friday night.

 Sophomore Connor Maccini and a talented group of middle schoolers that includes Bemis’s younger brother and Walker’s son ensure Woodsville will be in the mix for years to come but in 2017 it will come down to taking care of the basketball and finding Pushee on the low block. “ When you have seniors like we did last year you grow accustomed to that feeling that you have a coach on the floor. This is a new group in the backcourt so it is going to take some time for players to find their roles.”

 There are few more painful ways to be sent into the off-season than the way Rob Bradley and Derryfield exited the tournament a year ago. After the Cougars gave up a late lead at Groveton they watched forward Lucas Simpson throw in a three pointer (off glass no less) as time expired as Groveton rushed the floor and Derryfield crumbled on it in shock.

That had to be one very long bus ride back to Manchester.

First team all-state center Sam Anderson returns as does starting point guard Andrew Dubreuil. How the pieces fill in around them will tell you how far Derryfield can go  this season. “ It really starts with Sam,” said Bradley of his 6’5 center. “He wants to play at the next level and college teams have told him he needs to develop his ball handling and outside shooting so that is what he has done. He’s worked extremely hard and you can see the results of all of that work early on.”

 Dubreuil seemed to get better by the week a season ago and now takes on more of a leadership role as a junior. “Where Sam tends to lead by example Andrew is really vocal on the floor, which is what you want from your point guard,” said Bradley. “ We’ve had some good ones here and he is the next in line.”

 Oliver Sattler returns at forward as one of those glue guys every team needs to win (“He is willing to do whatever you need to win,” said Bradley) alongside Trent Henrich who is a three point shooter on the Derryfield perimeter.

 A pair of freshman are going to see time early on as point guard Max Byron (“ He needs to learn to defend but he has really great ability handling the basketball) and 6’4 Max Carpawick (“He’s a tremendous athlete and someone we can match up against Sam in practice.”) are going to be huge factors if Derryfield is to get back to Plymouth after a one year absence.

 A year ago the scouting report against Pittsfield basically amounted to; ‘Don’t let Cam Darrah score 35 points.’ In 2017 with a legitimate nine man rotation and some help at power forward Pittsfield looks poised to make a big jump up the standings under head coach Jay Darrah. “ We were so young last season that you make mistakes at the wrong times,” said Darrah. “We’re still a young team, we have nine juniors on the roster, but this is a group that has played together for years and you see a real confidence as a group that I didn’t see last year.”

 It begins with point guard Cam Darrah who was among the leading scorers in the division a year ago. “Cam really inherited the leadership role a lot earlier than he should have,” says his father. “ But he’s grown into it and he really believes in his teammates and what they can do this season.”

 Gabe Anthony returns at forward (“Gabe does all the little things for us,” said Darrah as coaches continue to push me for early All-Glue Guy consideration) alongside 6’3 bruising forwards Josh Whittier who was relentless on the boards Saturday in a scrimmage against Woodsville. “ Josh didn’t play last year and his return really gives us a toughness down low that we needed,” said Darrah.

 Matt St George, Garrett Guerro-Hadley, Casey Clark and Dylan Bocash will all see minutes as Darrah wants to send fresh bodies in to wear teams down and take some of the attention away from Cam. “ We got out and played a lot over the off season and I think that’s brought this group together,” said Darrah. “ We know what a tough division this is, and Farmington coming down from Division III puts another big game on the schedule. This is a good group, we’re excited to see what we can accomplish this season.”

 Farmington alum and head coach Adam Thurston had heard the rumblings about a move to Division IV the past couple of years but hardly gave it any thought until it would become a reality. After a 1-17 season last year and another dip in enrollment…Thurston was more than happy to lead the Tigers to Division IV. “ Our enrollment has been on a fairly steady decline the last few years and a year ago I realized it was the right time for the move,” said Thurston. “ I’m excited to renew rivalries with schools like Newmarket and Pittsfield so it’s a good move for us.”

 Zach Gilman and Chris Demers lead a very young and inexperienced group that Thurston sees pushing tempo early on to take advantage of their athleticism. “ We have some length (copyright Jay Bilas) and a lot of athletic ability but we are going to need to learn on the fly because there isn’t a ton of game experience as a group, “ notes Thurston. “ We may have to mix up our defense more than I would usually like to but that’s all going to depend on how quickly the players pick up what we are trying to do defensively.”

 Newmarket head coach Jamie Hayes has a reputation as one of the best coaches in the state when it comes to teaching the game. That knowledge will come in handy for a group that has only two players returning from a tournament team that gave Littleton all it could handle in the quarterfinals. “I like this group a lot and they are working hard,” said Hayes. “ We are going back to a lot of the basics and spending a lot of our practice time teaching. How we do this season will depend on how quickly our new guys step up.”

 Aiding in that process will be guard Anthony Sensombath, poised for a breakout year as a junior. “ He’s our leader, no question,” said Hayes. “ I think he’s one of the best guards in the division and the fact that we will be able to play him off the ball will allow him more scoring opportunities.”

 6’1 guard Simon Cote will run Hayes’ offense from the point and got the job in part because of his good decision making. “ He’s not flashy but he gets the job done. He has an ability to create and that’s going to get our offense going as guys learn on the fly.”

 6’2 Power forward Travis Moseley is one of the team’s most improved players and will step into a bigger role after the graduation of all-state center Ian Bentley. “ Travis has a really high basketball IQ and he’s someone who has really developed over the last twelve months,” said Hayes. Craig Hounam will join Moseley at the forward spot (“ Craig worked as hard as any player we had and has really shown the ability to square up and put the ball on the floor.”) while Collin Burleigh will supply toughness and rebounding. “ We might struggle early on but as this team comes together I think we will be a factor again in March.”

 Last season Colebrook benefited from the defense out front by Rhode Island transplant Jose Alvarado, a point guard with the quickest hands in the division.

 In 2017 they are going to rely on it every night. With leading scorer Sedrick McKinnon graduated and two other starters with him Colebrook is going to need to take the pressure off of their half-court offense by causing turnovers. “ We are struggling early on to run our 1-4 offense so it’s a process,” said Hall of Fame head coach Buddy Trask. “ We have a couple of guys who can shoot it, including Jose because he worked very hard at it in the off season, but we don’t have any sort of flow on offense and we are going to have to find it if we are going to win any games.”

 Garrett Purrington is Colebrook’s other returning starter and he will be counted on to get 12 to 15 points every night. Purrington is a good shooter from the forward spot who has rebounded well in the pre-season but he also will find it more difficult being the focus of the opposing team’s defense for the first time. “ Every game last season the opposing team game planned to stop Sedrick ( a two time all-state performer),” said Trask, “It’s now on Garrett and Jose to handle that this season.”

 Sophomore Jon Sherer can knock down three’s on the perimeter but has struggled in the pre-season being anything other than a spot up shooter, “ We need to work with him on getting to the basket when they overplay him for the jumper,” said his head coach. Dylan Carpino is another sophomore who is going to see time right away, whether he is ready or not. Trask sees potential in the 5’9 guard, “ Dylan has good potential, he just needs to get used to the speed of the varsity game because when he gets sped up he loses control out there.”

 Colebrook will mix in more zone defensive looks and count on Alvarado to wreak havoc as teams try to bring the ball over half court. In the cozy confines of their home gym it might be enough to earn another home playoff game. “ We are putting a lot on Jose and Garrett’s shoulders right now but the hope is the younger players develop and by the time we get to March there’s something there with this group. Until then it’s about playing hard and learning as we go.”

 It’s been a rough two year stretch for a very good Profile program but with ten players back longtime head coach Paul Greenlaw feels like he has a team capable of surprising people. “ We have ten players back from a year ago so we have really been able to pick up where we left off a year ago.”

 Small forward River Baker and power forward Cam Hoyt return for the Patriots and will lead a balanced offense for Greenlaw. “ Cam is ripped, he’s really shown flashes of being physical for us on the block on both ends of the court.” Baker meanwhile will be one of four main scorers for Profile along with the backcourt of Dylan Robie and Jordan Brusseau. “They like to share the basketball as a group and so what you’ll likely see from us on most nights is four to five players scoring between eight and twelve points,” said Greenlaw. “ I’d like to see a primary scorer emerge from that group but I also like the fact that we have a lot of balance on offense.”

 Dylan Laleme will see key minutes as well for a team that should benefit from the experience of last season. “ It’s a more physically mature group and that comes with players developing their game. It’s a pretty athletic group and as a team we want to make it back to the tournament and be coming together as a group in February and March.”

 If Sam Natti’s Lisbon Panthers are going back to the Division IV tournament again in 2017 junior forward Josh Woods is going to lead them there. Woods should be among the leading scorers in the division this season and will be the focus of a Lisbon offense that should benefit from several newcomers. “ Josh has first team potential, “ said Natti. “ You can see a change in his attitude from his sophomore year to today as a junior and he has worked really hard to improve his game.”

 Parker Thornton returns to the starting lineup alongside 6’2 sophomore Jacob Deem, who hasn’t played basketball since 5th grader but already shows flashes of potential. “ He has a lot to learn but he’s honestly one of the most coachable kids I’ve ever been around,” said Natti. “If you point something out he needs to work on he nods his head and gets at it.”

 Thornton will have to prove he can hit the jumper from the perimeter to keep defense from collapsing on Woods, “ Parker needs to be more consistent. Last season he had a night where he scored 20 points and then a week later he was held scoreless. We need him to score every night for us to stay in games.”

 For Lisbon to win it is going to lean heavily on Woods and hope he becomes an elite player as a junior like his cousin Chad Knighton, a two time state champion at Lisbon. “ We are going to try and keep Josh off the ball so we can run sets for him to get him in a good position to score,” said Natti. “ With very little size and lot of inexperience we are going to need Josh to score 25 points for us to win. I think he’s more than capable of doing that.”

 Few teams have more to replace than Sunapee who lost two 1,000 point scorers in Isaiah Chappell and NHsportspage player of the year Matt Tenney. Both are playing at the next level (Tenney at Southern Maine C.C and Chappell at Mount Ida) and it falls on Hank Vincent and Cade Robinson to take over in the backcourt. The Lakers also must replace one of the best coaches in the division in Ed Tenney, who retired from coaching after his son graduated.

 Tim Putchler takes over as head coach and as a former assistant, understands all that the Lakers will have to replace. “ Players like Matt & Isaiah don’t come around very often so we are clear with this group that it is about getting better week to week,” said Putchler, “ and that really is a season long process.”

 Austin Leblanc played very well at the forward spot a year ago and should have a breakout season with more touches on offense. Isaiah Gorman returns as well but has been fighting injuries in the pre-season. “ We are going to struggle on some nights to score so our effectiveness on defense is going to be very important,” said Putchler. “ We want to pressure teams and use our athleticism to create scoring opportunities.”

 If you’re looking for a team to crash the Top 10 Hinsdale is a trendy pick with the return of Ryan Boggio and 6’4 Kyle Rideout from a tournament team of a year ago……….Dan Laflam takes over as head coach at Gorham with all-state forward Bryson Raymond joined by Players Locker Room member Lance Legere. Gorham was playing well at the end of last season and will again be in the mix for a playoff berth…….Lin Wood has enough talent to crash the Top 10 as well but will the Lumberjacks make the leap? Brandon Harrington and Ollie Dovholuk will lead the way…………

 

Pre-Season First Team All-State   (* Pre-season players of the year)

Trey Carrier of Wilton-Lyndeborough *

Logan Briggs of Littleton *

Sam Anderson of Derryfield

Corey Gadwah of Groveton

Cam Darrah of Pittsfield

 

Second Team

Jackson Rivers of Epping

Daegan Lurvey of Groveton

Paul Staude of Portsmouth Christian

Sam Pushee of Woodsville

Drew McCormick of Portsmouth Christian

 

With apologies to: Anthony Sensombath of Newmarket, Cy Kezerian of Littleton, Austin Lesperance of Groveton,  Andrew Dubreuil of Derryfield, Josh Woods of Lisbon, Jose Alvarado & Garrett Purrington of Colebrook, Matt Norton of Moultonborough, Garrett Olsen & Cooper Davidson of Woodsville, Chris Demers of Farmington, Matthew Lindor of Pittsburg-Canaan, Ryan Boggio & Kyle Rideout of Hinsdale, Ollie Dovholuk of Lin Wood, Bryson Raymond of Gorham, Tommy Bullock of Epping, Joe Yoon of Portsmouth Christian, Jake LeVert & Sean McClure of Wilton-Lyndeborough, River Baker of Profile and Austin Leblanc of Sunapee.

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The New Hampshire High School Hoop Show RETURNS!!

Saturday morning from 9 to 11 am Pete Tarrier & I will be live from NHTI in Concord, the site of our 4th Annual Coaches for a Cause Basketball Jamboree which tips off at noon.

 Our guests Saturday will be Epping head coach Nick Fiset and Kearsarge head coach Nate Camp, whose team will be taking on Bedford in the jamboree.

 You can hear the show by clicking the listen live button right on our homepage, or by tuning into ESPN NH on your Tune in Radio app or locally on 900AM (Nashua area) or 1250AM (Manchester area).