With their first round tournament win over Gloucester, Arlington was one of eight teams left in Div 1 North. Senior co-captains Ben Wasco and Dom Black took time out from their preparation for their game with Brighton to reflect on their season in a conversation with the Advocate.
Here are the highlights from that conversation.
AA: It may seem strange to start by talking about your other sport but it’s interesting that you guys played soccer together.
DB: Yeah. I was a midfielder.
BW: I was the keeper.
AA: Is it true that soccer keepers have to be a little crazy?
(Both laughing.)
BW: Yeah, that’s true.
DB: Definitely.
AA: Does the fact that you guys played together on the soccer field carry over to basketball?
BW: Oh yeah. And it’s not just us. We’ve got four or five kids from the soccer team with us. We really closed the season out well and started playing really well together. I think that’s definitely carried over. You could say the same thing about the football players, too.
AA: I’ve noticed your willingness to dive headlong after loose balls on the basketball floor. Is that your keeper instinct kicking in?
BW: ( Laughs.) Well, I guess so.
DB: It may be that, but it’s just hustle also. He’s a hustle player. Also, unlike the rest of us, he knows how to dive.
AA: Talk about your injury that put you on the bench next to (junior co-captain James) Gascoigne.
DB: It was the Winchester game. I was running off a couple screens with Fitzpatrick (co-league MVP with Black), and I just got stepped on. I didn’t think anything of it. But I got down to the locker room and turned to Nick (Karalis) and said I think my foot’s broken. I couldn’t walk on it, and that’s never happened before.
I woke up the next morning and couldn’t move my foot or my toe. So, it was off to the doctor. Fortunately, it was just a sprained foot and sprained toe.
AA: So, you’re lucky it was just three games?
DB: Yes. I wish it had been a different three games. I hated missing the Comcast Tournament. We were trying to close the season out strong. But I’m so happy to be back.
AA: How did it feel for you and Gascoigne to be sitting on the sidelines for those three games?
D: Honestly, it was fun. That Belmont game was really exciting to watch. So was the Needham game. I was trying to do what I could from the bench, even in a boot.
Do you think any of the outcomes would have been different if the two of you were playing?
BW: The problem was it was both of them out for those games. But I think we played really well anyway. Honestly, I think, especially the Belmont and Needham games, if we were 100%, both outcomes would have been different.
AA: Are you sorry that you missed the chance to go nose to nose with Shaughnessy from Needham?
DB: Sorry is an understatement. We know each other. We go back and forth in AAU. I’d been waiting for that match-up…looking forward to it all year. Then to miss it…wow. That was hard.
AA: Ben, with Black and Gascoigne both out, you and (sophomore Bensley) Joseph had to score. What did you think about that? How was it with the two of them out?
BW: Obviously, Bensley really stepped up. He had a huge game against Belmont. A 32 point game against Needham, and I think once he got his stuff going, he could get other people involved. Without Dom and James to worry about, teams would collapse on him. Personally, with teams so focused on him, it opened opportunities for me. I got a chance to step up and try to deliver.
AA: Did you like that?
BW: It was a weird feeling. I was scoring, but we were losing those games at the same time. So I was really frustrated.
AA: You made some big shots…
BW: Yeah. That was nice, but we didn’t get the outcome we wanted.
DB: Yeah, he was dwelling on that for a long time. We tried to get him up after that. Wasco’s just being humble right now. He can’t just say they were all focused on Bensley. Ben was the captain left on the floor. He’s the one leading the team. I give credit to him, Bensley and the rest of the team. They played hard. Wasco stepped up clearly. Back to back 20 point games. He scored the ball but he did more than just score.
AA: Talk about your buzzer beater against Needham to send it into overtime.
BW: It was the perfect example of how Bensley could set up. He’d scored on the previous two possessions. So they double-teamed him. He had guys draped all over him. So he gave it to me. I knew there was one second left, so I just pumped it up and hoped for the best.
AA: Did you think it was going in when it left your hands?
BW: No. I didn’t think it was going in. But it did. Honestly, I was just so into the play, that I didn’t realize how big the shot was.
AA: Speaking of Joseph, can anybody contain him?
DB & BW together: No. No one can guard Bensley.
AA: How about other players in the Middlesex League you’ve faced this year; which ones do you most respect, besides Fitzpatrick?
DB: (6’ 6” John) Korte from Watertown. He got MVP of the small (Freedom) division for a reason.
BW: For sure. He’s the best big man we faced all year. And Mariano (Rodriguez) from Burlington gave us a lot of trouble.
AA: Ok. The game’s on the line. Who gets the last shot?
BW: We’ll run a play the coaches draw up, and they’ll usually try to have Dom or Bensley taking the shot. But, It depends on what the defense gives us. Whoever is open gets the shot. We have total confidence that anyone on the floor can hit that shot.
AA: Both of you have already hit a few of these this year…
DB: Ben’s hit shots like that his whole life. As kids for Fidelity House he hit 3 or 4 in one season. They were ridiculous shots back then, but, I mean, he still makes them. But we’ll find the open man no matter what, and they can take the shot.
AA: How do you feel about the season overall?
DB: It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster ride. We lost four straight at the end, but that wasn’t a buzzkill or momentum changer for us. We didn’t get down on ourselves. Actually, it turned out to lift us up. We’re not happy about losing, but we were making strides in the face of those injuries. In the end we know who we are, and the expectations the coaches have for us, and that’s why we’re not as worried as people might think. We always have confidence in our back pocket.
AA: Any words of advice for the guys you’re leaving behind?
BW: Just stay persistent. There will always be someone who’s trying to work harder than you. Talent is not enough. You have to keep working.
DB: Trust the system that we have here. It’s been working. We play a style that is fast, competitive, loud. Just believe and continue that style. We’ve got some good players. As long as they stay confident and work hard, we’ll continue to win.