The banquet is over, the speeches spoken, but the Arlington High School boys basketball season was way too much fun to let go.
What’s wrong with a little more reflection to keep the memories alive for just a bit more time? So here’s a way to remember…a list of “bests” from the season. This could actually be fun if readers commented on mine or submitted their own. We could keep the discussion going a bit longer that way. Or not.
My one disclaimer. I didn’t start covering the team until the Lexington game on 1/13, so my observations are from that point forward.
Best Performance: For me this one is easy. Colin McNamara’s 30-point gem against Brighton in the final game. To be honest I’m not sure he missed a shot in the first half. Maybe one was blocked.
Best Opposing Performance: I have to mention three here. Tyrone Perry was an absolute beast (among many beasts) in that final game. Pretty much unstoppable with that big body and power moves to the hoop. He wins this category, but I have two deserving runners up.
Who could forget New Mission’s Charles Mitchell scoring 8 points in the final minute, six of them on two most unlikely 3-pointers?
And in a similar performance Winchester’s Liam Fitzpatrick scored nine points in the final two minutes at Winchester on his way to a scintillating 25-point night in a losing cause.
Best Team: In my mind another hands down winner. Brighton was big, bulky, deep and talented. They played eleven players in that final game, and all of them were good.
Best Shot: Speaking of hands down winners…Dom Black’s difficult turn-around jumper for sweet revenge at Malden Catholic. Nobody that young has a right to hit that shot.
Best Coaching: IMHO this should be a season achievement award to the entire AHS staff. Name me another team that could start a freshman and some sophomores, lose a starting “big” James Gascoigne (sorry for the quotation marks, but there really are no bigs) for a few games and still compile the record Arlington did?
But if I have to pick one game for excellent coaching I’ll pick the game at Belmont. Belmont’s press drove other teams nuts. Arlington’s novel attack of it was poetry in motion leading to a game deciding first quarter in which the Spy Ponders rang up 29 points and forced Belmont to abandon their press.
Most Surprising Performance(s): One of the beauties of this team was that on any given night any one of six or seven players could beat you. About Black and McNamara, you could almost hear New Mission say, “somebody else will have to beat us.”
And somebody else did. My first winner in this category is Nick Karalis who lit up New Mission with those four straight threes to keep Arlington in the game.
My second winner in this category is Ben Wasco with his 20 against Stoneham on an array of put backs, turn-arounds, spinning layups. He doesn’t seem like a scorer, but he is proof of the “on any given night” principle.
Best Freshman/Newcomer: As my children would say, “duh!” Talk about hands down winners. I don’t think there are any other Bensley Josephs out there. When I first saw him on the court I thought, “who is that #10?” A few seconds later the Arlington students chanted, “he’s a freshman.” I was shocked.
Which brings us to the future…
Best outlook: Let’s see. Hmmm. Arlington graduates just one starter (and who needed him anyway?). The other four (or five) come back. Joseph is just a freshman. There are a number of solid underclassmen on the bench. And rumor has it that there’s another Dottin on the way and another McNamara (what’s in the water in that house?) and who knows who else?
And one final thought…
Second best team in Mass Division 2: The Spy Ponders gave Brighton a real test, coming back from a 14 point deficit to close within one point mid way through the fourth quarter, finally losing by 7. Brighton went on to destroy the South and West winners on their way to the state title. Second best team? Arlington, by far. I have unqualified agreement on that from the Globe beat writer who covered Brighton through the tournament and the Boston City League during the regular season.
Are there some bests I’ve left out? Are there some awards I have wrong? Let me know and we’ll discuss. That way we can keep the season going for just a little bit longer until the snow melts.