first one of the year

OK, first off, sorry that I haven't been blogging. The problem, in all honesty, is that I haven't been at enough games lately to feel really comfortable talking about local players and teams. Our deadlines at the paper changed to 10 (hopefully a temporary problem) in December, and it means somebody has to stay in the office all night rather than covering a game to handle the phone calls from coaches. That's almost always me, because I am best at quickly putting things on pages and because I'm an editor.
I'm not complaining, but I do miss covering stuff.
So, since the start of basketball, hockey and wrestling season, I've seen exactly three games. I'll say what I thought about the last two of those first, and then try to get to what reporters Ken Lipshez and Andrew Lovell seem to be saying, and what I'm getting from coaches.

I made sure I got to see the New Britain girls basketball team at least once. They're simply too much fun. In the past four years this has consistently been one of my favorite teams to cover. They play an uptempo style starting with swarming backcourt defense which usually leads to a lot of fastbreak opportunities and flashy plays.
Perhaps it is ironic, then, that I feel the two most critical players to their success (not the best players, but the difference makers) are their least flashy. Sarah Sideranko's defense, as I've said before, makes Symone Roberts 100 times more dangerous. But the one who's been impressive lately is Tyler Kimball. If Kimball can be a constant post presence all on her own, which she's shown flashes of for three years, then this team has few weaknesses (outside a drastic lack of depth). But I doubt anybody can find a better three-headed attack in the state than those three players.
I really like the improvements I see from Heather O'Bright and Emily Polkowski as well. Neither is a star, but both find ways to contribute when they get in the game, and any winning team needs that.
I happened to see Sideranko and co-captain Monica Malec at the CCSU women's game on New Year's Eve. I'm sure they were rooting on former coach Beryl Piper, but in either case that's a good thing for young players to do. Go see players at the next level up close to see how they do things. You can get a lot better at basketball by watching it. It won't replace practicing, but it's a useful addendum to it.

Yesterday I got to see the Hall-Southington co-op hockey team, and I must say I'm very impressed. Now, I've never understood the strange system that determines hockey playoff divisions, so I don't understand how a co-op between one of the biggest schools in the state and a solid Class L school could leave this team in the lowest division, but since they are there they've got a good shot at a title run.
The combo seems to have been kismet. Hall was a defensive team looking for scoring power last year. Meanwhile, Southington had to sacrifice some of its incredible scoring potential at times to use Joe Harvey in goal, lest the score end up 10-9. Together the team seems to have a lot of very good pieces.
What a wild game, though. Apparently 6-1 leads in high school hockey aren't safe. The Warrior-Knights (I wish I could call them that officially. It's pleasantly excessive.) had to go back on offense in the third period to avoid losing.
I love what Eric Muroski was able to do, taking control and making two great shots for late goals, and there were a lot of other contributors. Harvey, Andrew Green and others made great plays as well.
I'm not a big hockey guy, but this team, any one that can post nine goals in a game, is dangerous in D-III.

As for stuff I haven't been able to see in person, a couple things stand out. First off, for those in Berlin fretting over the girls loss to Capital Prep before the new year, don't worry about it too much. That Prep team is legit, perhaps one of the top 15 in the state, and they will be one of the favorites in Class S. Besides, the Redcoats had to scramble to adjust midgame to losing Zarotney, and even though they played without her for much of last year, having to change plans on the fly is never easy. It's not hard to get distracted or thrown off.
Early on I thought Berlin was better than Wethersfield, now I'm not so sure. Both are very good, but I think the Eagles might have a little bit more firepower. Erin Verre is making a big case for some all-state consideration with her play, I honestly believe that based on what I'm hearing. I wish I could get out there and see her in action. I've been watching her and the rest of that team play for a few years, and there's always been steady improvement. That's also a team that knows how to play together.
I'm quite honestly shocked at how well Rocky Hill's been playing. Credit goes, as always, to coach Pete Egan, for bringing out the best in his talent. But a few players deserve particular mention. First off, Joyce Grodovich is the star that folks in RH envisioned when she was a talented freshman. She's clearly playing with far more confidence than before. It always appeared she deferred to some of the older players before like Meghan Daley, Meaghan LeMay and Sam Avery. Now Grodovich must know this is her team to lead.
The next key has been Ashley O'Connell, who looked promising last year, but also was playing behind Avery and LeMay in the post.
The surprises have been Amanda Biella and Krystina Chudy, who have both turned into solid ball handlers. It's made Rocky Hill far more competitive than expected this year.
I'm not completely sold on Southington, but they are a solid team. I haven't seen the Knights at all, so it's tough to say how close they are to last year's very good team. Marissa Chapman is another one who has never completely come into her own, but maybe this is her year. The team needs some other performers to really step up to get back to where it was.

On the boys side, I wish I could see Wethersfield. By all accounts the Eagles found some of the magic they had late last season on Friday night. It's too bad P.J. Santavenere didn't return to the team this year, because with him they'd have four or five good to very good players on the court at the same time. Vic Anderson can take a game over, Adam Williams and Tyler Murphy are potent weapons and they have some good role guys.
Keep an eye out for Wethersfield. If one's things certain with this team, inconsistency is almost always an issue. But remember, it took them awhile to get going last season but they were very dangerous by the end. I wouldn't be surprised to see the same this year.
But the most buzz is back in New Britain where coach Stan Glowiak really does have all the pieces. Darius Watson is almost unguardable lately according to Ken Lipshez (and the numbers support it), Raheem McKinley is a very good second scorer, Tebucky Jones has all the athleticism in the world (shocking, right?), Robert McKinnon brings experience off the bench and the team has actual depth in Quashon Moore and Tarik Hightower.
The most interesting thing to note is that this team doesn't have a big problem it's had for several years. New Britain's always played competitive even during some "down" years lately. The problem has been fourth quarters. No lead was safe as the team didn't always have somebody to trust with the ball in the closing minutes. Well, Steven Glowiak is one of the purest shooters around. Put the ball in his hands and the free throws will fall. If that's his only role on the team, it's a big one, and he's a good complement to the flash and dazzle of the rest of the lineup.

Hopefully I'll have more in the coming weeks. I really want to get back out there at games and see these teams in person. In the meantime, go see the CCSU women. They're very competitive, and although the first four games on the NEC slate, all wins, weren't against great competition, this team should be in the upper half of the league. They also play a similar style to New Britain: pressure the ball and watch the fast-breaks come.

back to work

Alright, it's been a long time since I last posted. Truth be told, with all the rumors and hearsay about the future of the newspaper, I haven't been all that inspired to write on here. I hope all of you who still know the web address will let other potential readers know. The Journal Register Company wanted to put a banner ad on the blog, and I refused, so they promptly removed the link to it from The Herald's website. That is no problem. I will continue to blog on here on my own time.
So let people know that they can still find the blog at www.talkinsportsnb.blogspot.com, as you obviously know if you're reading this.
So, it's been a while since football season ended, so I won't really do a wrapup there. Now it's on to basketball season.
Shane Leupold asked me the other day if I was going to be blogging about basketball this winter. The answer is simple: of course I will be.
After all, basketball is the sport that I feel most comfortable talking about at the high school level. I just feel when I'm watching basketball that I get a good sense of players as individuals, with differing talents and weaknesses. I don't know football nearly as well on a skills level, or at least as a rater of talent. I know baseball and softball well, but those are sports you really have to see a player every single game to know just how good they are and see all their skills in action.
With basketball you can see a player's skills pretty clearly just watching them a handful of times.
Sadly, I've only been out to one game so far. Rockville at Farmington girls on opening night.
But I'm pretty familiar with a lot of local players, and I've been taking a lot of phone calls in the office and getting to see how teams are doing.
So, I'll give you a quick rundown of what I see so far, starting with the girls teams.
First off, the Connecticut Sports Writers Alliance has started a new poll for girls basketball this season. I'm a member of the organization so this is a bit of a shameless plug. But look for the poll in print and on TV. You should see it pop up.
The voters have come to the conclusion that New Britain is the top team in the state, and I see nothing to dissuade me from that stance, which I already held.
Simply put Symone Roberts is deceptively good. A lot of people think she's just a scorer and nothing else. What they overlook is that the best part of Symone's game is her defense, and they fail to see just how stifling she can be for the opposing team's top guard. Symone is quicker on the court than any high school girl I've ever seen. She gets most of her points off steals. If she ever learned how to shoot at a higher percentage, and I'm sure she's working on it, she'd average 30 points a game easily, if not 35 or 40.
Keep an eye on Symone's career point total. If she stays healthy, she should have 2,000 before February easily. She has an outside shot at 2,500 if she has a monster season, which would be unreal in this day and age when girls everywhere in Connecticut are growing up playing the game from a young age.
Meanwhile, Sarah Sideranko is very tough defensively as well, but needs to stay out of foul trouble. Add in what Tyler Kimball can do down low, actually a perfect complement to Symone and Sarah, and the 'Canes are going to be very tough to beat. Kimball can clean up a lot of Symone and Sarah's misses.
Meanwhile, Heather O'Bright, Monica Malec and others are turning into very nice role players. But depth will be a problem.
I'll talk a little about Farmington, since I saw them once. I went into the game expecting nothing from them, as they appear to be young and inexperienced once again. I came out thinking that while they won't be a great team, they should be able to hold their own against most of the teams on their schedule.
I like Kellie Nissen at the point, but she needs to keep improving. Emily Kitching is a nice guard with a decent shot and some intangibles. Their bigs are tough-nosed. But mostly, I respected the way the team played defense as a unit. They really contest everything at all positions.
Scoring will be a struggle for them, but defense will allow them to hang around and maybe surprise a few teams.
Berlin looks awesome so far. They haven't been tested and they've played a few decent teams. Simply put the only team in the Northwest Conference I see giving them problems at all is Northwest Catholic. But I think Berlin, with Katelyn Zarotney back healthy and the team playing as the unit it never was when she was there last year, will be hard to beat.
The team has three legitimate bigs, Zarotney, Sarah Byrnes and Kaitlyn Bovee, all of whom are offensive threats, and Byrnes is a very good defensive player. Meanwhile, Lexy Vasquez is lethal from 3-point range and should give the bigs plenty of room to work down low. If Kim Rasmussen can distribute at the point and play good defense, which with her speed and poise she should be able to do, this team has no holes on offense or defense. None.
This team might be better than anybody imagines at this point. The bench looks pretty good too, with some surprise names showing up early like Liz Long, Monique St. Jarre and Alyssa Barrett. Each has done some amazing things.
But trust me. They won't blow everybody out all season. We need to see how they react in a tough game for the first time this year.
Wethersfield has been almost as impressive so far, and looks even stronger than the team that earned the top seed in Class L last year. I'm sure they want to make amends for the first-round exit, too.
Abigail Corning is another player that is subtly excellent. I can't count the number of out-of-area sportswriters who have watched her play and told me they weren't impressed with her game. I am.
For one, she is tough, extremely tough, on the court. And she has a nose for scoring. That's hard to gauge, but Corning seems to know just when to drive baseline (which is her signature move in my opinion), when to pull up, and when to look for a trip to the foul line. A lot of players can't adapt to different situations like she can. They try to do the same thing every time. Her ability to change it up is the sign of a great player.
Heather Lyhne looks to be putting the pieces together after showing a ton of potential for two years. Erin Verre is the perfect interior player to go along with a pair like that. She doesn't need to have the ball in her hands to do things. She'll go grab the offensive rebounds and do the dirty work.
Her sister Brenna is turning into a better-than-expected point guard. Jackie English is tough to guard with her size and shooting ability, although she needs to be more consistent from outside.
I haven't seen the freshman Morgan Murphy. But I hear good things about her, and I know she's got some talented genes. Her brother Tyler is a phenomenal athlete and keeps getting better at both football and basketball.
I really like Wethersfield's chances again this year, and the game against Kolbe Cathedral next week should be fun, whether they win or not. Kolbe's a legit top five team in the state.
As for other teams, Rocky Hill's Joyce Grodovich may be joining the elite player ranks, at least if she keeps scoring 29 a game. Plus Ashley O'Connell's been a consistent performer for the Terriers. They look far better than expected, although they beat up on two pretty weak opponents so far.
Southington also hasn't beaten anybody really good yet, although Newington and Farmington aren't pushovers by any stretch. But the Knights don't seem nearly as good as last year. I have to see them in person to say more about them.
I really was impressed last year with some of Newington's young players, particularly point Kristina Forsman who I think will be a star. I think that team plays as well as she plays this year. But I know Al Ford will know how to use his team's speed and athleticism to frustrate opponents defensively, even if they struggle shooting as they have since Kelly McVey graduated.
Plainville's going to be in for a pretty long year, but the Devils got a nice win over St. Paul it seems. Still, Alyssa Martino will probably be a focal point for defenses, and that could make it a frustrating year for her. Give Jen Micowski a couple years and this team will be right back though.

As for the boys, my knowledge is not quite as in depth. They've only played one week so far, not even a complete one. Plus there was a lot more graduation turmoil for local teams.
That said...
New Britain should be very good. Darius Watson is an electric player and the addition of Steven Glowiak gives the team a very consistent outside threat to keep teams from packing the lane against Watson, Tebucky Jones and the other slashers. Look for them to get better as the season goes on, hopefully.
Wethersfield has a couple dynamite pieces in Victor Anderson and Murphy. It's too bad P.J. Santavenere left for Middletown, but the Eagles are dangerous again. I continue to love the effort put forth by Peter Skevas on defense. The kid is fun to watch.
Newington's a bit of a mystery. Leupold is tough as nails, and has some pretty good skills at getting to the basket. Jon Riddick could be the most dominant rebounder in the CCC, but if you talk to the kid you realize that he doesn't quite know that about himself. He needs the self-confidence on the court to make it happen, and admittedly must work on his touch around the rim. This kid could dominate and completely frustrate opponents, but at the moment he's just a bit too "nice" on the court for lack of a better word.
Another pesky defender is Eric Figueroa. He needs to cut down on his offensive mistakes so that coach Wenzel can keep him in the game for defense. I haven't seen the Indians yet, but I'm hoping they can put things together.
Leupold tells me they'll be better than last year. I hope he's right.
Farmington may struggle, but they've always got Spencer Noon who can singlehandedly take a game over, with far less inate skill at basketball than he has on the soccer field. He's one of these players that must drive opponents nuts, saying how is this kid beating us. But he does.
Congratulations to Plainville on getting a win out of the way early. After an 0-fer year last season, the Devils can breathe easy the rest of the way. They seem much improved, with coach Marc Wesoly making a good first impression.
Berlin and Rocky Hill are other question marks. The Terriers lost a lot to graduation and it wouldn't surprise me if they were around the bottom of the league this season. The Redcoats are impressing new coach John Fote, familiar to Wethersfield fans. He says they are extremely coachable which is, of course, the ultimate compliment from a coach. That means expect more from the group the further they get into the season. But don't expect too much. It still seems like a middle of the pack kind of year for Berlin, although we've all been wrong before.

NBA preview

It's time to kick off another NBA season, and as a lifelong Lakers fan, I'm somewhat excited. I still have trouble taking the league seriously. I think the game is played at a much purer level in college, mostly because the players in the NBA are too good offensively to need to play team ball. The best offense, as I'm sure most of you can see, is often just to give it to your best player and let him do the work.
But the league seems to be getting back to basics a bit in recent years, and not like the one-on-one driven slugfest it was in the late 90s.
I'd say things look very good for my purple and gold. If everything goes well, in fact, I think they could match the Bulls' record of 72 wins. But obviously, that would take a LOT of things going perfectly for the whole season and is far in the future.
Here are my picks for the league, and my thoughts on each team.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
1. Boston- I could actually envision this team finishing as low as fourth or fifth if A) Ray Allen is just a bit too old, B) Garnett is just not quite as energetic from start to finish, and C) guys like Rondo and the rest of the bench don't keep getting better. But, on paper, this is still easily the best team in the East, and should win the regular season again.
2. Cleveland- LeBron is reaching another level, and the Olympics showed that. He's the most well-rounded player in the game and has a better supporting cast than before. This could be Cleveland's big year.
3. Miami- Watch out for Dwyane Wade. Nobody has been more critical of him than me, but his summer proved to me he's better than I thought. Add in Beasley and if Marion keeps his head on straight this is a very good team in the still subpar East.
4. Detroit- Age is catching up to this team. New coach. Billups and Hamilton are starting to get a bit older. And the inside defense just isn't what it used to be. Still dangerous come playoff time though.
5. Orlando- Dwight Howard is a beast. Enough said.
6. Philly- After the stunt that Elton Brand pulled I would love to see this team flop. But he and Andre Miller combined are a very dangerous team.
7. Atlanta- This team seems headed up. Last year's playoffs could be a springboard to even better things. But still can't predict higher than this for them.
8. Toronto- I don't buy the addition of Jermaine O'Neal making this team much better, no matter how good Chris Bosh is (and he is).
9. Chicago- The baby Bulls never really developed and I don't see Ben Gordon liking his diminished role at all. Give it a few years for Derrick Rose to completely take over, add a couple pieces and they are serious contenders.
10. Washington- I love Caron. I don't think much of anybody else on this roster.
11. New York- D'Antoni will change the atmosphere enough to bring 30 wins. I guess that's something.
12. Charlotte- More potential than people realize. But the pieces just don't seem to add up to anything greater.
13. Milwaukee- Can Michael Redd average 40 a night? He might need to. I didn't think so either.
14. New Jersey- Let the Josh Boone era begin. Sorry, Jersey.
15. Indiana- I'm not sure how many people can even name a player on this roster anymore.

WESTERN CONFERENCE
1. Los Angeles Lakers- What's the worry about Bynum coming back? These players all proved to be very unselfish last year. For all the talk about Houston's new trio being great, why isn't Kobe, Bynum, Gasol in the mix with the Rockets and Celtics? C'mon. This team could win 70 games if healthy, particularly if Lamar Odom likes his bench role (he's be the best sixth man in the league, maybe ever), Jordan Farmar improves and Trevor Ariza returns healthy to greatly bolster the defense.
2. New Orleans- This team is getting scary good. They're good enough to win a championship, and Chris Paul is one of the most genuinely likable players in the game, skills and attitude combined. I'm going to grow to hate this team, which is unfortunate, cause otherwise they could be lovable.
3. Houston- Before I get too excited, let me see Artest actually stay in check. And for that matter, let McGrady prove he's more than a prolific regular season scorer. I still question whether Yao is the type of player to take control with those two guys around, and this should be Yao's team.
4. Utah- Say what you want about Jerry Sloan's personality (and in my opinion he's one of the least likable men in sports), but he sure can coach. Deron Williams is a star too, so this team is in the mix for a title.
5. San Antonio- This is another year that we will have to worry until this team draws it's last breath, cause with Duncan you always have a chance. But I don't see Ginobili ever being completely healthy for long, and Parker isn't exactly unbreakable.
6. Portland- One year away from truly contending, it will be interesting to see how good this young team can be.
7. Dallas- On the decline. The J-Kidd trade was worth the risk, but will start proving to be a bad decision ultimately. Still a playoff team though.
8. Los Angeles Clippers- I'm not sure why. Maybe out of spite for what Brand did to them. Maybe because Baron Davis is much better than anybody realizes. And Camby is the type of guy who makes a difference between missing the playoffs and sneaking in. I think they will, and look, that would make an all Staples Center playoff round.
9. Phoenix- You read it here. Shaq and Nash cannot play together effectively. It's not a personality thing. By most accounts both are great teammates (most of the time). It's a style of play thing. This team will get more and more frustrated by bad losses as the season wears on and will miss the playoffs.
10. Denver- This is the personality problem. Iverson, Carmelo and K-Mart can't make this happen again. Not without Camby.
11. Golden State- I don't even know why. I lied. I have nothing to say about this team.
12. Memphis- Gay and Mayo may prove to be the most overrated combo of players in history. But they both have a lot of athleticism. That doesn't win games in the long run. Poise and true skill do.
13. Seattle, er... Oklahoma City- That joke is already getting old. I hope this team fails, miserably. But I feel bad for the players, who will take the heat for what management did to a good city. Durant makes me think this team can be OK.
14. Minnesota- They've still got the guy who was traded for Garnett, right? So they can finish out of last.
15. Sacramento- Quick. Name a Sacramento player. Yeah. I know. It's tough.

Playoffs
EASTERN FINALS
Cleveland over Boston
WESTERN FINALS
Lakers over Hornets
NBA FINALS
Lakers over Cleveland, by a landslide. I'm telling you. This is potentially one of the 10 best teams of all time, thanks to that goofy Gasol trade last year. How again did that happen? I'll just sit back and enjoy the ride.

In conclusion, the top teams in the East are closing the conference gap, but after the Celtics, I truly believe the next four best teams are all in the West, and I wouldn't say the Celtics are the best overall. San Antonio might even be better than the next best the East has to offer. But Miami, Cleveland and Philly are headed in the right direction, and if the Bulls do anything right they could be there soon.
But again, nothing and nobody are beating the Lakers except injuries.

conference bragging rights

There is always a lot of debate between sports writers and fans in this state over what conferences are better or worse than others. It seems that everybody thinks the teams he watches are either the best, or not nearly as bad as others think they are in comparison to the rest of the state. But very rarely does anybody do any actual fact-based work on the subject.
Now, let me preface this by saying the following system is not perfect. Secondly, let me say that I went into this little project entirely unsure what the results would be (suffice it to say they surprised me a bit). But I have ventured to do some actual comparison of strength of conference based on the small sample of games in the girls state tournaments.
Here is my formula. I calculated win percentages for every team, and conference, in the state during the tournament against teams not from the same conference. If two conference opponents played each other, it counted neither as a win, nor as a loss.
Secondly, I discounted games against the CSC (the tech school league), which is notoriously outmatched in these tournaments. The CSC went 1-12 as a conference, and is clearly the weakest conference in the state. The lone win was by Capital Prep, and I will say they should be very proud of that.
After that, ties were broken based on the combined number of byes and wins over tech schools for the conference. It is hard to hold it against a school for getting that matchup when they might have been able to beat a better team had they played them. Same goes for teams that earned byes. At least these teams advanced to a later round.
I did not count the four Class LL playdown games in the system, but noted which teams and conferences were victorious in them. So here are the results based on conference winning percentage.

League .......# of tms. ...record...win%...byes..wins over CSC
NCCC..................11........13-6.......684....2....1
Southwest.............9.........8-6.......571....2....0....2 playdown wins
CCC(all divisions)..14.......15-12.......556....2....1
ECC(all divisions)..13.......13-12.......520....2....2
SCC.....................14.........9-9.......500....0....0....2 playdown wins
Shoreline.............8.........4-6.......400....2....3
Northwest.............6.........4-6.......400....2....2
FCIAC.................12.........6-9.......400....0....0
Berkshire.............7.........4-7.......364....2....3
NVL.....................7.........3-6.......333....0....0
CSC.....................12........1-12.......077....1....N/A

So interestingly, the North Central Connecticut Conference, featuring Class M champ Avon and Class S runner-up Coventry, had the best winning percentage by a significant margin. This may be coincidental because of the large number of NCCC teams that played each other, but it is hard to say. The FCIAC also played itself a large number of times, but finished below .500. (Including those head to head games the NCCC was 17-10, a .630 percentage and still in first.)
Now this is not to say that NCCC teams would beat CCC, FCIAC or SCC teams head to head. Obviously school size effects a lot. It just says how conferences did when competing against other schools their own size.
This also doesn't account for different divisions within certain conference such as the CCC or ECC. (I'm not sure which conferences has different divisions or how individual conference schedules work.)
The four champs were all from different conferences (SCC, Southwest, NCCC, CCC). So there was no clear edge there.
Of course this settles nothing completely, and is just a representation of one two-week period. If the tournaments were played again starting Monday there would obviously be completely different results. But it is fun and interesting to look at.

all good things come to an end

Ironically, the championship runs of both the New Britain girls basketball team and the Southington gymnastics teams ended within hours of each other. I was witness to both events (please don't blame it on me, girls).
First, the Knights faced stiff competition at the New England Championship and fell short of a fourth-straight title, coming in third overall. Had the Knights performed their absolute best, they would barely have outscored the winners, Chelmsford, MA. Had they scored their average, which they were a little below, they would have finished exactly where they did. The bottom line was that both Chelmsford and second-place LaSalle Academy (RI) had better days. They might have been better teams, but all three were very close in talent. It came down, for the first time, to Southington needing to do its absolute best. The other teams did a better job of that.
Then the New Britain girls fell at CCSU to Career Magnet, in a game that featured unbelievable talent on both sides. There could prove to have been as many as seven Division I players in that game when all is said and done.
The Hurricanes looked like the more polished team for over three quarters of the game, but in the end their one fatal flaw shone through: a lack of depth. One foul out (starting guard Sarah Sideranko), a minor cramp for center Tyler Kimball and suddenly the 'Canes were on the losing side. Career dominated the offensive rebounding in the final minutes and earned the win. Take nothing away from New Britain, which played great. As my colleague Matt Straub pointed out, there were only 14 turnovers in the game combined. This was a very well played game all-around, and very fun to watch.
So, the Knights streak of state Class L titles is still alive at four. The Hurricanes, with most of their team back next year, should be among the final teams left again, if not the favorites to win it all. They just need to add a little depth.
Time to start a couple of new streaks.

it's about what's under the surface

All I can say is that even from watching one quarter of the Career Magnet-Bulkeley Class LL semifinal game, there was more talent on that court than in any game played at the high school level this year. Both teams were loaded at just about every position on the court: players with very good offensive moves and even role players who can make exceptional plays.
I will say I think Career which, by the score at least, rolled pretty well over the Bulldogs, has more pure talent than New Britain, who it will face on Saturday at 5 p.m. at CCSU. But before everybody starts handing the title to the New Haven squad, keep in mind that every time somebody, or many somebodys, has counted the Hurricanes out over the last two years, they have had just enough fortitude in clutch moments to win the game.
There is certainly more to Symone Roberts than meets the eye. Her size can make you look past how lethal her speed can be on the court. And what is so often overlooked in her scoring outbursts is the fact that her defense is the best part of her game.
Same goes for Sarah Sideranko, who is streaky from the outside and doesn't have off-the-dribble scoring potential against great defenders. But she has a knack for finding the open player, and her defense, particularly combined with Roberts, can take over a game.
Add in Tyler Kimball down low, and you could make the argument that the three best defensive players on the court Saturday will all be in maroon and gold.
Furthermore, there is more to Cassandra Bell, Monika Malec and Heather O'Bright than meets the eye for sure. Malec made a very athletic play, storming downcourt and catching a rocket pass in stride for a layup, that caught my attention against Westhill. I simply didn't know she had that in her. Bell is starting to show some range from outside, which the 'Canes desperately need. (I'll say if New Britain had even one elite shooter, they'd be unstoppable. Teams simply can't focus on anybody else on the perimeter with Roberts getting into the lane. This was the role Dominique Stellmacher controlled for two years, and Bell needs to play like her as best she can.) If Bell hits like she can, the team jumps to an even higher level.
I don't know what to think for this game. Career looks awesome. New Britain has done next to nothing but win for three years. I can't begin to predict what I think will happen in this game. That depends on which team shows up and plays its best at the right time.
All I'm saying is don't believe talent alone wins games. There's far more than meets the eye, and these 'Canes have "it".

hockey and boys b-ball tourneys starting

The girls' tournaments have been exciting, even if all but one of our area teams have been elimintated. Good luck to New Britain on Wednesday against Westhill, apparently the most overlooked team of the tournament going in. They put together back-to-back impressive wins against Southington and Holy Cross, and are a serious threat.
As for the hockey tournaments, I can't really speak much about them. I simply don't know much about the sport at this level, having seen only a handful of games this season. I will say good luck to the three area teams still harboring hopes of a state title, even though none appear to be favorites of any kind. I will be covering Southington at the Trinity rink on Monday night.
As for the boys tournaments, sadly it doesn't look like any local teams will be making extended runs. All drew road games in the first round, something I've never seen happen in my few years here, and they are tough matchups.
Like the girls tournaments, the staff has made its picks for the boys tournament, just for a little friendly competition between us. In case you were wondering, the girls brackets have come down to either Ken Lipshez or me as potential winners. It all hinges on one team at this point, but I won't say who. Again, I can't tell you everybody else's picks, but I can tell you my picks for these brackets.
Class S: Hyde Leadership over Cromwell
Class M: Hartford Public over Sheehan
Class L: Wilbur Cross over Maloney
Class LL: Windsor over Crosby
Both my Class L and Class LL predicted finals would be phenomenal games between very powerful teams. I hope they can happen so the fans can get a real treat. The other two classes seem really up for grabs in general.

It's almost Spring, which is exciting news for me. Just taking care of final business for this season. Included in that, look for our special section featuring the all-Herald teams for the winter season to come later in the month. Some of the teams are set, but you'll have to wait until then to see who made it. We'll also being doing our players (one male and one female) and coach of the season awards as well.

tournament turmoil

Well, so far it's been a wacky set of girls basketball tournaments. Most interesting trend of the first two rounds, all three number-one seeds that had byes to the second round lost their opening game.
Wethersfield suffered a heartbreaking loss in a game it controlled most of the way to a very physical East Lyme team. I won't say the reffing was bad, but some of the Eagles have bruises on their arms from non-calls. Still, Wethersfield was sloppy, and the team that deserved to win has a game Friday night.
On the same night, Shepaug Valley lost to Coventry. I have to admit I had this one predicted, but it has to be a shock to a team to get the top seed and be ousted so quickly.
And then yesterday, in another commonly predicted game, Berlin outlasted East Hampton in overtime. Suffice it to say, the Shoreline Conference just wasn't that good. Old Lyme and East Hampton, two of the better teams (with the Bellringers undefeated on the year) in the league lost their only playoff games. Expect Morgan to be next.
Just to prove a point and settle an argument with one of my colleagues, who foolishly and ignorantly tells me I can't call the Shoreline Conference weak, the conference placed eight teams in the state tournament this year in girls basketball. After two rounds, only two of them remain, Cromwell in Class S and Morgan in Class M.
If you discount the game in which Cromwell and Coginchaug faced off against each other, the conference is sporting a not-so-fabulous record of 4-5 in the tournament. Look further and three of the wins came against teams from the Constitution State Conference, otherwise known as the tech league. Simply put, the CSC is a joke, and its teams never hold up against teams from other conferences. They are simply playing at a far lower level. The fourth win for the Shoreline was Morgan's 71-51 victory over Northwestern Regional, a team that advanced to the second round with a win over, you guessed it, a tech school, and has a losing overall record. That gives the Shoreline Conference exactly 0, read it again, 0 impressive wins in this tournament so far, and six losses. The numbers don't lie.

Back to the trend of top seeds losing. This says a couple things. First off, the seeds don't matter come tournament time. Matchups do. Secondly, there is something to be said for NOT getting a bye in the first round. All three of those teams had byes. Had they played somebody, it would have been a 32nd or 33rd seed that barely qualified for the tournament. In other words, it would have been a team any of them easily could have defeated.
But the significance is that they could have gotten the playoff jitters out against a weak opponent, rather than jump right in against a solid team like East Lyme, Coventry, or Berlin, which had already played one playoff game. Most of these teams had at least a week off between their conference tournaments and first state game. That's a lot of time to get rusty, and it showed.

Who can say what the quarterfinals and beyond will hold? Don't look to me. You should see the 'X' marks on my brackets. But at least I'm still clinging to a lead in the office pool.

tourney time

Basketball tournament time is always exciting, and I've always particularly enjoyed the girls tournament. I can't explain completely why I enjoy the high school girls game more than the boys. I believe it's largely because the girls tend to play more team-oriented basketball. I can't say for sure, but I suspect it is because the girls players tend to have less of an ego than the boys. Even at this level, a lot of male players think they are better than they are, and the game for some teams is much more of a one-on-one endeavor.
But that's a tangent for another time. The point is that I am excited about the girls tournaments and have been following the results vigilantly. Sadly, the Herald lost one of its playoff teams tonight when Newington fell to NFA on the road. Nonetheless, I cannot underestimate how impressed I was with the job Al Ford and the Indians did this year. I had no expectations for them at the start of the year, and they certainly proved me, and many others, wrong.
For the record, I'll say that the sports staff has a tradition of doing a girls tournament pool (don't worry, no money on the line). It's been hotly contested the past two years, and invariably seems to come down to championship Saturday to decide it.
While I can't share everybody's picks, I'll say that my picks for the finals are as follows:
Class LL: New Britain over Bulkeley
Class L: Kolbe Cathedral over Wethersfield
Class M: Avon over Plainville
Class S: St. Paul over Bolton
That would be a very successful tournament for local teams, who I'll be rooting for heavily. I believe five locals will reach the semifinals of their tournament, with three in the finals. Maybe I'm a "homer". I hope it hasn't clouded my judgement.

The Class LL bracket as expected is stacked. Consider potential quarterfinals of Career Magnet vs. Trinity Catholic, Holy Cross vs. Southington, Mercy vs. Bulkeley. Even a second round Windsor vs. Holy Cross matchup is pretty epic, with the Warriors far better than their record shows. Seriously, anybody of about 10 teams could win this tournament, and others like East Catholic are sure to cause problems in the next round for some powers.
Class L isn't bad either. Wethersfield, Notre Dame-Fairfield, Northwest Catholic, Kolbe, Stonington. That's a pretty solid list.
On the other hand, I expect upsets by the seedings in the early rounds for M. I'm not convinced in the least of the strength of the top Shoreline Conference teams like East Hampton and Morgan, and I expect both to be gone early. But it is the one class where I'd say there is a clear favorite, and that's Avon.
As always, I know the least about Class S, other than that CSC teams (that's the former tech school conference that now includes SMSA, Capital Prep, Classical Magnet and others) cannot hang with others. Capital's win in the first round says a lot about them. They are a step above the rest in that league and can be competitive outside the conference.
But I expect St. Paul's experience against much larger schools to pay off. While the Falcons were the fifth best team in the Northwest this year, I picked them to run all the way through Class S. Another team that I think could make a good run is Bloomfield, which had injuries at times during the year and is healthy now, and more battle-tested than most in the bracket.

Well, I'll be at a lot of games this week and next. If I could go to two in a day, I'd do it.

a great debate

I've been thinking about something for quite some time now. Something I've seen coming on the horizon since before the winter high school sports season began. In my mind it has sparked a raging debate, to which I cannot seem to find a conclusive answer.
On one side we have the New Britain Golden Hurricanes girls basketball team: two-time defending Class LL champions. Several of the players are the same, but several pieces are completely different from two years ago. A three-peat is possible, particularly after seeing the 'Canes survive the CCC tournament against Southington, Windsor and Bulkeley.
On the other side we have the Southington Blue Knights gymnastics team: three-time defending Class L and New England champs. The Knights are the clear favorite to win 'L' again with the top qualifying average in the state, and a fourth New England title could follow it two weeks later. This group is entirely different from the team that won the first title, with only two significant holdouts from even last year's team.
The question at hand is which is more impressive, particularly if both win their respective titles again this year? The 'Canes have won in one of the major sports, something that a lot of people across the state and country play, and something in which the chance of there being more competition is vastly greater. But the Knights haven't just won the state, they've won six states, and they've done it in dominant fashion for three years, with many different athletes.
For New Britain, junior guards Symone Roberts and Sarah Sideranko have never lost a state tournament game. Even more ridiculous, for Southington, senior Kelsie Straub has never lost a high school competition, be it a regular season dual meet, a state tournament, or a New England tournament. How would any of these kids react the first time they had to deal with a loss? I wouldn't want to go through that.
At the same time I struggle with the thought of how unique it is to see a dynasty in different sports. What Southington coach Byron Knox has done is impressive, but through his position at the CATS training center in Cheshire, he has worked with many of these athletes since they were little girls. The hard part was convincing them to join the high school team, often seen as second-rate compared to club competition.
It doesn't take much to convince players at your school to play basketball, and when you have a player like Roberts you have a dynamic weapon to start from. But winning titles, and in one of the more competitive divisions in all of CT high school sports, is not easy. Plus two different New Britain coaches, Beryl Piper and Karen Byrne, have attempted to lead the team to titles. Byrne will largely be judged, fairly or unfairly, this season on what happens in the next two weeks.
I guess this debate won't be settled, at least until one of them loses. I'm not sure that will be this year.

follow up on Southington

After watching Southington play New Britain two more times, I'm convinced the Knights could win the LL title (particularly with what I see as a moderately friendly road in the tournament) if things go the right way. They can clearly play with the best teams in the state, and if they hit their shots they are not just good, but great.
Somebody asked me in a comment to my last post whether I thought Southington might be on the verge of another run of dominance as they have had in past eras, and to be quite honest I don't see it. Southington will always be a good team in LL, because of the size of the school, but it is not a town that breeds basketball players, or a private school that has a culture of great teams and therefore attracts players. Dynasties are created at a younger level with youth programs, and I'm not sure that exists in Southington.
Besides, Munson is graduating, and there are questions as to just how good the Knights will be next year, even with a lot of talent returning. But I'll be rooting like hell for them in the next two weeks.

noble Knights

I just came from Southington girls basketball senior night and it was really a special night. The game was very exciting, with senior Sam DeFeo hitting a second-chance buzzer beater as the clock expired for the win. Southington 42, Glastonbury 40.
First off, it was a big win for the Knights, hoping to secure a good playoff seed and having roadies against New Britain and Manchester remaining.
But I wanted to give a little extra mention to the four seniors, who have always struck me as very good people off the court in my time dealing with them. Coach Jim DiNello talked about the group, Allie Munson, DeFeo, Jen Crowley and Charlene DaSilva, and was obviously moved by their character and the win.
"This one is extremely special," he said of the graduating class. "These four seniors have given me and this program every ounce of energy that they have. Their spirit, dedication, and support of each other, and I’m talking about all four of them. From Jen Crowley being a role player, knowing what her job is to Charlene not even being able to play, but being there for practice and being in those huddles, and talking to the kids, and keeping them up, and making sure everybody stays even keel. And then of course the two best captains I’ve ever had in my life in Allie and Sam. If I’m ever fortunate enough to have captains like them again I will truly be blessed."
DaSilva has missed the entire season due to an injury suffered early in the soccer season. Crowley was given a chance to start the game tonight, along with the other two who are normal starters. Many of you may know that Munson is headed to Cornell to play Division I basketball, and has truly turned into a star player this season. And DeFeo is one of those players who gets by with grit and determination, and a streaky ability to shoot the ball.
It may not be the most talented class ever, but talking to people around the team, it is a special one.

sad times in the Hill

It is an unfortunate time to be a Rocky Hill fan (or alum). The Terriers, who have never been a powerhouse in the winter season, scattering successful years including a boys Class S basketball title in 2002, are struggling through their worst collective season in years.
One editor in our office, who takes phone calls from coaches, pointed out that she has not taken a call from a Terriers coach after a win in weeks, be it basketball, boys or girls, wrestling, swimming, or hockey.
That is an exaggeration. But, the basketball and hockey teams have a combined 9-15 record since the start of the new year. The last win was the skaters, coming on January 21, while both basketball teams swept RHAM on January 18.
Meanwhile, the wrestling and swim teams continue to struggle with low numbers, a long-standing problem for both.
There is still hope for the basketball and hockey teams to make the state tournament, and maybe get things going. There was high hope in Terrierland for the girls in particular starting the season, and while I'm sure the girls are working as hard as ever, the results have been disappointing.
Here's to hoping February treats the teams better than January, and that there will be time to turn the seasons around.

some late night Southington thoughts

It just occurred to me that the Southington girls' 55-42 win over East Lyme on Wednesday, which I attended, was the 100th in coach Jim DiNello's eight years with the team. The milestone was on my radar at the start of the season, but I lost track of it over the holidays. It was an impressive win, but I guess the milestone escaped coach DiNello's attention as well. There was no celebration after the game, as there sometimes is for such events. But here's to coach DiNello and the Knights, who might be playing the best I've seen them in the past four seasons.
A big part of that success is the maturation of senior center Allie Munson, who recently verbally committed to Cornell for next year. I have watched Munson on the volleyball and basketball courts for three years developing from a young player with potential but lacking in physical toughness, into the opposite. Now she is backing up that potential and the biggest difference appears to be confidence in the post on both ends of the court. Munson looks like a star now, and teams will learn to fear what she can do.
But off the court she is very amiable and intelligent (Cornell doesn't accept academic slouches), and everybody I talk to in Southington praises her for her generosity such as tutoring she does on the side. It's been a pleasure to see her growth, and you can check The Herald this week for a more complete story on her step to the next level.

brief injury update

I'm not sure what is legal to say, or what I am supposed to know, but word on Wethersfield point guard Heather Lyhne's injury is that it was, in fact, a dislocated knee but that there appeared to be complications other than that. My guess is that they are waiting for the damage to clear up a bit before they can properly do an MRI, but suffice it to say it is still very much up in the air whether she can return this season. But I would guess that the long-term prognosis is positive.
I'm not a doctor.

what a day

This Friday (I guess that's today) is so big that it should have a special name, similar to Super Tuesday. I don't have a good one for it, so I'll just tell you a bit about it.
Today pits what I believe are the four best girls basketball teams in the state against each other. Now neither of the matchups will be a state championship preview, as the teams are in different classes. But by my guess you'll see three of the four eventual class winners against each other.
First off, Bulkeley plays at New Britain. I feel like people are overlooking the Golden Hurricanes, considering they are the two-time Class LL defending champions, returned arguably the best backcourt in the state and have been pounding opponents thus far. I think people took their eyes off the team after an opening-game loss to Windsor. But keep two things in mind. They lost the same opener last year, and this time around they were missing two of their starters in that game (Cassandra Bell and Tyler Kimball).
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are unbeaten and seem to be reloaded as they were when they were perfect and L champs two years ago. They might be the best team in the state (but so might all these teams).
Check out Ken Lipshez's preview of the game in today's paper. He spoke to Manchester coach John Reiser, who has already lost to both teams remarkably by the same differential, 17 points. But be sure to get to the game if you can.
OR...
If that one doesn't interest you, how about this one. Career Magnet at Mercy. Right now Career is ranked number one in most state polls, and while I'm skeptical, I can't argue with the numbers. They pounded a good Guilford team 91-29 on the road, and did the same to Hamden 90-35 at home. Wow.
Meanwhile, Mercy may have the most dominant player in the state in Rachel Roberts and Bianca Simmons isn't bad either.
If you believe my opinion, which you can take with a grain of salt, I am skeptical of Career after watching them in the Class M playoffs against Plainville last year. They were very good. But they were not close to the level of the top LL teams. Now, it's possible that they have returned most of their lineup and improved dramatically, but I'll believe it when I see it. I am guessing Mercy wins this.
Bulkeley-New Britain is beyond my capacity to guess. I just wish I could be there. But, alas...

I will be in Wethersfield to get my first look of the season at the boys basketball team against Rockville. The Eagles are playing well at 4-1, and beat what I thought was a solid Newington team before destroying coach Mike Verderame's former team, Platt. So, I am understandably curious to see this team.
Ken will be at Chick Shea Gymnasium.

get well soon

I just wanted to offer my best wishes for Wethersfield point guard Heather Lyhne, who left tonight's game with an apparent knee injury. It looked pretty serious at the time, but hopefully Lyhne will be able to return at some point this year, and if not, by next fall for soccer season.
I hate to see any player leave with an injury, particularly in such obvious pain as Heather was in, and not under her own power. But credit the rest of the Eagles for regrouping after the injury, which came in a close game early in the third quarter, and defeating Berlin. It showed a lot of this team's character to be able to do so, and that is a big part of why they are undefeated so far.
Get better, Heather. We look forward to seeing your energy on the court again.

big game today

I just want to remind anybody who takes the time to read my blog on a weekend that they should definitely check out the Hartford-UConn women's basketball game this afternoon. I don't think the Hawks can beat the Huskies, but I think this will be far closer than most people imagine, and who knows. Upsets are always possible, particularly when a head coach (Jen Rizzotti) is so familiar with the opponent's system. Don't miss this.
As for Hartford, I can't understand why they aren't getting more votes in the polls. Hopefully their victory over Michigan St. will cause some change in that, but the voters, particularly the AP, seem to be reluctant to recognize them.
Also on the schedule, there's a really good matchup in Wethersfield tonight between the Eagles and the Berlin girls team. Wethersfield is unbeaten so far, and Berlin has one loss. Both appear to be quite strong. It will be Wethersfield's balance and athletic guards against Berlin's interior play. Should be interesting.

100th post

Coincidentally this is my 100th post. I just wanted to let you guys know I'll be back posting pretty often starting next week. I had been taking a few weeks to catch my bearings after a busy fall sports season, and start wrapping my mind around some things for winter season. I'm still very much getting to know our local high school teams.
I'm on vacation this week for the holidays, but still working a little on the side. So I'll share some more of my random thoughts with you guys. Sorry to not have a better structure to them.
I am working on a story about two Berlin High students who have signed letters of intent with Division I programs in non-glamor sports. These kids may not be quite as well known around the area, but I can say they are two of our most gifted athletes within their sports in the area.
If you know of any students who are deciding on where to play at the next level, let me know. It is an unwritten policy of the sports staff to try and limit feature stories to those signing with Division I programs, but we love to get mentions of those playing at Division II and III programs as well as other outlets. We love to know what players are doing after taking the next step in life and athletics (noted in Matt's blog about Central this weekend). So let me know. I'll be glad to mention it on here.
That also gives me a good chance to say something I've been meaning to for a while. I ran into the father of a former high school star (Rocky Hill's Chris Tyler) at a football game earlier this season, and he told me about how well his son was doing on the college gridiron. I love hearing stuff like this, and so does Ken. Please, let us know how the kids we used to watch on the field are doing at the next level. It would be my pleasure to share it with everyone.

OK, some more thoughts on games I saw this week. I know they weren't the most marquee of victories, but the Newington girls basketball team, during what is supposed to be a rebuilding season, is 3-2 right now, with a sweep of the Meriden public schools. I'm impressed. It's tough to replace so much of your scoring from a year before and get wins early the next season.
Second point. I saw the Farmington-Rocky Hill hockey game the other night. The Terriers co-op with RHAM seems to be going very well. Despite still not having huge numbers on the roster, they have more talented players than before and nearly upset the Indians. This is case in point for school's hoping to start a new program. Look for a co-op to start if you're worried about numbers. It's a good way to build.
Speaking of Farmington, as expected the front line is dynamic, with Josh Edelson, Jordan Haviland and Jack Kucia all scoring and assisting. The Indians are 3-1 with a blowout of Enfield (8 goals!!!) before Christmas. If you like hockey, or wish there were more scoring on the ice, check this team out.
Third point, back to Newington: I am calling the Newington boys basketball team my under-the-radar team to watch right now. They have five or six players who could be special this season. Guards Marc Tancredi and Shane Leupold are old-style players, passing into narrow lanes and finding shots for themselves and each other. Will Tyillian could be dominant. But the player that makes your eyes open wide is John Riddick.
Riddick can leap. And I mean leap. There should be nobody in the state who can outdo him athletically on the court. His shot is a work in progress. But man, is he exciting. And talking to him afterwards he seemed disappointed in his 14 rebound performance, perhaps because coach Scot Wenzel was a bit frustrated with some of his team's mistakes.
Hey, it's not necessarily a bad thing for a player to demand more from himself. I just hope Riddick knows that 14 rebounds is a good night regardless. If he uses that disappointment to make him focus on eliminating those mistakes, and perhaps working on his touch around the rim (a rarity for young players), look out.

Keep checking out the top 10 countdown in the paper. I love this time of year, and while I'm enjoying some time away from the office, I can't wait to get back to the gyms.

a few names to look for (if you can't get to the games themselves)

I haven't seen all our local teams yet in basketball, but I want to talk about some of the under-the-radar players I've noticed on the teams I have seen. Of course you will hear a lot about the star players over the coming months, but the players around them will be key to success.
I've seen more of the girls teams so far, probably because they started a week earlier. So, I'll start with them.
Berlin: I got to see the Redcoats against Rocky Hill earlier this week, and to be honest, the whole team is a bunch of very solid role players. They play well as a group, but I think it's clear the name you'll probably hear the most over the coming months (and years) is Katelyn Zarotney, with seniors Meagan Guy and Kristin Legenza likely to be next.
So, with that in mind, I want to talk about Alexys Vazquez and Kaitlin Bovee. Vazquez is a fighter, with a finesse player's touch. On defense she will go hard at all times, and will likely play somewhere between guard and forward. But her biggest asset it that three-point shot, and when I say she has range, I mean range. She looks to shoot anywhere within 25 feet, a serious rarity at the high school level, and she can hit it. Teams will get burned by her.
Plainville: Everybody knows about Des Pina by now, or should. But she would be the first to admit she can't win on her own. Already this season she has been double and triple teamed, and slapped in the face by an opposing player.
Pina needs help from shooters in particular, and along with Alyssa Martino, who emerged last year as a deep threat, Val Caron could be just what is called for. Caron is young still, but has improved dramatically since last year. She has a shot, can take the ball off the dribble when needed and should improve more as time goes on.
The others we need to mention are Sarah Dinda and Alex Petit, who despite their small stature compared to the other bigs in the NWC, manage to hold their own on the glass. They'll need to.
Rocky Hill: Three months from now this player may be among those stars based on what I've seen. Two years ago she was a no-mistakes, but no flash guard whose job it was to pass off to more aggressive scorers on the team. Now she may be that scorer.
I'm talking about senior Meghan Daley, who I knew could be a very good shooter. But I've never seen her so aggressive putting the ball on the floor, so vocal on the court, or so seemingly determined to lead her squad. I'm looking for big things from her now.
New Britain: It's tough to consider any of the Canes starters role players. All five have the capability of being a star. But I'm going to remind people of all the little things that Sarah Sideranko and Cassandra Bell do.
Sideranko is far from being a sidekick in the backcourt to Symone Roberts. In her own right, the junior is as competitive as athletes come, at any level, and a lockdown defender. She also attacks the glass amazingly well for her size, always makes the extra pass, and at times can be a threat from outside.
Bell is a coach's dream in that she plays far above her natural ability by being very athletic. She can run, jump and bang on the inside. She filled in admirably for the injured Tyler Kimball in guarding opponents' tallest players. And at the time she wasn't fully recovered from a minor injury of her own, or at full stamina.
Wethersfield: You're going to hear about Heather Lyhne, Abigail Corning and Kelly Gionfriddo. But what about center Erin Verre?
Verre can be a tough task for opponents to handle, with her size. She is also quite athletic, a fullback on the soccer team, and smart on the court. Verre could be the difference in many games this season.

Now, on to the guys.

Berlin: I showed up to watch the Redcoats-Terriers boys game on Monday, my day off. I'm just that dedicated.
What I saw is a familiar last name: Glowiak. I'm talking about Steven, younger brother to former New Britain High star Bryan and son of New Britain coach Stan.
Like his brother, Glowiak is a pure shooter, one of the more natural looking shooters I've seen in the past four years. The ball leaves his hand in a flash, and that's usually a good sign. He may be a bit too fast on the trigger right now, but I'd rather have that than a great shooter who doesn't want to take the chance.
I like John Guzze in the backcourt as well. He's another good shooter, and seems to be well-served by the varsity experience he's gotten the past couple years.
Rocky Hill: I may never have seen such a drastic one-year improvement as that I see in Peter Foxen. Like Daley for the girls' team, Foxen may not be a role player for long. He plays fundamental defense in the post with what I'm estimating to be about a 6-3 frame. He denies his man the ball well, even against a stud like Nick Greenbacker of East Catholic.
And offensively he's become one of the team's top threats, scoring 17 with Greenbacker guarding him. He has a sweet touch around the hoop and can step out and take 17-18 footers. If he can learn to go up strong to the glass as well, he'll be really tough to defend.
I also like Ryan Bengston. Bengston is a fighter. He gets everything he can out of his talent. And he's the kind of player whose intensity on the court is contagious.

I'll be at Newington Friday night, so hopefully I'll have something to add on them. But I like what I see from most of the others, so far.