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Rutland Herald Winter Sports Guide 2018-2019
Boys Basketball Preview continued from page 5
core of outside shooters that includes
Tyler Rowe and Jack Adams.
Rowe began to blossom last year and
Hughes expects to see more of the same.
“I am high on him,” Hughes said. “He
really stepped up in football and I think
he’s going to have a really big year.”
“I really enjoy these kids and I think
they have something special,” Hughes
said.
The Otters open next Thursday at
Proctor’s Bob Abrahamson Tip-Off
Tournament and could not have drawn
a better opponent to test their game:
they will face Windsor, a team which
historically plays fast.
While they can all shoot the 3-ball,
they’re different: Valerio is a true point
guard, McKearin a hard-nosed player
who goes inside and Crossmon a cross
section of his two new mates. All three
can handle the point, as can Jacob May,
so the Phantoms will be ready to launch
the offense no matter who crosses the
halfcourt line with the ball.
Greb, a 6-foot-3 senior, established
himself inside last season and, with class-
mate Jacob Plucin also in the frontcourt,
could be on the verge of a big year.
“Nate has defi nitely made himself into
a pretty good basketball player,” said
Eaton. “He’s a big kid who plays hard.”
Proctor’s string of three straight
Division IV titles came to an end last year
but the Phantoms will be back in the mix
this season.
Proctor will open against Twin Valley
in the opening round of next Thursday’s
Bob Abrahamson Tip-Off Tournament.
Poultney
It’s point guard by committee this
season with Robbie Brill having grad-
uated and Levi Allen having been lost
for the season with a football injury. But
one thing that has not changed is that
Poultney will have a Division II-sized
frontcourt, which will make for some
tough matchups for its D-IV opponents.
The Blue Devils bring back four
players from a team that charged to the
D-IV semifi nals.
“I think we are way more balanced this
year,” said coach Bob Coloutti. “I fi gure
we are going to get contributions from
four or fi ve kids.”
Jon Baker returns to the program after
a year off and joins Eli Rosario as the
leading candidates to handle the ball.
They are among a group that includes
Levi Haviland, Heith Mason and Taylor
Dunlap, who stepped up their games
over the summer. Dunlap will be
another ballhandler for the Devils.
Brill and Allen were a big part of
Poultney’s scoring last year but now it
shifts more to the bigs. Their roles will
be more versatile so look for Mason
and Haviland to do more away from the
basket.
Tom Dunbar, transfer Jesse Coombs
and Lucas Van Nostram will help give
Poultney, which carried only eight on
the varsity last year, a deeper bench.
Coloutti says Poultney looked good in
scrimmage against a D-II Mill River team
Rutland
ROBERT LAYMAN / STAFF PHOTO
Mount St. Joseph Academy’s varsity boys basketball team practices at the Mar-
tin McDonough Gymnasium in Rutland.
that was smaller yet strong and athletic.
“Making it to Barre last year, every-
body’s eyes are on that,” Coloutti said.
“But we try to break the season into
sections. The object is to be better in
March than in November.”
Poultney opens on Wednesday at
Leland & Gray.
Proctor
With Derek Almond graduated, it’s
no secret that Proctor will count heavily
on rugged Nate Greb to be the pillar of
their inside scoring.
What’s to prevent the entire Marble
Valley League from collapsing on the
Phantoms senior?
That would be the Phantoms’ talented
guards.
Brennon Crossmon transfers in
from MSJ and joins two well-known
PHS athletes, Joe Valerio and Conner
McKearin, as 3-point shooters to stretch
out defenses.
“I’m very encouraged,” said coach
Jake Eaton. “(Crossmon) brings us a
bonafi de scorer and another ballhan-
dler. What I really like about him is he
just fi ts in really well. He has a high IQ
and gelled really quickly with Joe and
Conner, which is really a testament to
those three.”
Jamison Evans and Jacob Lorman are
the centerpieces as the Raiders seek to
defend their second straight state cham-
pionship, but titles and win streaks (40
straight at this point) are not the focus.
As always, it’s about coming to work
every day and getting better and who’s to
argue with Mike Wood’s “next-man-up”
formula for success?
Six-foot-5 Eric Coughlin and Ethan
Notte are other key returnees at
Rutland, which will open Saturday night
at 7 p.m. against visiting Essex in the
North-South Challenge.
“People know who Jamison is and
who Jacob is but those guys need to
understand that they’re going to draw
attention and they have the ability to
make other guys around them better.
They’re going to need to do that,” Wood
said. “The growth of the guys around
them is probably going to determine
how successful we are.”
While Rutland is fi nding ways to spread
out the points, Evans, the team’s leading
scorer last year, and Lorman, the sixth
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