Rutland Herald Winter Sports Guide 2019-2020 7
HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL PREVIEW
Contenders crowd boys hoop landscape
Mill River Union High School vs. West Rutland High School varsity boys basketball scrimmage.
By Bob Fredette
Staff Writer
T
he North’s best friend in the
boys basketball playoffs is
sometimes the South. It was last
year, anyway.
In Rutland County alone four
southern contenders were knocked
out of the Division II and III tourna-
ments by their local rivals. That’s Otter
Valley (eliminated by Fair Haven), Fair
Haven (by MSJ) and Mill River (also
by MSJ) in D-II and West Rutland (by
Poultney) in D-IV.
It’s just really competitive around
here. It has been and will be once
again this winter.
Mill River, MSJ and Fair Haven will
be duking it out again for D-II regional
supremacy and D-IV has the county
trio of West Rutland, Proctor and
Poultney all looking strong once more.
Springfield will hope to find a way
to get into the D-II conversation with
new coach Mike Hatt at the helm and
Brian Rapanotti will field a strong D-III
team at Green Mountain.
Sadly, the final season at Black River
is set to launch and the Presidents
would love to go out with some glory.
Thumbnails of Rutland County
teams, plus Black River, Green Moun-
tain and Springfield, follow below:
BLACK RIVER
This winter marks the final sea-
son for Black River basketball and
probably the last for Black River boys
in general. But it’s not feelings of
melancholy for the nine players who
will suit up for the Presidents.
“They are like ‘Let’s finish this up
the right way,’” said coach Donny
Richard. “The attitude has been one
of excitement.”
After graduating eight players and
losing their best returning player, the
Presidents come back with some prom-
ising, albeit young, pieces and have the
biggest team Richard has coached.
Six-foot-4 center Bowen Stark and
forwards Ben Stanchfield and Josh
Cohen are the big men and some have
the ability to pop out and play farther
from the basket.
The point guard role is being
handed to freshman Dillon Ross, who
enjoyed a nice career at the lower
levels. So what if he’ll be taking more
polished skills to another school next
year?
Not Richard.
“We’re excited about him,” he said.
“He’s a gym rat.”
Black River will play a slower style
out of necessity but have some versatil-
ity in the halfcourt game. Beside their
big men, they should get leadership
from their most veteran players, Calvin
Kelley, who can play 2 or 3 guard, and
Josh Lambert, a potential threat inside
and out.
Robbie Hamel, Kaleb Tracy and
Dawson round out the roster.
Black River doesn’t figure to dent
the D-IV landscape in a profound
way but with nothing to lose they
could dent someone’s season and give
loyalists a memorable farewell.
They will open by hosting Long Trail
Dec. 18.
FAIR HAVEN
Remember when Fair Haven
possessions could be clocked with an
egg timer? Those days are becoming a
JON OLENDER PHOTO
distant memory.
The Slaters’ game has grown faster
over the years and even with 6-foot-5
Joey Gannon in the middle, coach Bob
Prenevost is going to take the leash
off a team filled with good guards and
versatile players.
“I really think we can go eight or
nine deep. We want to go up and
down a little more,” he said.
One good reason is senior guard
Kohlby Murray, a fireball who plays
all out all the time and possesses fine
passing skills. At the other end of
the age spectrum is freshman Sawyer
Ramey, who possesses a very high
hoops IQ. He may have a lion-heart
game wrapped up in a Bambi body but
it would not be a surprise to see him in
the starting lineup before Santa makes
his rounds.
He joins a team led by his senior
brother Aubrey Ramey, who is looking
to complete a triple crown of major
sports championships (baseball,
football and basketball). Ramey is
among the Slaters’ 3-point snipers but
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