Table of Contents
One year ago, the Winchester High boys basketball team entered the Division 1 state tournament as the ninth season with a 16-4 record, but as is the case of any postseason game, upsets and heartbreakers sometimes factor into the final result.
Unfortunately, both of those scenarios were rolled into one against Boston Latin (20-2, 24th seed) in the Round of 32 game, when as the visiting team, the Dual County League Wolfpack were able to escape with a 53-51 win.
Coach John Fleming returns a team with a veteran presence, which bodes well for another winning campaign as it looks to defend the league title. Leading the way will be senior captains Dawson English, a winger, and forward Carson Sarpong. They will be joined by more veteran reinforcements that include senior guard Harrison Burbine, the team’s sixth man last year, senior guard Adam Fiorentino, senior forward Declan Ross, junior guard Gibby Ketterer and sophomore guard Evan Wilson.
Junior forward Jonathan Cutler, junior guard Devon Ryan, junior winger Max Phillips, junior forward Sam Christmas and sophomore guards Michael McDonough and Will Fiorentino will augment the roster with fresh blood as the varsity team’s newcomers this year.
Fleming, who’s beginning his 14th season along the sidelines, welcomed 60 players to tryouts the Monday after Thanksgiving. They were competing for spots to fill the varsity, JV and freshman squads.
Fleming scheduled three scrimmages to get his team ready for the season, and for the most part he liked what he saw.
“We showed some flashes of really good potential,” said Fleming. “I thought we played pretty well against North Andover, and then after the first quarter against Central Catholic – potentially the No. 1 team in the state – we played them more or less even. We wrapped up the scrimmages against Westford Academy on Dec. 9, and were a little bit up and down against them.”
The veteran coach really likes the team’s size in terms of height this year.
“We have the most size in my 14 years here,” he said. “Carson, in particular, at 6-8 and Jonathan at 6-6 will provide some matchup challenges for opponents, while Declan and Dawson aren’t as tall, but are long, so we should be able to cover plenty of space defensively. Harry (Burbine) was essentially a starter last year, so combined with Dawson and Carson, there is some good game experience in that mix of players. However, we also have a bunch of players, including Jonathan (Cutler), who just moved here from Germany, that don't have varsity experience.”
The team’s preseason goal remains the same as always, and that’s to get better over the long haul, while looking to peak down the stretch in late February to get clicking for a long state tournament run in March.
“We want to repeat as Middlesex League champions in order to get that opportunity to host a home game or two in our new gym,” Fleming added.
Prior to last year, Fleming’s 2020-21 team was the first Winchester boys hoop squad to win a Middlesex League crown since 1974.
The veteran coach mentioned that Devon Ryan has really done some good things on defense in the early going during the scrimmages, while also making shots and creating space. Wilson too has been an offensive threat from long range. In the Westford Academy scrimmage, Christmas and McDonough came off the bench to give their teammates “great energy, while making some plays,” said Fleming.
The Winchester coach expects Lexington to be the favorite to compete with his team for the Liberty Division (large) title. Arlington, Reading, Belmont and Woburn are also in this division. The coach says that Burlington should be the pick to win the Freedom Division (small).
“Lexington returns most of its core group from last year, but we know we can compete with them, and Burlington is also essentially all back, while adding a transfer player, who can shoot,” added Fleming. “The Middlesex League should once again be very competitive. Arlington will be tough, and I think Belmont, Reading and Woburn are also going to be much improved from last season. Overall, the league will be tough, and we will need to compete at a high level every time we play a league team.”
The Red & Black will open up the season tonight, Dec. 12, in the home opener against Stoneham, starting at 6 p.m. They will be at Melrose (Dec. 16, 6 p.m.) and Woburn (Dec. 19, 7 p.m.) next week.
Joe McConnell is a longtime, award-winning sports editor for numerous North Shore publications. He began covering Winchester sports for the News last November.
