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After three months of games and daily practices, the Winchester High boys basketball team was able to rack up 17 wins, while losing just five times, which included going 1-1 in the Division 1 state tournament. They ended up being eliminated by host Bridgewater-Raynham in the Sweet 16, 71-42 on March 3. It followed the Round of 32 win over rival Lexington, 65-59.
Going on the road as the 22nd seed, the Red & Black took the rubber match of the season series between the two clubs, when it counted the most.
A few days after the tournament game against the host Trojans, the Winchester boys got together one last time as a team for the annual awards banquet in the WHS cafeteria. And the winners were:
High honors for English
Senior captain Dawson English was the recipient of the Team MVP and Practice Player of the Year Awards.
“When you are the league MVP, it makes this award pretty straightforward,” said Coach John Fleming. “It was well-earned given Dawson's work ethic and resilience (after) coming back from his (ACL) injury. He ended up becoming one of the best two-way players in the (Middlesex) league. His teammates also voted him as the hardest worker throughout the season.”
Second to none on defense
Senior captain Carson Sarpong took home the Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Fleming said of Sarpong: “I think Carson was the No. 1 player that opposing coaches had to gameplan around when they were on offense. It wasn’t always about the blocked shots for him. It was often about how he disrupted the other team’s shots, or just made them not take certain shots (at all).”
Winchester’s top gun
At the other end of the court, senior Harrison Burbine was given the Offensive Player of the Year Award.
“Harry has some really good offensive skills as a shot maker and creator,” said Fleming. “He also forced teams to play on their heels in transition.”
Under the radar
Senior Adam Fiorentino received the Unsung Hero Award, because “he did a great job of playing his role really well throughout the season,” said Fleming. “He probably had his best game of the year at the best time to do so against Lexington in the (state) tournament. He defended really well, while hitting some timely shots.”
Winning over the coaches
Senior Declan Ross was honored with the Coaches Award.
“Declan led our second group, and also pushed the first group all season long,” said Fleming. “He continued to improve throughout the season, and finished it off (nicely) by knocking down another three and (going) strong to the rim on the road at BR (Bridgewater-Raynham).”
A player’s player
Junior Gibby Ketterer earned the Teammate of the Year Award, an honor coming from a group that knew him best.
“His teammates voted on this award, and Gibby was the clear winner,” said Fleming.
Longtime Red & Black loyal rooter recognized
Before the banquet ended, recently retired WHS teacher Mike Robbat was presented with the first-ever Fan of the Year Award that’s also named after him.
“Mike spent 25 years as a special educator at WHS. He also attended countless games, concerts, award ceremonies and many more school events over the years, including making almost every one of our basketball games,” said Fleming. “It’s so great to have community members (like Mike) frequently come out (and) support the high school (sports) teams.”
Joe McConnell is a longtime, award-winning sports editor for numerous North Shore publications. He began covering Winchester sports for the News in November 2024 and is currently its Sports Editor. He can be reached at editor@winchesternews.org.
