All offseason, Coach St. Martin and the Boys Basketball team had a terrible taste in their mouths.
In the first round of the Division 2 State Tournament, the Rebels surrendered a 16 point lead in the fourth quarter to the Hingham Harbormen, who won in dramatic fashion 63-62. After having such a successful regular season, the Rebels’ inexperience finally came back to bite them in the playoffs. But this season, St. Martin expects just the opposite.
“Experience is certainly going to help us this year,” said St. Martin. “Last year, we told our players what it was gouing to be like (in the tournament), but you have to experience it. These guys now have the poise to win the close games and make a run in the tournament. They don’t want to have the same fate as last year.”
Despite the devastating loss to senior Captain Maurice Young, who tore his ACL playing Irish Football over the summer, the Rebels should return to the court with vengeance. This season, the boys are led by seniors Adam Quinlan, Ryan Fogarty, and Scott Arsenault; and many key players of the bench, including senior Ryan Gulley, junior Pat Donovan, and sophomore Kenny Uhlar.
In the 2012-2013 campaign, St. Martin had trouble defining the point guard of the team, with both Johnny Adams and Fogarty in the starting lineup. But now with Adams at Boston College, Fogarty will be in the spotlight of the backcourt and called upon to lead the Rebels in scoring and assists. Gulley and Donovan will most likely split time at the shooting guard position.
In early August, while most of you were enjoying your summers, senior guard Scott Arsenault was putting in the work on the court. At the inaugural “A Shot For Life Challenge” in Hanover, Arsenault was crowned the “Best Shooter in Massachusetts.”
With a large crowd of friends and family looking on, the Rebels guard knocked down 90.6 percent of his attempts to better runner-up Shiraz Mumtaz of Brookline High, who finished at an 81.8 percent clip. Arsenault, who led throughout, also received a trophy and will have his number retired at future ASLF events.
“I was just trying to hit as many as I could in a row,” he said. “I knew I was going to get tired because it was for two hours. So, I made sure to stay disciplined and not break my form.”
So with more outside shots comes more rebounds; and that is exactly where 6’6” Adam Quinlan comes into play. The Rebels’ senior captain, who was a Bay State League All-Star in 2013, will be the difference maker this season. With Young sidelined by injury, Quinlan will be called upon to dominate the boards and record double doubles all season long. If the Rebels want to have any success this season, Quinlan will have to repeat and better his All-Star campaign. Uhlar, Gallivan, and senior Will Bolster will fight it out in preseason for the starting power forward position.
This is definitely one of the most talented and determined groups that St. Martin has ever had. If the Rebels can mentally overcome the loss of Young —like the Boys Soccer team did—they could win a Herget Division title and even make a run in the state tournament. This could be the best team since 2004, and we all know what happened then.
