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The Woodstock Academy basketball team for 2018-2019.
The Woodstock Academy Centaurs boys’ basketball team is in a good place going into the 2018-19 season.
“We’re excited to turn the page and get started with a clean slate. We have an abundance of seniors which is new for us and we’re excited about that. We have the returning momentum and returning brainpower and want to put it to work,” said Centaurs coach Marty Hart.
The Centaurs open on the road in Colchester at Bacon Academy on Dec. 18. They don’t have a home game until after Christmas when they host Rockville on Dec. 29.
Hart took over the program after the first month of the season a year ago. He guided the Centaurs to an 8-12 regular season record (11-14 overall) after a 1-7 start and the team also experienced success in the offseason where it made it to the Eastern Connecticut Conference Division 2 championship.
The Centaurs lost to St. Bernard in that contest, but gained a valuable attribute- confidence.
A steady presence at the helm won’t hurt.
“We had coach Hart for more than half the season last year. We know what he wants and we’re willing to work for him,” said senior Chase Anderson.
Most of the players are still around, too.
Gone are forwards Will Loftus and Nathan John and guard Sam Plummer.
But that leaves the core intact.
“It’s difficult changing the transmission on a car driving down the road. We had to do some of that (last year), but now, we’ve got it in the garage, we’ve re-tooled and overhauled it and now we’re looking forward to getting it out on the road and running with it,” Hart said.
It’s also a group that has experienced some success already this school year.
This past fall, the majority of the varsity basketball team was on the soccer field and helped the Centaurs to their first ECC boys’ soccer tournament championship.
“We’re confident. I’m hoping we have the same result (as soccer), but I hope we get off to a better start in the basketball season and just keep rolling from there,” Anderson said.
The Centaurs lost their first two soccer contests.
“Winning forces an attitude, it’s a commitment to preparation,” Hart said. “Then, you have to see yourself successful in action and it’s exciting to see that (accomplished). We have a number of guys (six) who were part of the soccer championship and that winning attitude translates. We have a couple of guys going on to play college baseball and we will probably have some other college athletes out of this group in sports other than basketball. We’re excited about the winning attitude and seeing success raises the expectation, and galvanizes the togetherness. I’ve seen commitment from the whole group.”
Aidan Morin and Aaron Johnson were banged up a little in the soccer season.
The good news for Hart was that both of those players were cleared by the Woodstock Academy training staff at the start of the season and are playing without limitation.
“We’re trying to be careful in practice, get our basketball legs underneath us, learn new sets and come up with new strategies moving forward,” Hart said.
Hart has a pretty homogenous group to work with.
Outside of senior center Andrew Roy, who stands 6-foot, 8-inches, the Centaurs have a host of 6-2 players.
Anderson, Morin, Cole Hackett, Luke Mathewson, Jake Marsalisi and John Rogers all fit that height.
“We don’t have a solidified center, but we’re a pretty big team across the board, everybody is 6-1 or 6-2 except Aaron (5-10) who makes up for (his lack of size) with his athleticism,” Anderson said.
It’s the athleticism on the part of the entire team that Anderson feels will be its strongest asset.
“We’ve been bringing it to practice every day, 100 percent, and I hope that keeps going. I hope we can run most teams out of the gym. We’re a fairly quick team,” Anderson said.
Other backcourt players for the Centaurs include senior guards Ethan Adams, Eric Preston and Avery Beausoleil. Roy, Beausoleil and Rogers, all seniors, did not play for the team last year.
Anderson was the leading scorer for the Centaurs last season.
The senior averaged 16.6 points a game with 49 3-pointers.
The Centaurs should have a good outside-in combo with Anderson and Hackett who cleans up well off the boards. Hackett was the team’s second-leading scorer at 10 points per game last year with Johnson tossing in eight and Mathewson just under 7 ½ a game.
Hart is confident that the Centaurs should be able to score from just about anywhere on the floor.
“We always talk about shooting in rhythm and that the ball should go inside and pop out. We don’t want any one-on-one, dribble, dribble, shoot. We want the ball to swing from side-to-side and find the open guy and take that shot in rhythm,” Hart said. “We started to see that at the end of last year; balanced scoring, multiple guys in double figures. One game, we had five guys in double figures.”
Hart said he has seen maturity creep in, something that can only help the club.
“The leadership has been fantastic so far,” Hart said. “The summer preparation and participation, folks worked hard in the offseason.”
The expectations have been arrived at as a team, more so than under the direction of Hart.
Unlike last year, where the ECC had only three divisions and the tournament was split into two with half of Division II going down to the Division 2 tournament, the Centaurs will be in the Division 1 tournament.
The ECC has a four-division structure this season with the top two divisions going to the Division 1 tournament and bottom two comprising the Division 2 tournament field.
The Centaurs will again be in Division II in the ECC, along with Fitch, Waterford, Bacon Academy and Killingly.
In Hart’s mind, Waterford is the favorite to win the division even though the Lancers aren’t as strong as last year with the loss of guard Mikey Buscetto to graduation.
“Waterford ran the table last year and won the state championship,” Hart said.
There is a reason why Hart brought that up.
The last time the Lancers had won a state title prior to last season was in 2012. The Centaurs followed by winning a state championship in 2013.
Who said lightning can’t strike in the same place twice.
In the state, Woodstock Academy is in Division IV and there are only five divisions.
“We’re in a competitive position to be successful in the state tournament if we can make it through the season, make the right improvements, and have the right resiliency,” Hart said.
Boys' basketball 2018-19 schedule:
Tuesday, Dec. 18: at Bacon Academy 7 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 21: at Ledyard 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 29: vs. Rockville 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 2: vs. Griswold 7 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 5 vs. Killingly 6 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 10: at Fitch 7 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 12: at East Lyme 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 15: vs. Windham 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 16: vs. E.O. Smith 6:45 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 18: at Norwich Free Academy 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 22: at Waterford 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 29: vs. Bacon Academy 7 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 1: at E.O. Smith 6:45 p.m.
Saturday. Feb. 2: at Killingly Noon
Tuesday, Feb. 5: at Griswold p.m.
Saturday. Feb. 9 vs. Fitch 1 p.m.
Tuesday. Feb. 12: vs. Plainfield 7 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 15: at Ellington 7 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 18: vs. Waterford 7 p.m.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy
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