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Trey Anderson had an exciting Thanksgiving break.
Rather than heading home to sunny San Diego for the holiday, Anderson traveled to South Carolina.
While there, he committed to playing Division I basketball for the South Carolina Gamecocks next year.
“It was a blessing. It’s something I’ve dreamed of and worked toward my whole life,” Anderson said.
It was just some of the good news the Woodstock Academy Gold Prep squad had last week.
The Centaurs also swept through the MacDuffie School Invitational over the weekend and captured a hard-fought win over the Redemption Christian Academy National team Nov. 29 to raise their record to 11-0.
The Blue squad also posted three wins last week to raise its record to 9-1.
Anderson’s decision to commit to a Division I school raised the number of commitments on the Gold squad to eight already.
Other recent commits included Romar Reid to Manhattan College and Ody Oguama to Wake Forest University.
Anderson, a 6-foot, 7-inch guard, said he didn’t plan to commit to the Gamecocks over the break, but after he saw what he was being offered, had no choice.
“It was an option, but it wasn’t a definite,” Anderson said. “It was the family atmosphere. The way they treated me made me feel like I was a part of the family. I was home.”
Anderson added the campus and the facilities were “at the top of the charts.”
“It’s ridiculous,” he said with a laugh.
They also told him what he wanted to hear.
“They told me they didn’t have a shooter. That’s what I visited for and I felt like it was the perfect fit for me, the perfect situation, I had to end it,” Anderson said.
Anderson said it will make it a lot easier for the remainder of the Centaurs’ season.
He can now focus on team goals including winning the National Prep championship.
Reid decided earlier in the month to commit to Manhattan.
He will join a former Centaurs prep player, Elijah Buchanan, on the Jaspers.
“I believe what Coach (Steve) Mas(iello) talked to me about as far as my role and my future. My family liked it, too, it felt like home. It was an easy decision,” Reid said.
It will be a trip back home for the 6-1 guard who hails from Mt. Vernon, N.Y., essentially in New York City, but he said the lure of the city life was really not a consideration.
“It was more about how I felt about the college, and how it would benefit me in the future because I’m going to be there for four years so that was my main focus,” Reid said.
It wasn’t Reid’s first time that he had been to the school, he had made several unofficial forays, but this time he sat with Masiello. It was that meeting that pushed him over the edge.
“I’m going to fit the offense, the system. They like to play up-and-down, so do I, it fits my game,” Reid said. “Now, I can relax.”
Oguama made his decision before Reid and, unlike his new teammate, a big reason was a chance to go home.
Oguama hails from Knightdale, N.C., about two hours east of Wake Forest.
“It was a major part of my decision,” Oguama said.
Coming to Connecticut this fall opened his eyes about the Northeast.
“I’m not used to the weather, and it will just be nice to be closer to home,” the 6-foot-9 forward said. “It’s a dream come true. Every basketball player growing up wants to play for a high-major program.”
Oguama said the Demon Deacons have counseled him about their need for an impact player on the defensive side who has the ability to clear the glass and defend the rim.
“Run the floor and finish when I need to,” Oguama said.
Other players who have already committed include Noah Fernandes (Wichita State); Mikal Gjerde (San Diego); Preston Santos (UMass); Tre Williams (Indiana State) and Darion Jordan-Thomas (Wagner College).
The Centaurs, battling a little rust from their Thanksgiving break, held off Redemption Christian in Northfield, Mass, 81-76 Nov. 29.
Matt Cross led the way with 20 points while Fernandes, Jeremy Robinson, and Santos all added 14 each.
The Centaurs traveled to Granby, Mass,. for the MacDuffie School Invitational over the weekend. The Gold squad had no trouble with George Harris Academy, easily getting past the team from Ontario, Canada, 102-35.
Gjerde paced the Centaurs with 17 points while Santos added 14 and Oguama 12. Tre Mitchell poured in a double-double Dec. 2, 12 points and 11 rebounds, to lead the Centaurs to a 72-44 win over New York International Academy.
Matt Cross tossed in 12 points, five rebounds and four assists while Preston Santos added 11 points and four caroms.
Centaurs Blue squad on a roll
The Blue team was just as impressive last week.
It posted four victories, including two in the MacDuffie Invitational over the weekend in Granby, Mass., and cleared the century mark in a win over Redemption Christian Academy.
The Centaurs won their ninth in 10 games with an 83-69 win over Commonwealth Academy out of Springfield, Mass. Dec. 2.
Ty Mosley led the way with 19 points while Siddiq Canty added 14.
The Centaurs also prevailed over Lincoln Prep Dec. 1 with a strong defensive effort, 61-39.
Mosley again led the Centaurs with 16 points while Jeff Planutis added 14.
Kaleb Thornton scored 22 and Planutis added 14 in a 102-64 win over the Redemption Christian Academy regional squad Nov. 29.
The Centaurs returned to action last Wednesday, coming off a 10-day Thanksgiving break.
“It was really challenging, because everybody got their mind off basketball during the break,” Stefanos Psarras said. “It’s easy to get distracted.”
But the Centaurs pulled it together after a sluggish start and rolled to an 87-50 win over the Mitchell College JV squad.
The Centaurs not only had to deal with the rust from the break, but a couple of changes in the lineup.
Mosley was on the bench as he had just returned to school earlier in the day after getting stuck in Chicago due to the weather in the Midwest.
The Blue also welcomed guard Taylor Schildroth who was making his debut in a Centaurs uniform.
The Centaurs opened a 20-7 lead over the Mariners early after a pair of baskets from Planutis. That would blossom to 41-17 by the break after Guillam Gonzalez hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The “Euro-group” - as Psarras, from Athens,Greece, dubbed the Blue unit that includes himself, Kruno Macner (Zagreb, Croatia), Gonzalez (Alicante, Spain) and Srdja Marinkovich (Serbia) along with the newcomer Schildroth (who hails from Maine) - took over in the second half. Psarras scored eight of his 11 points in the second half while Macner put down all of his team-best 12 points, including a trio of 3-pointers.
“I got some shots. I had the confidence and I hit the shots. After I hit a couple, I started getting energy and was playing defense, everything was going,” Macner said with a smile.
John Korte added nine points in the win.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy
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