- Details
- Category: Past Issues
By Doc Cody
Andrew Vitale, the Marianapolis Prep School second year basketball coach, has been tutored throughout his basketball life by his dad, Dave. Fortunately and unfortunately for Andrew that’s both a good thing and a bad thing.
Having had his basketball knowledge imparted to him since a young age and then being able to sit on the Marianapolis bench as an assistant coach to his father for five seasons is a good thing. The success enjoyed by Dave Vitale as a coach has been imbued in coach Andrew Vitale. The bad thing is that coach Dave with his success has left some big shoes for coach Andrew to fill.
Following his initial season in which the Golden Knights finished a very respectable 20-11 it appears that Andrew has certainly taken some steps in those shoes in the right direction.
As the Golden Knights embark on a rugged 30 game schedule coach Vitale will be relying heavily on a pair of returning players to help the team achieve its goal of qualifying for the NEPSAC Class AA Tournament on Feb. 29, and March 2 and 3.
The team’s go to guy is 6-foot, 5-inch senior guard co-captain Kristian Medina who last season averaged 14 points per game.
“Kristian has been a solid player for two seasons. This year as a senior were looking for him to lead by example. It’s his opportunity to show what he can do on the court,” said Vitale.
The other returnee is 6-6 sophomore forward Bobby Ahearn who averaged six-points a contest last season. “Bobby is still developing as a player but we feel he’s ready to surprise everyone with his play this season,” said Vitale.
Filling out the spots around Medina and Ahearn are four new faces on campus that Vitale is hoping will blend in quickly in helping the team to a winning formula. Nigel Syndor, a 6-2 post graduate, will be called on to handle and distribute the round ball. The Division I prospect is ticketed by Vitale as the team’s floor general. Another PG, Kachi Nzerem from Boston will handle the shooting guard slot. The 6-5 Nzerem “can shoot it well from most any spot on the floor.”
The other new faces are juniors Greg Senat and Alex Dubovitskiy. Senat, who hails from Elmont, Long Island, N.Y., and stands 6-7, will man the pivot for Vitale. He’s a strong inside performer who is capable of also stepping out and shooting the rock when needed. Dubovitskiy is a 6-3 pure shooter who arrived in Thompson from his homeland of Russia.
Rounding out the squad are seniors Rafal Lachick, Eric Teixiera and Kyle Higginbotham and junior Dave Ford.
“Although this is only my second season as head coach, in all my years of coaching I can honestly say this is a fun group and probably one of the closest knit that I’ve ever dealt with. They’re long and athletic and fundamentally sound. The biggest obstacle is getting them to work together as quickly as possible,” said Vitale.
After an opening victory over Christian Heritage, the Golden Knights hosted the four-day Hoop Mountain Tournament where they drew Proctor Academy and perennially powerful Bridgton Academy. Along the way the team will also compete in the St. Andrew’s Tournament, the competitive BABC Martin Luther King Tournament and the National Prep Tournament at the University of Rhode Island.
The schedule is loaded with some of New England’s best basketball preps including the likes of Cushing Academy, Brimmer & May, Winchendon School, Vermont Academy, Worcester Academy and St. Mark’s. They also will face local rivals Hyde-Woodstock, Pomfret School and Putnam Science Academy.
“There are 15 teams in our league. The goal is to make the tournament. At that point anything can happen,” said Vitale.
Vitale is assisted by Fitchburg State grad Trevor Smith and Shawn Martel.
If the Golden Knights can get better every day, the steed that Vitale is riding can hopefully cross the finishing line in first place at the conclusion of the season.