NA FALLBALL 2017 WEEK #1 RECAP

ACCORDING TO FENNIS DEMBO

The 13th year of North Andover Fall Ball kicked off this past Monday and Tuesday nights with a

total of 10 games in the Barn and at the McDome on the beautiful grounds of Brooks School.

Weather was stunning and the barn doors were open with baseline seating. Coaches’ row was

steady both nights. It was great seeing a lot of old faces and many new faces. We also

welcomed Bishop Guertin to the Fall Ball experience. The scorers’ table was on point and even

the zebras were sharp. We actually had many very good games as scheduler Beans Palladino

did a nice job with week #1 matchups. We always have a slogan Don’t get too high, don’t get

too low its fall ball and that is always worth saying after week one because it is clear 60% of the

players looked very rusty and may not have picked up a ball in a few weeks. Live tweets from

the games saw major likes and retweets throughout the ten games. Let’s now breakdown week

1

NORTH ANDOVER 44 LONDONDERRY 37: This was an absolute ugly one as these teams will

definitely be better this winter than they showed this week. Londonderry actually got very good

looks but only shot 25% from two and 24% from three. North Andover who will play this fall

without 3 projected starters had 22 Turnovers. Difference in this one North Andover made

more plays than Londonderry late in the game. Freshman Kellen Murphy led NA with 9 points

and Big Boy Garret Murphy ruled the boards for the Knights

WACHUSETT 54 ANDOVER 49 (2 OT): This was an entertaining game as Andover showed some

real moxie leading at one point by 16 points but the inexperienced Golden Warriors let

Wachusett back in the game midway through the second half and the Mountaineers got it to

overtime. An even first OT led to a second OT where Wachusett took over. Sam Dion 21 points

was terrific for Wachusett and Joey Nuttal did many things well for the Mountaineers

ST. PETER-MARIAN 72 NEW MISSION 70. This game was fun to watch and the pace was

relentless. Both teams gave everything they had and the lead went back and forth all night.

Both teams made plays but the difference was theTitans were careless down the stretch. We

will talk about Shemar Dennis later but he was a man in this one. A lot of personnel to like on

both squads

CHELMSFORD 67 HAVERHILL 65: This was another good one as both teams look to be fairly

even. The Lions led throughout and at one point had a ten point lead but the Hillies would not

go away and this went down to the wire. Chelmsford had three main weapons doing a lot of

work. Haverhill Tom Vaillancourt was big with 31 points and double digit rebounds

PEABODY 65 TRITON 51: This was a barn burner in the first half but the Tanners broke it open

in the second half to secure the 14 point win. Will Parsons continues to be Triton’s one man

machine scoring 27 points but Chris Canella and Jake Irvine were too much for the Vikings to

handle

SJP 51 METHUEN 40: The Eagles broke away from the scrappy Rangers in the second half as

Tommy O’Neil and Matt Relihan were too big and too productive for the Rangers. The Rangers

are better than they showed but the ball sticking and poor shot selection hurt them in this one.

Scary thing is Prep was without scholarship player Nate Hobbs

WESTFORD 39 BISHOP GUERTIN: Another matchup of two even teams as this was a see saw

affair throughout. The Grey Ghosts did enough to spoil the Cardinals debut in the fall league.

Nice to see former area stars Marc Cornelius and James Roman coaching against each in this

one.

PELHAM 77 BURLINGTON 47: Burlington like North Andover is missing big parts this fall due to

football but they laid an egg in this one as Pelham pummeled them gate to wire. Pythons got

big nights from Andrews, Woekel and Brown and the NH D2 squad looks like they could be

formidable this winter

LOWELL 76 CENTRAL CATHOLIC 65: Leading by six at the half, Lowell used a big second half run

to pull away from Central Catholic and cruise to a week one victory. Player of the game Nate

Siow (25 points) and guard Carlos Nunez took control of the scoring run as the Red Raider lead

grew to 21 points. Colin Bradanese led CC with 22 points. Like SJP, Lowell was missing UMASS

LOWELL recruit Alex Rivera

TEWKSBURY 46 SALEM 36: Senior guard Gio Ciampa led Tewksbury on both ends of the floor

leading the Redmen to a fall ball debut win. Tewksbury defense forced many Salem turnovers

throughout the night

WEEK 1 RESULTS

North Andover 44 (Kellen Murphy 9) Londonderry 37 (Dakota Bertrand 9)

Wachusett 54 (Sam Dion 21) Andover 49 (Emmet Kim 14) 2 OT

St. Peter -Marian 72 (Shemar Dennis 27) New Mission 70 (Dom Jones 21)

Chelmsford 67 (Chris McCarthy 21) Haverhill 65 (Tom Vaillancourt 31)

Peabody 65 (Chris Canella 19) Triton 51 (Will Parsons 28)

St. Johns Prep 51 (Tommy O’Neil 18) Methuen 40 (Jhmal Fricas 10)

Westford 39 (Declan Morse 9) Bishop Guertin 38 (Yannis Nyantenji 11)

Pelham 77 (Drew Brown 32) Burlington 47 (Mariano Rodrigues 13)

Lowell 76 (Nate Siow 25) Central Catholic 65 (Colin Bradanese 22)

Tewksbury 46 (Gio Ciampa 20) Salem 36 (#9 13)

NEXT WEEKS SCHEDULE: PLEASE REFER TO WEBSITE WWW.FALLBALLNA.COM

TEAM OF THE WEEK: Nominees are St. Peter-Marian, Lowell, Pelham and Wachusett. In our

inaugural week we are going to go with the Guardians of St. Peter-Marian who played with

pace, played unselfishly, moved the ball, played team ball, were happy for each other and

brought a nice swag to the game. Congrats ST PETER-MARIAN

GAME OF THE WEEK: Nominees were Lowell v CC, New Mission v SPM, Chelmsford v Haverhill

and SJP v Methuen. With all due respect there was only ONE Game of the Week and it was

SPM 72-70 over New Mission. Both teams could win this league. Loved the atmosphere, strong

coaching, high level talent and it had the feel of a championship game. Congrats GUARDIANS &

TITANS

DO YOUR JOB WINNER WEEK #1: Nominees are: TOMMY O’NEIL (SJP), JOEY NUTTAL

(WACHUSETT), BOBBY LETOURNEAU (SPM) TOMMY VAILLANCOURT (HAVERHILL) YANNIS

NYANTENJI (BG), DYLAN ANDREWS (PELHAM). All worthy candidates for week #1 but this

week we are going with Wachusett Junior JOEY NUTTAL. Kid is going to have a strong fall. His

line this week 15 points, 5 assists, 8 rebounds, 4 steals. Congrats Joey

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: There were some strong performances this week but to make the top

three you have to produce in many areas, it has to be done against strong comp, your team has

to get the win and it helps if you are humble. The nominees this week Nate Siow of Lowell,

Tommy O’Neil of SJP and Shemar Dennis of SPM. All three could win this but in week one there

can only be one winner. No co-winners in week #1. This weeks’ winner scored 27 points 7

rebounds 4 assists 2 blocks, defended hard and rim protected. Congrats to SPM’s SHEMAR

DENNIS

UNDERCLASSMEN OF THE WEEK: I was impressed with a few frosh and sophomores this week

but there was one guy that was a man child for this award and the scary thing he is only an 8TH

GRADER, I REPEAT ONLY AN 8TH GRADER. SPM ALEX KARABAN 16 POINTS, 2 ASSISTS, 10

REBOUNDS, SHOT 85% FROM 2 AND 33% FROM 3. It’s going to be fun watching this young

man

STANDINGS: PLEASE GET USED TO SEEING THE UPDATED STANDINGS ON THE WEBSITE

WWW.FALLBALLNA.COM. These will be updated Wednesday of every week along with game

results.

ZEBRAS: We had a lot of cagey vets this week: JULIAN SCOTT, TRACY “TCU” MITCHELL, CHRIS

BENNET, STORMY NAPOLITANO, PAUL SLATTERY, SARGE SLATTERY, TEDDY SLATTERY, BRIAN

SCHAUFENBILL, KEVIN “Boots” BOUTILIER

COLLEGES IN THE BARN. We really see the numbers in week 2 but a good number on coaches’

row week 1: ANNA MARIA, WPI, NEW ENGLAND COLLEGE, SOUTHERN MAINE CC, PLYMOUTH,

ST.JOSEPHS, EMMANUEL, NEWBURY, SUFFOLK UNIVERISTY, UMASS DARTMOUTH

SUFFOLK HEAD COACH JEFF JURON was here week #1

NUTS AND BOLTS:

College coaches please sign in at front desk and see Rick for your FREE Comprehensive

College Coaches package.

Seating on coaches’ row is only for college and high school coaches. Security will remove

any trespassers

Parking is in YC parking lot and street parking on Johnson Street and Milk Street

Cows Rock Ice Cream parlor is located next to YC for ice cream and sandwiches

For those looking to eat in our fine town the front desk staff can point you in the right

direction

There is no access to the YC till 5:00 and Brooks School till 7:45

Teams pick up bench area after games

PLAYERS MUST WEAR GAME REVERSIBLE. NO SHIRT NO PLAY

Please refer to website for our RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

Live tweets will be done. Please follow @fennisdembo87

Games need to start on time so those coming a distance please plan accordingly

WEEK #1 TOP 5 PET PEEVES: Every week we highlight our pet peeves. Yes we are perfectionists

so we expect the game to be played the right way. Effort mistakes are tolerable but many of

these throughout the fall will give true basketball junkies angina

5. HUNTING SHOTS AND THINKING “ME” IS MORE IMPORTANT THEN “WE”: Unfortunately a

number of guys taking bad shots, hunting shots, not sharing the ball and thinking it was about

them. Fact is a number of those guys were on teams that took the L this week. Do the math!!!!

4. DEFENDERS REFUSING TO BEAT THE MAN TO THE SPOT: Many guys defending beside a man

going to the hoop looking to try to make a block instead of getting in front of the man and

defending. Interesting fact is not one of the offenders could have made the block

3. RUST, RUST AND MORE RUST: You could tell a number of guys have not picked up a ball

since early August. Rust was evident and guys out of shape. Remember winter is Coming!

2. PLAYERS PLAYING TOO FAST: A number of guys playing faster than they are capable of

resulting in turnovers

1. MORE TURNOVERS THAN A BAKERY: Maybe it’s week #1, maybe it was the great weather,

may be it was coaches on coaches’ row but a disgusting amount of turnovers this week. 4

teams with over 20 turnovers

FACES IN THE CROWD IN WEEK #1:

Paul Tanglis, Paul Tanglis Sr. Former St. Joes star Matt Medeiros, former Anna Maria star

Mike Gorman, Former UML star Marc Cornelius, Former Roger Williams star Josh Syska. Faz

and Alan Hibino behind the glass, Kevin Murphy Builders, former NA shooter Dan Murphy,

Amy Kenneally, Johnny Bag of Donuts, Nate Stanton, Daycare guru Mike Larosa, The

Garofolo’s, Tom Gibbons, Chris Dion, Cory McCarthy, Marcus Watson, Charlie Micol and

assistant coach, Darren Stratton, The Parsons, Coach Doring, Thad Broughton, Anthony

Faradie, former BC star Tyrone Scott, Roger Hardy, Nicky Napps, John Dullea, NA nurse Lauren

McDonald, The Batchelder’s, Mr. O’Neil and Mr. Relihan from Prep, John Warden, Chris

Bramanti, Matt Regan, Mike Larson, The Browns, Mike Crowley, Phil Conners, Mark

Melansen, Greg Herenda look alike, Carl Nystrom, Storm Director Josh Peters, Jim Zenevitch,

Rob Mclaughlin, former UConn star Soulymane Wane, Atty Scott Hajjar, Maggie Mottollo,

former fall baller Juan Zorilla, former fallballer Drex Costello, Compass Cleaning Inc. Jamal

Rene, Kazi Rocker, The Brittings, Mr. Hommonay,

Couple of BIG EAST PLAYERS were faces

FASHION OF THE WEEK: For those new to fall ball you need to understand fashion runs hand

and hand with hoops and hip hop. We are always scanning the sidelines for who should get the

free slice from Stacheys Pizza for winning Fashion of the Week. Londonderry Mike Larosa with

the endless summer beach ware including his grandfather’s sandals was interesting, Chelmsford

coach Matt Daniels with the 1970’s sweat suit look out of the latest Selena Gomez video,

Johnny bag of donuts McElroy with the 50 plus executive look equipped with stretchy pants,

were all good but we are going with the trimmed down Cory McCarthy. Cory sporting some

new shoes straight from last weeks’ Fashion week spectacle in New York City, a pair of Jordache

designer jeans and an Italian dress shirt that would even impress Russel Westbrook. The coach

of New Mission wins the slice from Stacheys

This weeks’ winner- Corey McCarthy

POWER RANKINGS WEEK #1. YOU HAVE TO BRING IT EACH WEEK, NO EXCUSES. YOU WILL SEE

THE LIST CHANGE WEEKLY. STARTING IN WEEK 2 YOU WILL SEE THE CURRENT WEEK AND LAST

WEEK RANKINGS

WEEK #1

1. ST. PETER – MARIAN GUARDIANS 1-0

2. LOWELL RED RAIDERS 1-0

3. ST. JOHNS PREP 1-0

4. NEW MISSION TITANS 0-1

5. WACHUSETT REGIONAL 1-0

WHO BROUGHT IT IN WEEK #1 – You Have to bring it every week to be on this list. It’s not

what you did last week or what you might do next week it’s what you did this week. If your

name is not on it you have to ask yourself did you bring it?

NA Freshman Kellen Murphy is making the best of the opportunity this fall. In his first game

scored 9 points and had 4 rebounds. Junior Big man Garrett Murphy was a difference. Only

scored 4 points but had double digit rebounds, altered shots and took up space. Chim Ogwuru

is going to have a strong senior season for the Knights. He had 5 points 2 assists and 5 rebounds

in first half before spraining his ankle. For Londonderry Sophomore Jack Anderson is intriguing

and looks like he will have a prominent role for the Lancers this winter. Dakota Bertrand is the

Lancers one big guy and he was a factor in week one with 9 points. Point guard Cole Britting

will need to be more offensive minded this year had 8 points 3 assists and 4 rebounds

Andover Emmet Kim is going to be a leader on the floor this winter for the Golden Warriors.

This week he scored 14 points and had 12 rebounds. I liked Stephen Shaw this week with 12

points (3 for 6 from deep). Kyle Rocker is bigger and more confident this fall and the

sophomore had 10 points 6 assists and 8 rebounds. Colin Kirkpatrick was the fourth Warrior in

double figures as he had 11 points. For Wachusett Sam Dion was impressive with 21 points and

9 rebounds. Joey Nuttall had 15 points 5 assists 8 rebounds, and Hunter Johnson had 5 points

and 7 rebounds.

New Mission has a new secret weapon in Sequan Dare. The kid can play and had 18 points 3

assists and 8 rebounds. Dom Jones was big with 21 points and 9 rebounds. Abukar Mohammed

hit 4 threes and old friend Trahe Qualls had 12 points and 6 rebounds. Must be noted the

Titans were missing impressive twins Isaiah and Elijah Peeples that we should see next week.

SPM our team of the week was excellent. Shemar Dennis was already mentioned as our player

of the week. Alex Karaban was our underclassmen of the week but remember the guy that

makes the engine run is point guard Bobby Letourneau who had 14 points 4 assists and 6

rebounds. Shamar Simms was also impressive on the boards with 10 rebounds 6 points and 3

assists. Watch out for the Guardians

Chelmsford transfer from Milwaukee Eric Malone is raw but is going to be a major factor this

winter. In his debut 15 points 2 assists, 9 rebounds but his biggest strength was helping break

the Hillie pressure. My guy Chris McCarthy gets better every day 21 points and a relentless

work ethic. After struggling last fall shooting Alex Silva showed he is a legit player scoring 19

points dishing out 3 dimes and grabbing 9 rebounds. Young point guard Suubi Nkugwa is

getting better. This week 4 points 5 assists and 6 rebounds. Haverhill’s one man wrecking crew

was Tom Vaillancourt who getting more minutes this fall is flat out producing, 31 points 14

rebounds. Gabe Polonia was also very good with 18 points 3 assists and 5 rebounds

Triton will once again be led by senior Will Parsons who in week 1 had 28 points and 7

rebounds. Max Mckenzie did his share to help the cause with 11 points and 5 rebounds. Mason

Ferrick chipped in 8 points. For Peabody Chis Canella was our player of the game with 19 points

and 5 rebounds. Jake Irvine was strong with 16 points. Jake Gustin had 6 points 7 assists and 4

rebounds. Alex Jean had 9 boards for the Tanners

Methuen is better than they looked in week one. The Rangers need to move the rock and take

better shots. In the loss transfer Jhmayl Fricas had 10 points and 4 rebounds off the bench.

Sophomore Uriel Cirino had 7 points and 13 rebounds. Evan Hardy intrigued the college

coaches with 9 points 2 assists and 8 rebounds. The Prep was led by Tommy O’Neil with 18

points and 14 rebound, Matt Relihan with 11 points and 6 rebounds and point guard Jarnel

Snow-Guzman with 9 points 5 assists and 6 rebounds. Couple of lunch pail guys off the bench

were productive also Sean McDonald and Christian Plourde

Westford was led by Ashwin Vasan who hit 3 three pointers and Declan Morse who grinded

out 9 points and 5 rebounds. Big man Robbie Hudson showed signs in the game he can be a

factor. Tonight he had 6 points and 9 rebounds. Bishop Guertin got a nice game from Yannis

Nyantenji with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman Andrew Lussier had a nice debut, this kid

can play. Sam Mullet added 10 points

Pelham got a strong offensive performance from Drew Brown with 32 points. The heart and

soul of the Pythons is Dylan Andrews and tonight had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Blake

Woekel had a very solid night with 12 points 6 assists and 2 rebounds. I was also impressed

with Derek Crowley who gets after it with 10 points and 5 rebounds. There was not a lot to

cheer about for Burlington in week #1 but Marvin Jean Baptiste did have 9 points 2 assists 6

rebounds and 3 steals

Central Catholic got its scoring from senior Colin Bradanese who led the team with 22 points.

Kevin Constant is very intriguing but he needs to be more consistent. Tonight he had 10 points,

Marinez chipped in with 14 points. Lowell was led by Nate Siow with 25 points and Carlos

Nunez with 25 points as both these guys had their way with CC defense. Marvin Kimani also

chipped in with 6 points

Tewksbury was led offensively and defensively by Gio Ciampa (20) points. The freshman Kalu

Olu was effective with 8 points. Connor Brinklow had 6 points and did a nice job on the boards.

Tony Mannetta also had 8 points. Salem was led by #9 with 13 points #2 with 12 points and

Orlando Romero with 5 points

(Please note games at Brooks will only have stats for individual points)

Garrett Murphy (NA) , Sam Dion (Wach) Shemar Dennis (SPM), Tom Vaillancourt (Hav)

Tommy O’Neil (SJP), Drew Brown (Pelham) Eric Malone/Chris McCarthy/Alex Silva (chelm)

THE WEEKLY RANT: FOOD FOR THOUGHT OR FOOD FOR

THE DUMPSTER……..YOU DECIDE!

TIME TO LOOK IN THE MIRROR; Are You Passionate about the game or do just like to

participate?

Even after week number 1 you can already tell which kids are passionate about the game of

basketball and which kids like to participate. For good or for bad basketball like most sports

these days is a year round sport. Long gone are the days of an even playing field in that

football season turned into basketball season which turned into baseball season.

Specialization is at all time high and early specialization is darn right scary. It’s tough to be a

three sport athlete these days and be the very good in all three (Still think two sport athletes

are something we should be embracing more).

These observations are known to most who follow youth sports but one area that is

becoming more of an issue by the day is “delusional perception”. Many kids today are

relentless in wanting to put the time in to get better. Their off season starts the day the

winter season ends. They put the time in by getting in the gym during the spring and they

take advantage of summer opportunities to refine their games and get better. They then

crank it up big time in the fall because as all Game of Thrones fans know WINTER IS COMING!

Then we have the kids who spend the spring relaxing and talking about the year they are

going to have next year because they will be a year older and it will be their time to shine.

The same kids tend to tweet “ball is life” and post an Instagram photo of failed attempts to

dunk on a less than regulation hoops. Summer rolls around and they may not be on the couch

as much but working out and getting better takes a back seat to the chance to go to the

beach, attend endless pool parties and quite frankly keep cool on hot & humid days. What

most of these kids don’t know is coaches & realistic parents know if you are putting the time

in cause “your game says it all and your game don’t lie ”The other troubling issue is once kids

get to be juniors and seniors they believe their grade entitles them to play when the reality is

grade means nothing. If a freshman is better than a senior he is going to play over the senior.

So what do kids need to do: They need to look in the mirror and have an honest conversation

with themselves then they need to work on time management and get in the gym and work

on getting better. They need to work on getting faster, stronger and more agile, they need to

make the time instead of making excuses. Being a member of a high school team is earned

not given. What do parents need to do: Don’t make excuses for your child, have an honest

conversation of how bad they want it and help them realize that you have to put the time in

to have a chance to play. What do coaches do: your hands are tied with MIAA off season rules

but make sure your players have a clear picture of what they need to work on and point them

in the right direction to get better. For those passionate on getting better keep doing what

your doing; for those just looking to be a participant there is nothing wrong with that but

know those putting the time in are going to pass you by

We are not solving world hunger here! Be part of the solution no part of the problem

AS WE SAY AFTER EVERY WEEK: DON’T GET TOO HIGH; DON’T GET TOO LOW…Its FALLBALL