Bay State Magic team grabs state crown, bids for national title

STOUGHTON -- Six years ago, a friend asked Kalon Jenkins to help put together a local youth basketball team for boys in town. There already was a strong AAU team for girls. Jenkins agreed, and the boys' Bay State Magic was born.

There was a small problem at the beginning. ''No Stoughton kids showed up for tryouts," Jenkins remembered. ''But we were able to put together a team with youngsters from surrounding towns. They all worked hard. That got it started," he said.

''From that one team of 12-and-unders, the program grew to two teams the following year, three the next, and it continued to mushroom. Now we have 16 teams," said Jenkins. ''Our players come from all the communities up and down the South Shore."

Jenkins -- who administers all the teams -- continued to coach that first group as they moved up the age brackets, from 12-and-under, to 13-and-under, and so on, to this year, when as a 17-and-under team they are playing their final season of Junior Olympic basketball.

They are going out as state champions, and their last hurrah is not over yet, with the title also landing them a berth in the AAU Junior Olympic National Championships next month in Orlando, Fla.

Jenkins' Magic team won its third straight state crown by defeating the Western Massachusetts-based Stingers, 70-54, in Springfield on May 22.

Three-peating is a difficult task in any sport, said Jenkins, who applauded his players' achievement.

''It's gotten tougher every single year. The first year we won it, as 15-and-unders, every single game we went through a struggle," he said. ''The next year we won, we exploded, and when we won it, it was great. We just dominated."

This year? ''Actually, the kids have come to expect greatness, even with us having kids with proms and baseball banquets. The kids grouped together and played with determination," said Jenkins.

The roster is lined with talent, Jenkins said, and he predicted that many of the Magic will be playing Division 1 college basketball after wrapping up their high school careers next winter.

Area players on the squad include Winston Tuggle of Canton, Bobby Montrond and Jimmy Chaudry of Brockton, Barry Sheehan and Kinard Dozier of Dedham, and Sam Herrick and Pat Magnarelli of Duxbury.

''Not only are they great players, they are all doing well in the classroom," said Jenkins.

Tuggle, said Jenkins, has been with the team the longest -- ''since the start."

''It's gone by too fast," said Tuggle, who plays for Milton Academy and was an Independent School League All-Star last winter. ''It seems like I just joined the team yesterday."

Montrond is one of the newest players. A captain for Brockton High School last year, he had played with another AAU team, Brockton Basketball. But when the squad disbanded last summer, Jenkins welcomed Montrond with open arms.

''I've been trying to get him to play for us for a couple of years," said Jenkins.

Montrond graduated from Brockton High this month, and is trying to decide whether to attend prep school, play at a junior college with an eye toward transferring to a Division 1 or Division 2 program, or play Division 3 college basketball next season.

Chaudry has another year at Brockton High School. He is a shooting guard who would like to become a teacher. ''My mother teaches at Brockton High School, and some day I'd like to teach African-American history," he said.

''Jimmy is a diamond in the rough. At Brockton High, he had an all-star year, and did that coming off the bench as a sixth man," said Jenkins. ''The first time he played against national competition, in Washington, D.C., last summer, he was one of the first kids the college scouts asked me about. He's coming into his own."

Sheehan and Dozier share captain honors on the Dedham High squad.

''The thing I always say about Sheehan is that whatever team I put him on in a scrimmage, his team always wins," said Jenkins. ''He's been with me since the sixth grade, when he was a skinny kid who couldn't finish off a layup. Now he's knocking down 3-pointers like it's nobody's business."

Dozier is also a warrior, the coach said. ''He's a tremendous competitor. He brings that to you on the practice floor and during games. Off the court, he is a warm, personable kid that can bring kids together. He works real hard, but he has a smile that lights up the room."

Jenkins said Herrick, a 6-foot-10 mountain who moved to Duxbury from Nantucket last year, has unlimited potential.

''This is his first full year with us," said Jenkins. ''When he came and played at this level, his speed wasn't what it is now. At first, it was like he was standing in the middle of the Mass. Turnpike with cars whizzing by at 90 miles an hour.

''But . . . he worked hard and now he has schools like Georgetown and Xavier coming down to look at him."

Magnarelli, a 6-foot-7 forward, has made great strides in his game, too, said Jenkins.

''When he was a ninth-grader, you could see he had a lot of ability, but he needed to become more aggressive," he said. ''He went from a mild-mannered player to the perfect college recruit. He works hard."

Jenkins said he will miss coaching his players, after watching them mature over the years. ''When they were younger, you get after them a little more. Now they are like young men, there is a respect these kids have earned. They are young men."

Jenkins, too, has a decision to make about next year. He may start over with a younger team, or he may be content simply managing the Magic program.

''But right now," Jenkins said, ''I'm going to enjoy this final summer together."