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Boys to men
After scouring the message boards late Tuesday night (technically it was 12:46 Wednesday morning), I came across three topics with high post numbers: picking the best high school players in Massachusetts, Newton North, and Lexington, in that order.
Since Zach covered North on Monday and I will wait until later in the season to address the area’s top players, Lexington will be the topic of my sophomore entry.
Some say it’s a weak league ... some say it’s a lack of competition. Call it what you want, but those boys in Lexington are steamrolling toward a league title and a high seed in the state basketball tournament. My Middlesex League source Jack DiLillo, a Lexington graduate, ensured me earlier this season that the Minutemen wouldn’t be as good as when he was there. Despite that dire prediction, Lexington has found its way to the seventh spot in the Globe’s top 20.
Coming off a 16-5 season and a disappointing first-round loss to Everett, coach Bob Farias returned a young team filled with potential. The young gunners have led Lexington to a 12-1 record and have helped the Minutemen dominate opponents. The team is averaging 75 points per game while holding opponents under 30 percent shooting with a stingy full-court man-to-man defense.
In fact, the lone Lexington loss came at the hands of Dedham back in December as most of the country said goodbye to Monday Night Football on ABC. The only other time the Minutemen were even tested was in a 72-63 win against tonight’s foe Belmont. For the rest of the season, it has been blowout-city for the Minutemen.
Lexington’s offensive attack is spearheaded by the duo of Tom Hennenberry and captain Jimmy O’Keefe.
O’Keefe is a bruising forward at 6-foot-5, 215 pounds, and has finesse moves and great rebounding ability. The senior averages a double-double at close to 19 points and 12 rebounds per game.
With the inside game being manned by O’Keefe, Hennenberry is free to fire away, hitting threes with the efficiency of Mark Price in the NBA Jam video game. While only a junior, Hennenberry has come into his game this season, evidence by a career-high 33 points against Watertown. The 6-3 guard is the team’s third-leading rebounder and applies pressure on the defensive side of the ball.
The team also has championship experience in its blood in Sean Sullivan, son of Lexington great Tom Sullivan, who took home MVP honors while leading the Minutemen to a state title in 1976. The younger Sullivan now leads the team’s potent offense at the point, setting up Hennenberry, O’Keefe, 6-7 center Dane Dilegro, and three-sport star Ross Curley .
The Minutemen should also get a boost from the return of all-star Matt Cunha, who sat out most of this season after being injured in a scrimmage.
It should be fun to see how far this high scoring young squad will go this year.
While we are on the subject of Lexington High, can we recognize the Minutewomen, who are ranked 15th? Despite a setback against first-place Melrose on Tuesday, the Minutewomen are 9-3 while holding onto the second place in the Middlesex League.
The girls’ game is fueled by overall team balance, but the most consistent scorer is junior center Ali Needham. Coach Paul McManus points to seven kids that have really contributed to turning the team around from last season’s 10-10 squad.
“We have a team filled with juniors and sophomores, but all the kids have come and up their games due to the adverse conditions,” said McManus.
Junior Jessie Igoe plays a role in controlling the boards for Lexington while Molly Boudreau and Michaela Cyr dish the ball, piling up scoring opportunities for Needham and Nena Uguomo. Defensive specialist Michelle Martini and team captain Kate Kimball provide the team with depth off the bench.
What makes Lexington’s record more incredible is that the team is without two of its better players: injured forward Cecily Chisholm, who is out with a fractured foot, and guard Kara Reardon, who may return next week from a strained knee injury.
Before I forget, congratulations are in order for former Brockton baseball coach David Fouracre, who was awarded the Region 1 baseball coach of the year award in Chicago at the beginning of the month. A fitting award for a very distinguished coach who consistently got the best out of his players, even if he was an opponent of my beloved Black Knights on the South Shore.
