Boys basketball coach: Team could surprise

LEAGUE: Tri-Valley League

COACH: Dan Santos (5th year)

LAST YEAR?S RECORD: 4-16 (4-15 in TVL)

STATS AND FACTS: Holliston returns five players from last year, including two senior starters, forward Ryan Colantonio and center Chris Miller. For the second straight year, a Barone brother will be one of the captains for the Panthers. Dan Barone, a Tri-Valley League all-star point guard last year and TVL MVP in football, graduated and was a freshman wide receiver for Bowdoin College this fall. Senior guard Brian Barone succeeds his brother as Holliston captain. Brian Barone, a standout golfer, is an excellent 3-point shooter who makes good decisions with the ball. The other co-captain, Brendan Hayden, is a scrappy player who also shoots the ball well. Colantonio and Miller finished in the top three on the team in scoring last year, averaging around 10 points per game. Miller, a burly center and a football captain, led the team in rebounding. The long-armed Colantonio is more of a wing player and can hit the-3-pointer. Junior guard Matt Jeye, a quarterback on the football team, is the other returning varsity player and is a solid all-around talent. Two impressive juniors, Troy Waddell and Ryan Snow, who shined on the soccer team, bolster the roster. The program has around 40 players overall, with freshmen and JV squads. The Panthers finished 8-12 in 2010-11, and 7-13 overall in both 2009-10 and 2008-09. The Panthers open their season at home on Tuesday against Bellingham. It?s the first time in Santos? tenure as coach that the start of the season hasn?t been delayed after the football team made the playoffs.

THE OUTLOOK: Holliston will continue its quest to end a drought of several years without making the postseason. The Panthers have a good mix of size, skill and athleticism, but do not have much varsity experience overall. Santos rates Medway and Hopkinton as the top two teams in the Tri-Valley League. Despite some key losses, Medfield can?t be counted out. And though Ashland lost league scoring leader Tim Juitt to graduation, it is well coached and returns other key players.

CAPTAINS: Brian Barone (5-8, point guard Sr.); Brendan Hayden (6-1, forward, Sr.)

RETURNING STARTERS: Ryan Colantonio (6-3, forward, Sr.); Chris Miller (6-3, center, Sr.);

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Matt Jeye (6-0, guard, Jr.); Troy Waddell (5-10, guard, Jr.); Ryan Snow (6-2, forward, Jr.); Ryan Phillips (6-2, forward, Jr.); Liam Vanesian (5-10, guard, Jr.); Austin Brumber (5-11, guard, Sr.); Nick Patterson (6-5, forward, Jr.)

TEAM STRENGTHS: Team chemistry; court awareness

TEAM WEAKNESSES: Varsity inexperience

Coach Santos: "I think we?re going to surprise some people. We did not win many games last year and with losing there is no buzz around the league for us. But we have some good kids who like each other and play hard. The potential is there to get pretty good. We?re looking for an improvement and we?re certainly playing to get into the tournament. That?s a reasonable goal."

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Source: http://www.wickedlocal.com/holliston/news/x2105848892/Boys-basketball-coach-Team-could-surprise

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