Simone Prioli was probably a season away from becoming the most recognizable name in North Shore high school girls basketball.
Blessed with the rare ability to create her own shot against virtually any defense, she had quietly become one of the most dangerous players in the area as a shooting guard for Hamilton-Wenham.
Prioli toiled in anonymity even though she scored more than 500 combined points in her freshman and sophomore seasons. The Generals won only four games her freshman year, but showed great improvement in her sophomore campaign, jumping to seven victories.
The future seemed bright for Prioli and Hamilton-Wenham.
Then disaster struck.
"During a summer league game playing for Hamilton-Wenham, I was going in for a left-handed layup on a breakaway," Prioli recalled. "A girl came from the side and our knees hit. I fell and heard the 'pop.'"
The pop, the immediate pain and the relative weakness of her knee — all the typical signs of an ACL tear — were all present for Prioli. Yet she remained optimistic about the diagnosis because her overall pain level was lower than a typical ankle sprain.
Her optimism faded quickly after an MRI revealed the tear.
"I was really concerned," Prioli admitted. "I always wanted to play basketball in college, and this was a really big setback."
Surgery and rehabilitation cost Prioli her junior season — undoubtedly the most important for a high school basketball recruit. She went from a basketball player who was just about to arrive to someone who was no longer on the minds of college coaches.
Time away from the court meant Prioli would have to make herself recognizable all over again. That can be a frightening task for a young basketball player, but people who knew her figured she would bounce back.
Raising her game
Prioli has a way of standing out at the right moments.
"The first time I really noticed her was in the Cape Ann League all-star game when she was a sophomore. I was coaching and had (Masconomet's) Annie (Burns), Caroline (Stewart), Jamie (White) and Krissy (DiBenedetto), and a couple players from other teams. Simone was in that group," Masconomet coach Bob Romeo said.
"She was playing with other good players and really stood out. They knew how to get her the ball, and she was knocking down shots from all over."
Prioli was cleared to play again last April and resumed playing with her AAU team, the Bay State Blizzard. She's back on the court for the Generals this winter and proving to be just as explosive as she was prior to her injury. Against Masconomet earlier this year, Prioli scored 16 points in the first half alone.
"She's kind of unique because she can get her own shot. She can hit pull up shots off the dribble, and go right or left. She single-handedly kept them in the game against us in the first half," Romeo said. "I think you could make the argument that she's the Player of the Year in the CAL. She'd at least be in the discussion."
Hamilton-Wenham head coach Jim Burfoot may be biased, but he can't help but agree.
He knows his star player is capable of scoring in a variety of ways and feels she's just finally beginning to get back to her old self.
"The last couple of games, we're finally seeing signs of her starting to get her legs back underneath her," Burfoot said. "She's moving pretty good — and it's been a tough road for her."
Bracing for college
While it may have been a tough road, Prioli is happy that the journey will end with her playing college basketball. Beginning next season, she'll join former North Shore standouts Annie Burns of Masconomet and Allie Beaulieu of Swampscott at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine.
"I've always wanted to play Division 1, but after talking to people I don't know if I could play at that level," Prioli said. "If anything I'd just be on the bench, so now I'm happy where I'm going. It has a good balance between sports and academics."
By the time Prioli suits up for the Bobcats as a sophomore, she'll be clear to play without a knee brace. But she might stick with it longer simply for peace of mind.
"I feel like it really slowed me down at first," Prioli said of her brace. "I only have to wear it for two years, but I think I'll wear it throughout college."
