Tim Shea will soon be able to celebrate a milestone when he begins his 29th season behind the bench of the Salem State women's basketball team tomorrow night.
The Salem native is only one victory shy of No. 700 in his coaching career.
The prospect of having 6-foot-3 freshman twins Brianna and Whitney Wilson of Lowell on the floor tomorrow against Rhode Island College in the annual O'Keefe Center Tip-Off Tournament will be far more exciting than possibly joining the 700 Club, he said. "It pales in comparison to having the twins here," Shea said.
"Nor do I believe they're a secret weapon for us. All of New England knows they're here."
Shea said Salem will be as tall, if not taller in overall height than any opponent on the Lady Vikings' schedule.
The twins will be immediate contributors, Shea said, and join a front court that already features 6-foot All-America candidate Danielle Jenkins of Marlboro, who has risen to a high profile position in New England Division 3 women's hoops. Unbeknownst to Shea, Jenkins helped recruit the twins, who were initially aiming to prep a year at Worcester Academy.
"We got to know Danielle and must have been exchanging e-mails for a month before making a firm decision," Brianna Wilson said. "The conversations were very helpful. She said we'd love it, the school and the basketball — and she was right."
Shea suffered his first losing college season (11-17) a year ago, but appears anxious to start a new winning streak. Add three years and a 70-3 at Salem High in the mid-1970s, and it was his first sub-.500 in 32 years on the bench.
According to the NCAA Statistical Book, Shea is 699-170 all-time (high school included) for an 80.4 percentage. His teams have won more than 90 percent of their MASCAC conference games (357-38) as well.
The Wilson twins averaged close to double-doubles at Lowell High, and they brought along a teammate, point guard Maggie Wallace, who made the Lady Vikings as a walk-on candidate.
"You can imagine how impressive Maggie was in the tryout week to earn a spot. She's a point guard and forced our hand to get a uniform," Shea said. "She can push the ball up and is one of the faster players we have."
Brianna Wilson averaged 13.4 ppg and nine boards, was a consensus All-Scholastic and said she's a better shooter than her sibling.
"Whitney will tell you that," Brianna smiled, "but she had more blocks, 4-5 per game, and was up there in rebounds. Whitney was All-City. She's a player."
The Wilson sisters can run the floor and will ease the burden on Jenkins at both ends of the court.
More often than not, every SSC opponent designed a defense especially for Jenkins last season, who was almost automatically doubled up in the low post area.
"The twins are accomplished players who can get better. Brianna has a little more offense, but Whitney can score, too," said Shea. "They give us tremendous depth up front and there's even a possibility of playing Jenkins at the 3 position. We're certainly going to look at it."
Brianna is more vocal in calling for the ball or getting ready to pass.
"They don't dunk, but we're working on it," Shea said, and was serious about the matter.
It's probably Shea's biggest team since his Final Four edition in the mid 1990s when Salem had 6-foot-4 Dara Rosenberg, 6-foot-2 Kara Lunden, 6-foot-1 All-America Amy Foss, and 6-footers Gabbi Creeden and Karen Merry.
The current roster also includes 6-foot-1 Kristen Federico of Peabody and 6-footer Rehema Strobel.
Salem also returns veteran point guard Jakoya Wilkins. Other faces who saw action last season are Kerry Stokes, Amy Barry and Brianna Comeau.
Shea won his high school debut at Salem High and can still recall some of the players like Marie Grant, Sue Richard, Bunny Page and Sharon Turcotte.
"If you have a big win total it can traced to longevity, having talent and a consistently solid program," Shea said.
RPI and Northwood of Florida also will appear in the Tip-off Tournament opener tomorrow night. The two winners meet in the final Saturday.
