In the Paint
Matt Jenkins
In some strange way, Masconomet senior Adam Bramanti has baseball to thank for his status as one of the top returning basketball players on the North Shore this winter.
"I played baseball until the end of the seventh grade. I was a pitcher, but I could never hit," Bramanti said. "I used to throw hard, but once we got to the big diamond everyone could hit a fastball ... and I couldn't throw a curveball.
"I pretty much stunk; that's why I stopped."
Baseball's loss was clearly basketball's gain.
Bramanti may have favored basketball when he was younger, but his blistering Little League fastball kept him from focusing maximum time on hoop. As soon as baseball was out of the way, though, he began a gradual improvement that eventually led to him becoming a scholarship basketball player at Division 2 Stonehill College.
Stonehill began following Bramanti before his junior year during the AAU season, made an offer in late March, and he verbally committed in June. Less than a month ago, Bramanti inked his letter of intent to continue his basketball career as a Skyhawk.
"I thought I'd be a really good fit in their program. It kind of took me like two months to decide it was the perfect place for me," the 6-foot-2, 180-pound Bramanti said.
"I wanted to keep everything open, but it was mainly the way they recruited me. (Plus) there are about 2,500 students there, and I wanted a small school. After the first time I visited I said, 'This is probably the place I'm going to go.' They never pressured me, they took their time with me, and it was fair. That was a big reason why I committed there."
If you really pressed Bramanti, he'd probably tell you that he has the ability to play at a Division 1 mid-Major level. But he also knew there had to be some sacrifices. More than anything, Bramanti wants the best opportunity to play at the highest level possible.
An excellent shooter and scorer who can play either the point guard or shooting guard positions, Bramanti drew interest from Boston University and a couple of Ivy League schools, but he understood that all of his hard work at that level may only result in minimal playing time down the road. At Stonehill, Bramanti feels his hard work could put him in the lineup immediately.
"So far there are three recruits from the Class of 2012, and they graduate four players this year. Coach (David McLaughlin) said he always plays freshmen if they earn time," the 18-year-old Bramanti said of Stonehill.
"Another thing is that I think I can play three positions for (McLaughlin). He doesn't have the philosophy that you just play his offense; he adapts to his team. This year he's playing three guards and they're all about 6-foot-1. One of them is graduating and two are juniors, so worst case scenario I can learn freshman year and do what he needs me to as a sophomore."
Bramanti is definitely excited about his future at Stonehill, but he'll be doing his best to keep that in the back of his mind for the next four months. He leads a strong senior class at Masco that also includes Ben Panunzio, Alex Brown and Kurt Hunziker. It's a group that would love to win the Cape Ann League and make noise in the Division 2 North tournament.
"I think we have strong senior leadership," Masco head coach Frank Shea said. "All three captains (Bramanti, Brown and Panunzio) were league all-stars last year. It's just going to take all of us playing together and taking another step in the right direction from what we were able to accomplish last year."
Bramanti also has something else to think about this year: becoming the first Masconomet boys basketball player to reach 1,000 career points. The senior captain needs approximately 125 to get there.
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Beverly High is a Northeastern Conference team that has been getting some preseason hype. While the Panthers have a strong nucleus returning, it can't be said that they'll be starting the season at full strength.
Senior guard Aven Jones, who really emerged as a dangerous player last year, is still returning to form after a tough injury. He tore his ACL at the end of last season and only recently returned to the court.
"Aven missed the entire AAU season and summer and just started playing 4-5 weeks ago," Beverly coach Scott Lewis said. "I'm hoping by midseason he'll be playing at close to 100 percent. He's still feeling his way right now, but I'm hoping he'll be able to pick up where he left off. That was a tough injury."
Jones is expected to play when the Panthers open at home tonight against Lynn Classical, but even as he's getting back into basketball shape Beverly should survive because of its depth.
Lewis returns an experienced group including Zach Zigelbaum, Chris Keaton and Dan Cacciatore, and there are some young players on the team who could also make an impact.
"I definitely think that's a strength. We can go nine or 10 deep," Lewis said. "We have some young kids that will be pushing older kids for playing time, and that means we're practicing hard every day."
And practice has been so much smoother this season for Beverly.
Last year, you might remember, was when the Panthers were essentially homeless. The new fieldhouse was still under construction, which left Beverly practicing on smaller middle school courts and playing virtually all road games. The Panthers "hosted" teams at Endicott College, Gordon College and Salem State.
"So far it's great. The only downside of being back is that everyone else is using it too," Lewis joked of the new BHS fieldhouse "It's beautiful in there; it's a nice wooden court and to finally be on it is great. The kids are loving it and they deserve it."
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Lewis shouldn't be surprised if he receives a few phone calls this season from Danvers second-year coach John Walsh looking for advice. Beverly was homeless last year; now it's the Falcons' turn.
Danvers is building a new school, so Walsh and his kids are practicing at elementary school gyms in town and at the old secondary gym at the high school.
"I don't know how Scott did it last year," Walsh said. "I'm keeping the basketballs in my car, all 25 of them."
Walsh is hopeful that his basketballs — and his Falcons — will find a home shortly after the New Year. Danvers will play Marblehead tonight at Salem State (7 p.m.) in a "home" game, but its next home contest isn't scheduled until Jan. 3. Walsh has been told the construction of the fieldhouse will be completed by then.
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In the Paint, a column on high school boys basketball in and around the North Shore, runs each Tuesday during the winter sports season in The Salem News. Contact staff writer Matt Jenkins at 978-338-2648 or by e-mail at mjenkins@salemnews.com.
FIVE FOR THOUGHT ...
Everyone loves some preseason projections, so here's a top five raking of the area's best hoop teams:
1. St. John's Prep — No Pat Connaughton (graduation). No Isaiah Robinson (knee injury). No problem? The Eagles still return four of five starters from their Division 1 state championship team, including Steve Haladyna, Mike Carbone, Owen Marchetti and Freddy Shove, and their coaching staff will not allow them to feel satisfied.
2. Danvers — The Falcons and coach John Walsh face obstacles — currently no gym, nor the ability to sneak up on teams — but this program made the leap last year. A legit big man (George Merry), a super-competitive backcourt (Eric Martin, Jon Amico), an up-and-coming star (Nick Bates), and a valuable transfer (Nick McKenna, formerly of St. John's Prep) make Danvers dangerous again.
3. Masconomet — With Adam Bramanti leading the way and a team built on upper classmen (seven seniors, seven juniors), Masco could be the surprise team in Division 2 North this year.
4. Beverly — The Panthers are experienced, talented, and have a shiny new gym to play in while they try to make a run at the Northeastern Conference title.
5. Salem — This is a wait-and-see pick. The Witches lost a lot, but they bring back a talented junior point guard in Christian Dunston and they've made it a habit to just reload.
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Editor's note: "Five For Thought" will accompany our 'In The Paint' boys basketball column each Tuesday during the winter sports season. Matt Jenkins, the North Shore's pre-eminent expert on hoops, will opine on various topics in relation to boys basketball in the area.
