Boys Basketball Heads Into Season Reloading, Rebuilding

After two straight and , boys basketball coach Doug Hoak is entering a year of uncertainty.

First, he isn’t quite sure what he will have after his two returning starters: and Jake Lindland.

Next, one of the starters, Lindland, has been battling a stress fracture and it is unknown when he will be game ready, if at all.

Finally, while he has 10 seniors who will suit up, only the starters come in with any significant varsity experience: one is out for basketball for the first time, two didn’t play basketball last year, one was on JV and one was hurt the past two seasons. The rest were on varsity but didn’t see much action.

“We’ll be competitive. Once everyone is healthy I think we’ll be fine; Up to that point, we don’t know,” said Hoak, in his third season as the varsity coach. “The unknown - how those with inexperience will they perform in press situations – is what we are dealing with.”

Tam appears to be the one thing Hoak will be able to count on. The 6-foot point guard, who was the in the Generals’ division, is a steady presence on the floor.

If Lindland, also listed at 6-feet, overcomes his foot injury then Hoak’s back court will be as strong as you can find in the CAL. Lindland is a good outside shooter who can free up the inside for the inexperienced front court.

“For obvious reasons he’s a huge loss right now,” Hoak said last week. “If we can have two experienced players on the floor it won’t put pressure on any one player.”

The next three seniors expected to play a big part in the season – although not necessarily as starters - are Luke Drieze,, a 6-foot-3 center, Shane Jenkins, a 6-foot-2 forward, and guard Ryan Willis. Drieze and Willis played here and there on varsity as juniors while Jenkins hasn’t played since his sophomore season due to injuries.

The remaining seniors are guard Max Montanari (out for the first time); forwards Ian Kelley (JV last year) and Ryan Richard; and centers Ryan Beckett  (6-foot-5, played as a sophomore) and Chris Dovletoglou (6-foot-2, didn’t play last year).

Junior guards Nick Fusco and Ben Kozlowski and freshmen forward Jim Campbell and guard James Foye round out the Generals.

“The objective, as in any varsity program, is to play the best kids and try to win,” said Hoak. “What happens when you don’t have a lot of experience is everything happens a little slower.”

“When we get Jake back then guard play will definitely be our strength,” Hoak said. “The front court is where the question marks lie.”

Hoak imagines the top players in the CAL should be North Andover, Masconomet, Manchester-Essex and Pentucket.

“I hate to say we are reloading, but we are somewhat in a rebuilding situation,” he said.