BARRINGTON, R.I. – Last season wasn’t the kind of season normally seen at St. Andrew’s. A team with a lot of youth, especially among its top talent, the Saints went 10-18 and didn’t look like they were much better at the end than the beginning of the season. On this year’s team, the best players are again underclassmen, but Mike Hart is a little more optimistic about what lies ahead.
“I’m excited about this year,” said the veteran head coach. “Guys are focused, there’s a hunger with this team that I wasn’t sure we had all the time last year.”
It certainly doesn’t hurt that he’s gained a prospect who figures to get recruited at the highest level. At the open gym on Monday, Ricardo Ledo (6’5″ So. SG-SF, Providence (RI)) continued to show why numerous schools are beating down the doors to recruit him. He has so many tools in the arsenal, and on this day he especially showed how he can impact a game without scoring, as he handled the ball much of the day and was so unselfish you would never think he could score over 20 in a game. In fact, a couple of times he was a little too unselfish as he passed up a shot to give a teammate a tougher play, but he overshadowed those plays by the many good ones he made. Add that to his ability to score in so many ways, including a jumper that looks better and was falling on this day, and you only begin to appreciate his vast potential.
Ledo’s main running mate will be Michael Carter-Williams (6’5″ Jr. SG, Hamilton (MA)), who has grown since the end of last season. An injury early in the spring set him back, but he caught up and then some once he was healthy. He struggled with his jumper at this workout, but he’s shown plenty of times how capable he is from long range. Where he has improved the most is off the dribble, as he was much more aggressive and even had a nice left-handed finish on a drive.
The other key player on the wing is Michael Laplante (6’5″ Jr. SF, Woonsocket (RI)), who missed much of the spring and summer taking care of academics. After last summer, he appeared to have a lot of upside before not looking like the same player during the school season. Here, he looked more like the Michael Laplante of old, as he scored often in transition and was more of a factor than he ever was last season. His jumper looked a little shaky, but that’s long been an area for improvement and at times he has been able to knock it down. The overall signs are encouraging.
Myles Brilhante (5’10” Sr. PG, Fall River (MA)) will be the primary point guard. While he won’t bowl you over with physical gifts or world-class skills, he doesn’t turn the ball over and will make the open three-pointer if you fall asleep focusing on the wing stars. That’s what he’s done before, and he did it on Monday.
Youri Dascy (6’6″ Sr. PF, Fall River (MA)) has only been playing the game for about three years, which explains why last year he was a little difficult to figure out. One minute, he would look like a nice post scorer, the next he would look like a very mechanical and immobile post player with a lot of limits. He showed well at Monday’s workout, starting off the first time he got the ball when he made a nice drop step move to score that would have surprised people a year ago. He battled more inside and was a more assertive scorer, and he also got a few stickbacks, another thing that would not have happened last year.
While those five will lead the way, it’s the glue guys that are a big reason Hart thinks the team will be better. Eric Sherman (6’4″ Sr. SF-PF, Providence (RI)), Matt Newell (6’4″ Sr. SF-PF, Cranston (RI)) and Dave Curtis (6’3″ Sr. SF-PF) are all undersized forwards but give the team a measure of toughness the team needs. Sherman was an all-star at the last session of Hoop Group Elite in July and has a chance to play college ball below the Division I level.
Hart thinks this group will show that last season was an aberration. There’s enough talent to put forth a better showing, but as often happens, it’s not the stars that will dictate a team’s success, but the role players.
