WINCHENDON, Mass. – Nestled away right by a nice golf course, seemingly in the middle of nowhere – north central Massachusetts, to be a little more descriptive – is the school whose team might be the favorite in NEPSAC Class A this year. The Winchendon School is loaded, with as much depth as talent and some interchangeable parts for head coach Mike Byrnes to work with.
The team was impressive on this day despite not having Villanova commit Markus Kennedy (6’9″ Sr. PF, Philadelphia (PA)). A solid post player whose main need for improvement is better conditioning, Kennedy turned his left ankle before the workout began. Kennedy has bounced around over his high school career, and once he’s healthy again figures to be a key inside.
On this day, the post player who shined was the youngest on the team, Khem Birch (6’9″ So. PF, Pierrefonds (Quebec)). Long and athletic, he’s capable of being a game-changer with his shot-blocking, and he looks like he has added strength since arriving on campus in July. He ran the floor and finished several breaks, was aggressive on offense, and made a couple of nice passes. All this, and he’s barely scratched the surface of what he can be as he’s still raw, barely boxes out and his skills are far from complete. On a team full of seniors and post-grads, he will get his share of minutes because he’ll be too good to sit on the bench.
Also up front, Allen West, Jr. (6’8″ Sr. PF, Brooklyn (NY)) will get his share of minutes. He has a good body that can get better and scored inside with contact on several occasions. Adam Kemp (6’9″ Sr. C, Vernon (NY)) is the other post player on the roster, although Angel Nunez (6’7″ Jr. SF-PF, Bronx (NY)) may see minutes there as well. Nunez has some length and is athletic, but he lacks strength and it was clear on a few occasions. When he got away from the basket, he buried a three-pointer one time, though overall he wasn’t a major factor on this day.
The small forward spot has several possibilities, led by Georgia Southern commit Eric Ferguson (6’8″ Sr. SF, Statesboro (GA)). A great get for new head coach Charlton Young, he’s barely more than a baby physically and very athletic. Although he’s played better than he showed at this workout, he got better as the day went along, including shooting better in the latter part of the day.
Hofstra commit Marvin Dominique (6’7″ Sr. SF, Miramar (FL)) had some good moments on the day. Athletic and with some length, his body isn’t there yet physically, and he looks like he could play a little of both forward spots although more of a wing. He had a nice assist facing the basket on one play, and while he showed some ball skills he traveled a couple of times after a shot or ball fake.
If Byrnes wants to go small, he could put James Stukes (6’5″ Sr. SF-PF, New York (NY)) at the power forward spot, although he’ll see plenty of time at the wing. The Albany commit is solidly built and a plus athlete, and though he’s capable of scoring he may not need to do that much on this team with all the options they have. Joey Bozzuto (6’4″ Sr. SG-SF, Wolcott (CT)) is also a candidate for time on the wing.
The best player on the floor at this workout was Delaware commit Devon Saddler (6’2″ Sr. SG, Aberdeen (MD)). It seemed like every time we looked, he was beating everyone down the floor for a transition basket, whether he got a pass after a rebound or got the rebound himself and went right up the floor. He wasn’t leaking out, just playing with high energy and beating everyone else to the basket. He scored with contact, looked smooth on a few plays, made several nice passes in transition as well and showed some range on his jumper, all with Monte Ross, his future college head coach, there to see it.
Four players could see time at the point guard spot, with Anthony Ireland (5’10” Sr. PG, Waterbury (CT)) being the likely incumbent. Solidly built and a tough floor leader, he’s continued to improve his scoring ability to go along with his intangibles. Akeem Williams (5’10” Sr. PG, Brockton (MA)) didn’t shoot the ball as well as he’s capable of at this workout, although his shots were better later on. He made some significant strides last year and continued to play well in the spring and summer.
Mike Accaoui (5’10” Sr. PG-SG, Lincoln (RI)) is doing a post-grad year after four years at St. Andrew’s in Rhode Island and looks more mature physically. He gives the team a solid role player who will compete at both ends, and that was visible today as besides his trademark of shooting the ball well, he snuck in for a couple of rebounds and started a fast break with one of them and made a nice runner on the break later. Michael Holton (6’0″ Sr. PG, Portland (OR)) has a good body and is a plus athlete, and he will figure into the mix as well. Although he wasn’t a huge factor, he didn’t hurt his team and showed range out to the three-point line.
Byrnes thinks this might be the most talent he has had, which is saying something considering what he has had over the years. At first glance, it might not look as talented as the team he had three years ago, but that team underachieved. This team looks like it has more than just talent going for it, especially with the wealth of lineup possibilities, and that can go a long way toward winning the games needed in March for a championship.
