Bow boys stand tall as Class I basketball season begins
BY RYAN O’CONNOR
The Bow Boys Basketball team may not be the favorite in Class I basketball, as it arguably was last year, but head coach Chris Gaudreau said his team’s green talent will surprise a lot of people.
The Bow Boys Basketball team may not be the favorite in Class I basketball, as it arguably was last year, but head coach Chris Gaudreau said his team’s green talent will surprise a lot of people.
“We have a lot of young kids, and we’re pretty excited about what they have to offer,” he said. “So I’m very, very much looking forward to our potential.”
The Falcons begin the season against what Gaudreau considers a Class I front-runner.
“This league is notoriously very competitive, and it’s really hard to point at one team, but we open up against John Stark, and I don’t see a lot of teams that are going to be better than them,” said Gaudreau, who admitted he may be somewhat biased because he has been preparing his team for the Generals for several weeks.
”As good as we were the last couple of years, if we didn’t show up we were going to get beat, and that’s the beauty of the league.”
Last year, the Falcons learned just that, beating Pelham 74-59 in the regular season, only to lose a 66-53 battle to the Pythons in the Class I title game.
“The difference between winning and losing is a lot of execution and a little bit of luck,” said Gaudreau. “When you get down to the final two there’s really no magic formula, it’s just who executes better.”
While Bow will be without its two all-state Chergeys – Paul, now playing for Southern New Hampshire University, and Michael, who now works the paint for Plymouth State – Brian Chergey, a 6-foot-3 junior, will help lead the Falcons as one of three captains.
“Brian is an excellent ball handler, excellent shooter and he’s been working really hard to become a more complete player by taking some pride in his defensive skill set,” Gaudreau said.
“This year, as a junior, we expect him to step up and be one of our leading scorers.”
In addition, DJ Poitras will be back.
The 6-foot-8 center, the sixth man last season, will share the captaincy.
“He’s a big boy who is very, very good inside, aggressive, strong, and an excellent team leader as well,” said Gaudreau. His size, low-post skills and shooting touch will make him an offensive force, said the head coach.
The third captain is Aaron Miller, a 6-foot-2 senior swing man who the Falcons count on to do a bit of everything.
“Aaron is a great shooter, and he’s very smart and a great defender who knows what he needs to do on the other side of the floor by really clamping down on some of the opposing teams’ guards,” said Gaudreau.
“We’re looking for him to have an impact on both sides of the ball and really hold down the perimeter.”
Other players expected to be major contributors this season include, Tucker Corson, a 6-foot- 5 senior, Jared Siciak, a 5-foot-9 senior guard, Jimmy Fellows, a 5-foot-10 starting guard this season, and Nick Sarette, a 6-foot-4 junior.