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Boys’ basketball nets Patriot Cup to cap perfect season

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The Panthers pose after winning the Patriot Cup. / Courtesy photo

The boys’ basketball team capped off a perfect season by netting the Patriot Cup.

Make it 35 straight wins and a Patriot Cup to show.

The Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ basketball team completed a perfect 12-0 season with a 74-61 victory over league rival Hingham in the Patriot Cup final on Saturday, Feb. 20.

The Panthers trailed the Harbormen 58-56 with 4:50 remaining, before outscoring Hingham 18-3 — highlighted by a 15-0 run — the rest of the way.

“The kids locked in defensively and just owned the glass,” said W-H head coach Bob Rodgers. “We got the stops and the boards and that allowed us to get more comfortable on offense.”

Junior Amari Jamison gave the Panthers a 61-58 lead with 3:37 left when he knocked down three of his team-high 18 points.

Senior captain Cole LeVangie led the way with 16 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, while fellow senior captain Nate Amado and junior Ryan Vallancourt also scored 16 points apiece in the win.

“Not many teams challenged us this year, so it was impressive to see our kids show such poise,” Rodgers said. “I can’t say enough about our two junior guards. They both stepped up huge. Of course, we all have been privileged to watch two of the greatest players in school history in Nate Amado and Cole LeVangie and down the stretch they made the big plays when we needed them. I will sure miss both of them.

W-H, which has not lost since Dec. 26, 2020, heads into the offseason with the state’s longest winning streak at 35 straight.

“The entire team deserves so much credit for the road they had to travel to make this incredible season a reality,” Rodgers said. “COVID has taken so much away from so many people but these kids just refused to let it steal this season from them. It’s a great lesson for all of us about appreciating what you have and focusing on only that which you can control. Every member of this team should be proud of the league title and the Patriot Cup but more importantly about what kind of friends and teammates they were to each other.”

Season Preview: For boys’ basketball team, the focus is on now

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Senior captain Cole LeVangie is a one of two returning Patriot League All-Stars for W-H. / Photo by: Sue Moss

Bob Rodgers’ bunch is aiming for its sixth Patriot League Keenan Division crown in the past eight seasons.

The Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ basketball team experienced that first-hand last season when it was deprived of a chance to finish off what it started in the Div. 2 state title game. 

So the mantra for this season is simple: 

“The biggest thing is to make sure we all appreciate every day we have,” said 21st-year W-H head coach Bob Rodgers. “We try to practice every day like it’s going to be our last practice and we have to hopefully play every game like it could be our last game – just appreciate what we have while we have it.”

That’s pretty easy to do when you have two guys like senior captains Nate Amado (13.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg last season) and Cole LeVangie (11.4 ppg, 5 rpg last season). Both are returning Patriot League All-Stars and two of the “most talented” players Rodgers said he has ever coached. But that’s just part of what makes them special. 

“They are just such tremendous teammates and phenomenal leaders and just good people,” Rodgers said. “I’m excited we get to play the season in part because all of these younger players get to play with them and they get to see how they go about their business and how unselfish they are. Obviously, their talent is off the charts, but what I will remember years from now is just how both of them are willing to do whatever it takes for our team to be successful and to help other kids grow.”

As for departures, reigning Patriot League MVP Stevie Kelly (14 ppg, 6.3 apg and 5.1 rpg last season) is gone from the point and Rodgers knows it will be a joint effort to make up for his contributions. 

“No, we don’t have Stevie Kelly,” Rodgers said. “But we have a trio of (junior) guards that have really stepped in nicely. Ryan Vallancourt is just so dedicated and has so much passion for the game of basketball. Amari Jamison’s potential is off the charts. His skill level and athleticism are something I haven’t really had in a long time. And Andrew Guardia is a steady Eddie — runs the position and gets people involved.”

And as always the defending Div. 2 state champions will rely on their ability to knock down the 3-ball.

“We have a lot of guys that can shoot it,” Rodgers said. “That’s one of the blessings like when you have two players like Nate and Cole, you don’t get worried that the other team is just going to try and just shut down those guys, but if the coach has that as their game plan, I think they’re going to have some difficulties because we do have some other guys that can shoot it.”

And why make playing W-H more difficult than it already is? Rodgers’ club is riding the state’s longest winning streak at 26 games, as it takes aim at its sixth Patriot League Keenan Division title in the past eight seasons. 

“A league championship is always where we start and since there isn’t a state championship on the line this year, I think that’s even more so this year,” Rodgers said. “One of the things I always say to the kids is you look at that banner with all of the league championships on it. Each one of those years represents a group of kids that came committed to a goal, came committed to a certain level of work ethic, and a team attitude. If you want to be on that you’ll have to replicate that same kind of effort.”

The Panthers are scheduled to be back on the court Friday, Jan. 22 at 6:30 p.m. when they host Plymouth North.

“I think that most of the teams in our league get up to play us for a lot of reasons,” Rodgers said. “We’re one of the games that they circle on the schedule and after having the season that we had last year, I think that will be even more so. I’m sure every team would like to be the team that stops our winning streak.”

W-H sports on pause

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Sports at Whitman-Hanson Regional High are on pause until at least January 19.

Following the district’s decision to go full remote until January 19, the Whitman-Hanson Regional High athletic calendar will also be paused until then.

“Teams will continue to be engaged via zoom and other distanced activities,” tweeted athletic director Bob Rodgers. “Please wear your masks and stay safe during this time.”

“No one should be angry with anyone over the move to remote,” Rodgers added. “In our league, Marshfield, Plymouth North and Scituate are also in the same position and others are likely to follow. In addition, there are many other teams that are out because of quarantine.”

Both the boys’ and girls’ hockey teams as well as the boys’ basketball team had already opened their seasons. The girls’ basketball team still hasn’t played a game.

W-H alum MacDonald named new East Bridgewater boys’ basketball coach

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Andrew MacDonald with his former HS coach Bob Rodgers. / Courtesy photo

W-H alum Andrew MacDonald has been named the boys’ basketball coach at East Bridgewater High.

Whitman-Hanson Regional High alum Andrew MacDonald is on to a new challenge. 

After four tournament appearances in four seasons at the helm of the East Bridgewater girls’ basketball team, while also guiding the program to its first-ever South Shore League title in 2018, MacDonald has now taken the reins of the EB boys’ basketball team. 

“I’m beyond excited to be the boys’ coach now,” said MacDonald, who racked up a 52-25 record as the girls’ head coach. “I had a great experience coaching the girls and always had such a great group of players, but one of my personal goals was also to be a boys’ varsity coach and am very fortunate to have this opportunity.”

At W-H, MacDonald, who graduated in 2007, was a two-year varsity starter under Bob Rodgers — and he made an impact. MacDonald connected on 212 3-pointers, was a two-time Atlantic Coast League All-Star and is the school’s second all-time leading scorer (992 career points). But his time as a Panther was about more than the accolades. 

“Playing for Whitman-Hanson taught me what commitment really means and what working hard for what I wanted to accomplish really looks like,” MacDonald explained. “The core values I took from playing in that program definitely helped shape me into who I am today and helped me realize I always wanted to be around the game I loved anyway I could.”

MacDonald, who is also an assistant baseball coach at W-H, said he’ll aim to instill those values he picked up from Rodgers in his new position — just as he did in his previous one.

“Developing a positive culture and finding ways to get his players 100 percent bought into the program was always a key focus for coach Rodgers and is something I’ve been trying here at EB as well,” MacDonald said. “Whitman-Hanson has always had teams that score the ball very well so I have also used some of the offensive concepts that he has been teaching for a while now too.”  

‘I perform for her to make her happy’: Depina cracks Eastern Nazarene roster in honor of late grandmother

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Joey Depina’s late grandmother molded him into the man he is today. 

“She raised me,” he said. “My mother was extremely young when she had me and my gram took care of all us and held the family down. She was more than a grandmother.” 

She passed away in November of 2019, but the values she instilled in him live on. 

“She always taught me to work hard in something you love,” he said.

That’s just what the Whitman native did. After months of training, Depina made the Eastern Nazarene men’s basketball team as a walk-on.

“This is for her like everything I do, whether it is in the classroom or basketball, I perform for her to make her happy,” said Depina, a former captain of the W-H boys’ basketball team. “I know she is always looking down on me, so I always want to work hard in life to make her proud. Making the team this year is definitely an achievement I did for her.”

Depina, a sophomore at ENC, spent most of his freshman year on the junior varsity squad, but when the pandemic began and players returned home, the varsity squad called him up. Depina said he knew if he put in the work during the offseason, he could earn another call-up. 

“The quarantine really helped coming into this year,” Depina explained. “I would lift at my house every day and also play basketball in my backyard, like working on my handles, shooting, footwork and different moves with my friends, Samuel Rodguies and Nyron Dunnamanio. Focusing on myself as a basketball player really helped me get better.”

About a month after school began this year, the varsity squad gave him another chance. He never looked back.

“Coach [Sean] Foley (assistant coach) brought me into his office and asked if I would take the opportunity to workout with the varsity because they are low because of injuries and I am the type of player they can rely on,” Depina explained. “I told the coach that I would take the offer.

“After the afternoon practice, coach said that he wanted to attend media day and smiled at me. When I left the meeting, I was extremely happy and ready to work even harder to get better in my craft for the team.”

Depina and the Lions will likely tip off their season sometime in January.

“My goals before hitting the court are still learning different moves and players with the team,” Depina said. “I want to keep getting better with this group of players, I call my brothers to end up with a ring when the season starts. I am extremely excited about entering this season because it is a new experience for me.”

Preparing to play during a pandemic: Leahy trying to stay ready to hit the court

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Sean Leahy guards his man. / Courtesy photo

Sean Leahy is staying ready to hit the court in the midst of a pandemic.

Sean Leahy has no idea if he’ll get to take the court this year.

Leahy, who hails from Hanson, is a junior on the UMass Dartmouth men’s basketball team. The Corsairs’ season, which was scheduled to begin in November, has already been pushed to Jan. 16. But that’s not definite, as the Little East Conference is set to make a final decision on a winter campaign by Dec. 15, leaving Leahy and the rest of his team in limbo. 

“You don’t know how much work you want to put in if it’s not going to happen, but I mean you still prepare just in case,” Leahy said. 

Most of that preparation is done on his own time via an app with the team only conducting meetings virtually.

“Every three days, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, we have like a 45-minute workout,” Leahy explained. “It’s all weights and we have running stuff that we have to do.” 

As for on-the court drills, those are far and few between. Leahy estimates he’s picked up a basketball only about 10 times since school began in September. 

“During the summer, I played two or three times a week with friends in town,” Leahy said. “Now, no gyms are really open and high schools won’t let you in.” 

Leahy, a 6-foot-5 forward, is coming off a productive sophomore season, starting 26 games, scoring 8.1 points per game and corralling 6.6 rebounds per game. But with all this time off, he knows he’ll have to knock off some rust when he returns to the hardwood.

“You kind of lose that touch if you don’t play for that long, so I think jumping back into it is going to be tough without playing for six or seven months, like real pickup,” he said. 

The Corsairs finished last season with a 16-11 record, falling to Western Connecticut State University in the Little East championship game. Leahy said this winter, they’re expecting to be the last team standing. 

“We definitely want to win the conference championship, that’s a big one this year,” he said. “We kind of felt like it was our year. I think it was definitely our year, or is gonna be our year. We just gotta stay ready.

Season Review: A championship run for boys’ basketball

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The Panthers celebrate a win at TD Garden. / Photo by: Sue Moss

This season’s boys’ basketball team earned the program’s first-ever state title.

Preparation for the state championship game was underway when Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ basketball head coach Bob Rodgers heard his phone ring. He had a hunch what it was going to be about.

“We just finished our film session and scouting report and we were about 15 to 20 minutes into the on-court portion of practice when I got the phone call,” Rodgers said. “I stepped out of the gym to take it and walked in and I could see the kids. We all knew it was inevitable.”

The Panthers Div. 2 state title game against Taconic was canceled. While the initial reaction was heartbreaking, Rodgers said it didn’t take long to put it into perspective.

“One thing I told the kids is to look up at the banners in the gym on that boys’ basketball league championship banner, there’s a co-champion in there,” said Rodgers, who wrapped up his 20th year on the Panthers’ bench. “Nobody knows what year it is. It’s such a great accomplishment for the kids to win our first-ever state championship. It’s not going to say co-champions, it’s going to say state champions. That’s what they are.

“We were all pretty confident we were gonna be able to complete it if we were able to play that last game.”

It’s tough to argue with that. The Panthers (25-2) hadn’t lost in nearly two and a half months and were riding a state-best 23-game winning streak.

“When I realized how good of a basketball team we were was when we were at Scituate,” Rodgers said. “Scituate was an outstanding basketball team and we played near flawless basketball and made a big statement (75-45 victory).”

One of many big statements for the Panthers, who knocked off Div. 1 contenders Brockton (75-70) and Mansfield (72-59) to win the Roundball Classic, and capped the season by getting over the hump at TD Garden with an 86-68 rout of Beverly. 

“The accomplishments of the team, to end the season with a win at the TD Garden,” Rodgers said, “so many positives we can take from it.”

The Panthers were buoyed by a balanced attack all season — led by senior captain Stevie Kelly. The Clarion University commit was a stat-sheet stuffer, recording 14 points, 6.3 assists, and 5.1 rebounds per game en route to being named Patriot League Keenan Division MVP.

“Stevie is a great story,” Rodgers said. “He was cut from the middle-school basketball team and he is somebody who has a tremendous work ethic and if he’s not good at something, he’s going to keep practicing it until he gets better at it. He’s like having another coach on the team. He’s one of the all-time best players that ever played at Whitman-Hanson.”

Many of Kelly’s assists were to fellow senior captain and Patriot League Keenan Division All-Star Ben Rice. Rice, who stands at 6-foot-7, knocked down 77 3-pointers, leading the team with 14.7 ppg to complement 5.9 rpg. 

“He just had such a passion and love for basketball and the basketball gods rewarded him by making him 6-7,” Rodgers said of Rice, who will play at Connecticut College next season. “I think he played his best basketball at the end of the season.”

Juniors Cole LeVangie (11.4 ppg, 5 rpg) and Nate Amado (13.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg) were also named Patriot League Keenan Division All-Stars. The captain-elects combined for 99 3-pointers. 

“They’re both incredible, multi-dimensional basketball players,” Rodgers said. “They can shoot it, get to the hole, they can rebound, they can handle it. They both have very similar styles of play. They’re both extremely coachable, very kind and outstanding leaders. I’m really excited about having them as the foundation for trying to continue what we’ve been having going on at Whitman-Hanson for a long time.”

Seniors Tommy Vassil (headed to play at Springfield Commonwealth Academy prep school next year) and John Zeidan were also key parts of the Panthers’ run this season. 

“I consider us to be a character-based program,” Rodgers said. “We try to be the best people we can be. Not perfect people by any means but my kids take pride that they’re role models for the younger kids in the community. They have been through the Whitman-Hanson experience as kids so they recognize the importance they have on the future of Whitman-Hanson basketball and take great pride in it. For me, that’s what makes this program special.”

MIAA cancels upcoming state finals; boys’ basketball team named D2 co-state champion

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It was not the way the Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ basketball team expected its season to end, but it became inevitable.

The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association has canceled this weekend’s state finals amid the current conditions of COVID-19.

W-H was scheduled to play Taconic in the Division 2 state final on Saturday. It was the program’s first-ever state final berth.

As a result of the cancellation, both W-H and Taconic will be named co-state champions.

W-H boys’ basketball head coach Bob Rodgers said he agreed with the MIAA’s unanimous decision.

Rodgers added: “For me, the hardest part of every season as a coach is the final game and final practice. When the realization sets in that you don’t get to coach your seniors ever again, it’s a sick feeling. It has nothing to do with winning and losing.

“Our season started with a disappointing loss, but from that adversity we grew closer as a team and stronger every day. The team was unselfish and had a tenacious work ethic to record the best season in school history ending the year with 23 straight wins and a 25-2 record.”

Kelly points the way for W-H boys’ basketball

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Stevie Kelly slices to the hoop for two. / Photo by: Sue Moss

Stevie Kelly is the floor general for the Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ basketball team.

At the outset of last winter, Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ basketball head coach Bob Rodgers wasn’t sure who was going to emerge as his team’s starting point guard.

It didn’t take long to figure out. Insert Stevie Kelly, a then-junior coming off a Patriot League All-Star season as a center back in soccer.

“Pretty much our first game (we knew he was our point guard),” Rodgers said. 

Kelly was no stranger to Rodgers, but like most young players — he had some work to do entering the year.  

“I’ve known Stevie since second grade and watched him coming to my camps,” Rodgers said. “I’ve known him his whole life, he’s always been a great athlete, and when he was a freshman and sophomore, I always saw great potential in him, but he had to mature.”

He did and became a Patriot League All-Star on the court in the process, dishing out 136 assists and steering the Panthers to the Div. 2 South semifinals, which included a stunning upset over top-seeded Randolph, a game in which Kelly hit a clutch layup in the final minutes to help seal the victory. 

“I didn’t expect to have as big of a junior season as I had,” Kelly said. “I just went in working hard.”

Said Rodgers: “Stevie is tough as nails. He’s one of the best competitors I’ve ever coached. He just competes hard all the time.” 

This season, Kelly, who is now a senior captain, has elevated his game to another level, despite an extended soccer season that culminated with a spot in the EMass All-Star game in late November. 

“After soccer practice, I would come up into the gym and take some of my teammates and if they’re not up here, I’m up here by myself,” Kelly said. 

Rodgers noticed the dedication.  

“He’s improved immensely,” Rodgers said. “His shooting and passing are both better.”

But where Kelly has shown the most growth from last winter is with his communication on the court. 

“Talking is probably the hardest skill to be taught to any basketball player,” Rodgers said. “Stevie was at the point where he could talk about what he was doing and where his game was or his defenders were. Great point guards see it all. We’ve started to see Stevie do that more. The great point guards that we’ve had at Whitman-Hanson are the guys that make everyone around them better.”

Kelly has been doing just that. He posted a triple-double in win over Marshfield on Friday, Jan. 17, scoring 24 points, dishing out 11 assists and corralling 10 rebounds.

“I look to attack first and I try to get by my guy and if someone helps, I’ll just hit Ben Rice or someone in the corner or J.Z. (John Zeidan) down low, but if nobody stops me, I’ll just go to the hoop,” he said. 

 Kelly also had 11 assists in a win over Pembroke earlier in the season on Jan. 8. 

“He’s obviously one of the best in the league at getting to the basket,” said Rice, a fellow senior captain. “He’s quick. He can do a lot of things. He helps me get open because he has really good court vision.”

The Panthers are off to a 10-2 start so far this season, and if they’re going to get where they want, Kelly is going to be key. 

“If you look in the gym at the banners of the South Sectional titles, those teams communicated,” Rodgers said.  “And if Stevie does that, then it becomes contagious and the rest of the guys do that. Out of all the things we try and work on with the team — communication and sharing the ball are the two things we need to do to reach our potential.”

Ben Rice carries on a family hoops legacy

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Ben Rice uncorks a 3-pointer. / Photo by: Sue Moss

Ben Rice is following in his brothers’ and father’s footsteps in taking the court for Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ basketball.

Then there was one.

After dumping in a team-high 13 points in two-plus quarters, helping the Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ basketball team build a 40-point lead over Pembroke, Ben Rice’s work was done for the night. His older brother Tyler was seated in the top row to watch him. 

“I definitely wanted to play good in front of him,” said Ben, a 6-foot-7 swingman and senior captain for the Panthers. 

Meanwhile, a few miles away in Quincy, their older brother Josh was on his way to a 17-point performance, while connecting on five 3-pointers, pushing Eastern Nazarene College past Becker College.

Basketball is a passion for the Rices, who have been penned on W-H’s varsity roster for parts of seven straight seasons. 

Ben has been in the starting lineup since last year. Josh, who scored his 1,000th career point at ENC in November, was also a two-year starter for W-H before graduating in 2016. Tyler, who graduated in 2018, started his senior season. All have contributed significantly. 

All-Star

Ben tossed in 11.6 points per game and was tabbed a league all-star last winter as the Panthers reached the Division 2 South semifinals. Josh played a major role (14.3 ppg) in the program claiming its first-ever Division 2 South Sectional title and trip to TD Garden his senior year. Tyler helped the program to a pair of Patriot League Kennan Division titles. 

“I’ve never had anything like that since I’ve been here,” said 20-year W-H boys’ basketball head coach Bob Rodgers. “I’ve never seen anything like that — in basketball — anyway. In basketball, I would say the Rice family stands apart.”

It began in the driveway. 

“I still remember how intense our two-on-two games would be,” Josh said. “Me and my brother Tyler would be on the same team and my dad (Jon) and my brother Ben would be on the same team. I think that made us all a lot better and grew us closer. 

“It was cool growing up with two brothers who really were interested in the same things you were interested in. That helped all of us get better.”

Their father Jon, a 1986 W-H graduate, also played basketball for the Panthers and then at ENC. 

“It’s been incredibly remarkable watching them play, especially at my alma mater,” Jon said. “It’s been an incredible investment, but everything we’ve put into it we’ve got back tenfold.” 

A prime example was when Josh and Tyler shared the Garden parquet in 2016. 

“That was really cool — something I’ll never forget,” Jon said. 

As Ben enters the last few months of his senior season, he has his eyes fixated on the prize, just like his brothers did.

“We obviously want to win every time out,” said Ben, who is coming off a 30-point outburst against Hanover on Tuesday, Jan. 21. “We’d love a league championship and to go far in the state tournament.”

As for Jon, it will be a little strange not writing in a full W-H basketball schedule on the calendar next winter.

“Who knows what I’ll be doing this time next year?” joked Jon.