English girls hoop team includes talented upperclassmen and underclassmen

The English High girls basketball team had about as dramatic a turnaround as a program can have last year and coach Fred Hogan is looking to sustain that momentum despite the loss of a couple of key players to graduation.The Bulldogs finished 13-8 with a trip to the state tournament last year, a far cry from the year before when they only won four games. That was Hogan’s first year as head coach and despite the disappointing record, he had high hopes for the future.He didn’t have to wait long to see his efforts pay off, thanks in part to players like Renay Hamilton, the 2007 Item Player of the Year, and Diaysha Brewington. Hamilton has nearly recovered from a serious knee injury and should start playing for Babson College in December, Hogan said. Brewington is already having an impact at Dean College, where she’s averaging 10 points per game.Although the Bulldogs took a hit with the loss of those two, the talent pool ran fairly deep last year. Junior center/forward Jeanette Anderson is back, along with sophomore point guard Jenicia Duggins. Anderson, who is the lone team captain, averaged 15 points and 18 rebounds last year. Duggins scored 222 points as a freshman, averaging about 11.5 points per game.The returning contingent also includes senior Trinity Neubert, who came off the bench last year and played guard; junior forward Linh Nguyen, who also provided a spark off the bench; senior forward Ngozi Nwoagu, who moved up from junior varsity, and sophomore forward Maura Coyle, who played some freshman and junior varsity last year.They’ll be plenty of new, young faces this year with the operative word being young. The Bulldogs saw their stock rise with the addition of sophomore guard Kayla Murkison, who transferred from St. Mary’s.”She brings a nice, solid, mid-range jump shot,” Hogan said, adding she’s very athletic and plays excellent defense.”The big news, however, is the influx of freshmen that Hogan will be looking at to have an immediate impact. Five ninth graders will be on the varsity, including Olivia Dupres, a 5-9 forward who will be fighting for a starting job. Brianna Vaughan, daughter of assistant coach Brian Vaughan, will likely help fill the void left by the departure of Megan Forti. Forti decided to concentrate on soccer, Hogan said, adding that senior Tracie Carroll also opted not to play.Drenusha Jusufi will be battling it out for minutes at guard. LaShaunda Hogan and Miranda Hogan, Hogan’s daughters, round out what could be the next “fab five.” LaShaunda Hogan will likely start at guard while Miranda, a defensive specialist with a consistent 3-point shot, will come off the bench”This is by far the most athletic basketball team I’ve ever had,” Hogan said. “This is the first time we have had a legitimate 12-14 basketball players ? we should be able to do a lot of different things that we haven’t been able to do in the past.”Hogan’s staff, in addition to Vaughan, includes junior varsity coaches Betty Anderson and James Theus and freshman coach Larry Mason.English will test the waters a bit Saturday morning when it scrimmages Bishop Fenwick and Acton-Boxborough, the team it lost to in the first round of the state tournament.The Bulldogs will be playing in the Northeastern Conference Large this year, along with Classical, Peabody, Beverly, Salem and Revere. Winthrop (which lost one of its star players, Meredith Soper, to Arlington Catholic), Swampscott, Danvers, Marblehead, Gloucester and Saugus will be in the Small division. English, which had 47 girls come out for the first day of tryouts, will face Tech in the first round of the Walter Boverini holiday tournament Christmas week, and the Bulldogs will play Ipswich in the first round of the St. Mary’s Spartan Classic.