The Northeastern Conference boys basketball all-stars were announced earlier this week and plenty of area players made the exclusive list in what turned out to be one of the more competitive conferences in the state.
Everett senior guard Ghared Boyce was named the NEC Player of the Year. Boyce helped lead the Crimson Tide to a Division 1 North crown and a spot in the state semifinal game, where Everett fell short to Mansfield at TD Garden earlier this week.
Beverly Panthers coach Matt Karakoudas, a St. Mary’s graduate, was named the NEC Coach of the Year. Karakoudas, in his first season at the helm of the Beverly program, coached the Panthers to a 15-5 record and the No. 1 seed in the Division 2 North state tournament.
The NEC Sportsmanship award was earned by the Danvers boys basketball team.
The NEC All-Conference team consists of Boyce, Lynn Classical senior Edwin Solis, Marblehead senior Derek Marino, Winthrop senior Tayjuan McKenzie, Malden’s Fern Berard and Somerville’s Lucas Saint-Jean.
Solis was joined on the NEC North all-star team by fellow Rams teammates Dyrrell Rucker and Ishmael Johnson.
“Edwin led us in scoring, rebounding and assists,” Classical first-year coach Jasper Grassa said. “Ishmael was a very active player for us that rebounded on both ends of the floor and was a great defender. Dyrrell is our best on-ball defender. He’s also a good scorer and has improved his 3-point shot tremendously this year.”
The trio led Classical to a 12-8 record in the regular season and the No. 13 seed in the Division 1 North state tournament.
Other Lynners on the North all-star team are English freshman forward Ademide Badmus and junior guard Alonzo Linton. The two Bulldogs helped English to a 16-4 record and the No. 5 seed in the Division 1 North bracket.
“They both worked extremely hard all year,” first-year Bulldogs coach Antonio Anderson said.
The rest of the North all-star team consists of Isaiah Likely and Caleb Jacobs of Everett; Luigi Derrane and Toskany Abreu of Beverly; Berard, Tyler Holness and Mark Bissette of Malden; Marino, Seamus Keaney and Dewey Millett of Marblehead; and Jake Irvine of Peabody.
Joining McKenzie on the South all-star team is fellow Vikings 1,000-point scorer Devin Pulsifer, also a senior. The two played key roles in Winthrop going 9-11 in the regular season and earning the No. 9 seed in Division 4 North. Pulsifer joined the 1,000-point club in a win over Danvers in January, while McKenzie reached the mark in a come-from-behind state tournament victory over South Boston.
“I couldn’t be more proud for both Tayjuan and Devin,” first-year Vikings coach David Sacco said. “Over the past few years they’ve been the faces of Winthrop basketball. They both have had phenomenal high school careers and are both incredible young men. The future is bright for both of them at the next level.”
The rest of the South all-star team consists of Saint-Jean, Tyler Whitney-Sidney and John Kalton of Somerville; Nate Lebron and Ethan Espinal of Salem; Ben Oliver and Marcus Montagnino of Gloucester; Ryan Cafferky and Ben Ruemenapp of Medford; Justin Roberto and John Weimert of Danvers and Michael Mabee of Saugus.
Mabee, a three-sport senior who also plays football and baseball, took on the role of the veteran leader for a young 5-15 Sachems team that qualified for the Division 3 North state tournament under the Sullivan Rule as the No. 13 seed.
“Mike was the heart and soul of our team,” Saugus coach Mark Bertrand said. “He has it all, leadership, great communicator, great in the classroom and is well respected by his coaches, players and opponents. He did it all for us and played just about every position but center. He was great for me before I took over as coach. He took control of the team as I knew he would.”
