LYNN — After a strange year on the court in 2020-21, no one is more excited to get back to work than the St. Mary’s boys basketball team.
Despite getting to play 18 games during the COVID-shortened season last winter, the Spartans were forced to deal with key injuries that lasted the entire season as well as a 14-day shutdown after some in the program tested positive for COVID-19.
“We were excited to get out onto the court and play last year, but we also had to deal with a lot of obstacles,” said St. Mary’s coach Dave Brown. “Once we came back from that shutdown we had something like 11 games in 15 days, and when your schedule is that crunched it’s hard to learn from your mistakes and get better in practice. We’re definitely excited to have a more normal schedule this year.”
While the Spartans only lost three seniors from last year’s team, the impact of losing key contributors like Sammy Batista will take some getting used to.
But there is plenty of talent and experience returning to the court for St. Mary’s this year, starting with the backcourt duo of senior guard Ali Barry (14.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last year) and junior guard David Brown Jr. (13.5 points and 5.1 assists per game last year). Add in senior forward Henri Miraka, who missed nearly all of last season with a knee injury, and returners like Anthony D’Itria, Derick Coulanges and Omri Merryman, and the Spartans have a solid foundation to work with.
“These kids are great leaders and great friends, and that’s where it all starts,” said Brown. “The older guys really lead by example in practice and show the younger guys how we compete hard for every drill to prepare us for the games. That’s really important, especially after we didn’t get as much practice time last year.”
The Spartans have hit the ground running in practice, and the team also made a trip out to Springfield for a scrimmage against Springfield Commonwealth Academy — coached by Lynn native and former Lynn English head coach Antonio Anderson. The team paid a visit to the Basketball Hall of Fame during the trip.
“It was a great trip and a nice way to get the guys excited about the season,” said Brown. “Obviously Antonio has a great team over there, and they really helped get us ready to play.”
The Spartans, as always, will have their hands full when it comes to their schedule, as the Catholic Central League is full of strong, talented teams this year. With a difficult non-league schedule as well, St. Mary’s will be battling for every win.
“The Catholic Central League is loaded this year,” said Brown. “Arlington Catholic has five guys coming back, Cathedral is loaded based on what I saw in fall ball and Bishop Fenwick and Bishop Feehan both have solid teams. Add in games against Lynn English, Arlington and the teams we’re playing on our trip to Florida, and we’ve got a tough test every night.”
That battle will start Friday night for the Spartans, who go on the road to take on Beverly — coached by former St. Mary’s star Matt Karakoudas — Friday night (7) at the Beverly High Field House.
“Beverly is a great team and Matt has done a tremendous job with the program,” said Brown. “We’re all itching to get back on the court and play in front of fans again, so it’s going to be an exciting night.”
