After helping lead his team to a Division 3 state championship and hitting a few milestones along the way, St. Mary’s senior guard Ali Barry has been selected as the 2021-22 Item Player of the Year for boys basketball.
Barry, who was named co-MVP of the Catholic Central League this winter, led the Spartans in scoring with 17.5 points per game and shot better than 40 percent from behind the 3-point line. He rounded out his game with 5.4 assists, 5.3 rebounds and two steals per game, and he became the 12th player in program history to score 1,000 points when he hit the milestone in a tournament game on March 8. Barry had 21 points and six rebounds in the Spartans’ state title victory over Watertown despite breaking his finger in the third quarter.
Joining Barry as Item All-Stars for the 2021-22 boys basketball season are David Brown Jr. (St. Mary’s junior), Omri Merryman (St. Mary’s junior), Derick Coulanges (St. Mary’s junior), Henri Miraka (St. Mary’s senior), Jadden Gonzalez (Lynn Classical junior), Tyrese Melo Garcia (Lynn English junior), Ederick Gonzalez (Lynn Tech sophomore), Vic Mafo (KIPP junior), Alex Fleming (Lynnfield freshman), Anthony Forte (Peabody sophomore), Shea Lynch (Peabody junior), Luke Roan (Peabody senior), Jason Romans (Bishop Fenwick senior), Mike Yentin (Bishop Fenwick senior), Che Hanks (Bishop Fenwick junior), Mike O’Brien (St. John’s Prep junior), Kyle Webster (St. John’s Prep senior), Tyrone Countrymon (Marblehead junior), Tyrone Manderson (Saugus senior), Ben Tapia-Gately (Saugus junior), Treston Abreu (Salem senior), Darlin Santiago (Salem senior), Ryan Ward (Swampscott sophomore), Evan Roth (Swampscott senior), Cam O’Brien (Swampscott senior) and Domenic Boudreau (Revere junior).
Brown was and has been Barry’s backcourt mate for years now, and he was voted CCL co-MVP for his stellar season as well. Brown put up a full stat line of 15.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.4 assists in 2021-22, shooting better than 42 percent from 3-point range and 76 percent from the free-throw line. Merryman was the third main cog in the Spartans’ wheel this year, averaging 13 points and seven rebounds per game to earn CCL All-Star honors. In addition to being one of the best defenders in the area and a league all-star, Coulanges averaged eight points and five rebounds per game for the Spartans. Miraka, who battled back from an ACL tear his junior year, averaged eight points and five rebounds in his fourth year as a varsity starter.
Gonzalez was a spark plug for the Rams this season, averaging 16 points per game from the shooting guard position. His biggest game came against Revere, when he dropped 30 on the Patriots.
Melo Garcia put together one of the most complete seasons in the area this winter, earning Greater Boston League MVP and averaging 24 points per game — the most in The Item’s coverage area — to go along with seven rebounds and five assists per game.
Gonzalez made his presence known in the paint for the Tigers, averaging a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds per game while also adding four steals per game — all of which earned him Commonwealth Athletic Conference All-Star honors.
Despite only playing eight games due to injury, Mafo was a force for KIPP with 15.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
While it was a tough season for Lynnfield this year, Fleming shined in his first season of varsity basketball. The freshman averaged 12 points and eight rebounds per game while earning Cape Ann League Second Team All-Star honors.
Forte had a big season for the Tanners this winter, leading the team in points per game (14.8) and steals per game (3.8) while also adding 3.7 assists per game. A Northeastern Conference All-Star, Forte scored 40 points in a win over Saugus on Feb. 17. Lynch, who was also an Item Football All-Star this past fall, was a do-it-all man for the basketball team after averaging 7.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. Roan also had a great season in his final run with the Tanners, averaging 11.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
Romans had a stellar senior season for the Crusaders, finishing in the top five in the area in points (15.8), rebounds (8.3) and assists (5.8) per game and also recording his 1,000th career point. Yentin and Hanks were two of the area’s top scorers as well, as Yentin notched 19.3 points per game and Hanks added 18.4 points and 4.8 assists per game.
O’Brien led the Eagles in scoring as a junior with 15 points per game, adding seven rebounds per game as well. Webster closed out his basketball career by averaging a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Countrymon had a great season for the Magicians, averaging 13.8 points and 3.6 assists per game.
One of the few players this year to crack the 20-points-per-game barrier, Manderson averaged a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds per game while also adding four blocks per game. Tapia-Gately averaged a solid stat line of 11 points, six rebounds and five assists per game.
Abreu was one of the area’s most efficient scorers this winter, finishing with 17.5 points per game. Santiago was a menace from behind the 3-point line, hitting 56 threes on the year en route to averaging 13.2 points per game.
Ward led the red-hot Big Blue in scoring this year with 15.3 points per game, adding 3.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game as well. Roth filled the stat sheet with 13.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists, while O’Brien nearly averaged a triple-double with 9.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game. O’Brien also had 2.5 steals per game.
Boudreau finished the season with 262 total points for Revere, averaging out at 13.5 per game. He also added 5.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game.
Other local basketball players who earned all-star honorable mention status are Nick Sacco and Anthony D’Itria (St. Mary’s); Nathan Reyes (Lynn Classical); Nelson Obarisiagbon and Carmelo Buese (Lynn English); Jayden Welch (Lynn Tech); Osaru Evbenaye and Jaythean Im (KIPP); Colin Berube and Nick Soper (Peabody); Gavin Deluties (Lynnfield); Nick Bowers and Gianni Mercurio (Bishop Fenwick); Kipp Schauder and Noah Mann (Marblehead); Jack D’Ambrosio and James Clauto (Revere); Jack Doyle, Brayson Green, Chris Qirjazi, Jayren Romero and Angel Tejada (Salem); Jack Perry (St. John’s Prep); Ryan Mabee (Saugus); Mick Ross and Liam Wales (Swampscott); and Zach Bogusz, Luca Zanelli, Chris Cappuccio and George Galuris (Winthrop).
