Athlete of the Week – Connor Chiarello

You know what I’ve been thinking? This freshman has skills – aka, Swampscott’s Connor Chiarello. In the Big Blue’s boys basketball game on Saturday, Belchertown witnessed that firsthand. Against an Orioles team made up of all upperclassmen, Chiarello scored 14 points, was perfect from the charity stripe, and connected on two three pointers. He led Swampscott to its first win of the season, 64-57, in front of the Big Blue faithful. Even in the first quarter, he did something that didn’t show up on the statsheet. He hustled after a loose ball and hit the floor in the process – even though the ball belonged to Belchertown afterwards, the hustle play, or “Tommy point” as many Boston Celtics fans would say, sparked his team. Fast forward to the fourth. As Belchertown was in the midst of a tremendous comeback, eventually cutting things to four after being down 20, Chiarello took matters into his own hands. He connected on a floater, followed by a short jumper, to provide some always-nice cushion for the Big Blue. A result of Chiarello’s efforts: victory. Chiarello, good week.