ESPN

Following the 2009-2010 season, Wellesley boys basketball head coach Luke Day stepped down after his wife, Kristan, had given birth to twins towards the end of that season. Tuesday night, Day learned he would not only be returning to the bench, but also to the Bay State Conference, as he becomes the new boys basketball coach at Brookline High School. Day is replacing Mark Fiedor, who resigned shortly following the end of this past season after 11 years at the helm, including two Division 1 state final appearances.

ESPN Boston caught up with Day earlier this week, to find out what brought him back to hardwood after just 2 seasons away from the game.

On his decision to return to coaching: “I wasn’t looking for a coaching job or applying for all of the different positions that became open, it was this particular job [that appealed to Day]. One of the things I always said was, if I was going to come back it would be for a plum job, and this is it. I know some of the staff from Mark and on down and I got to know some of the kids a few years ago from doing camps and clinics and things like that. It’s close to my house… this was an opportunity I couldn’t let pass by.”

What the process of being hired was: “When I saw the opening, I went up to my wife and I barely finished my sentence and she said ‘you gotta go for it’, so I pretty quickly decided that it was something I wanted to do. Once that was decided it was just a matter of putting an application together, we went through two interviews, and the people at Brookline were great. The interviews were pretty extensive but then Pete [Rittenburg, Brookline Atheltic Director] called me and gave me the news and I was pretty pleased.”

On his reaction to being hired: “I’m thrilled. I told my wife Tuesday night that I was a little scared but I think I’m over that. Right now, it just seems like there’s so much to do to get myself established over there, but like I said it’s such a plum job I was thrilled to hear the news.”

His thoughts on replacing Mark Fiedor: “I have a ton of personal and professional respect for Mark and what he’s done and his record speaks for itself [150-95, three Bay State Conference titles, two Division 1 South titles, two Eastern Mass. titles]. If I can even accomplish half of that in my time in Brookline, I will have done pretty well. What Mark had established there, is a pretty good starting point for me and it’s gonna help a lot.”

What his familiarity is with the Brookline program: “They have size, there’s athleticism, there’s depth and there’s talent. Every time I talk to somebody they’re telling me about someone else that can play, and that’s good. It’s going to create competition for spots, it’ll make the kids work harder and it allows you to do more things on the floor and get more kids into the games. It allows you to build a program that both those kids in the school and in the community would want to aspire to and be a part of. There’s so many good things that are just in place already, that whether it was me or whoever, they’re walking into a pretty good situation.”

What the Brookline roster has to offer: “It’s pretty good. They have a lot of people coming back, they have size, athleticism, good guard play, they have shooters, dribblers, they’re pretty good. Expectations are going to be high, I’m well aware of that, but it’ll be nice. It’s a nice challenge to have, certainly better than the opposite.”

On returning to the Bay State Conference: “I’m thrilled about coming back. One of the things I missed the most was that camaraderie, and almost all of my adult friends are through basketball and through the league. I miss seeing all of those people and getting to catch up with them before games, but already I’ve been lucky. Jay Johnson was gracious enough to call me last night from Natick, Bob Cook from Braintree was one of my recommenders, I’ve talked to and texted with Eddie Hickey the ex-coach at Dedham, and obviously Adam [Cluff, Day’s former assistant and current Framingham coach] and [former Welelsley coach] Mike Reidy right here in the building. And it’s going to be interesting too, coaching against Wellesley and against Glen [Magpiong, Wellesley’s coach] and Adam. It’s funny, I feel like Wellesley is slowly taking over the Bay State Conference now with the three of us and Mike Reidy helping over at Needham.”

What his first night coaching against Wellesley will be like: “A couple of things will mitigate the weirdness I suppose. One, is that we’re at our place and even when we come to Wellesley I won’t have ever have to coach in the gym I coached in. But it’s still gonna be strange, there’s no kids on the team next year that I coached on varsity but there are kids I coached at camps or who were in our program as freshman when I was still there. I told somebody the other day that I’m not looking forward to those games at all, probably the games that I’m least looking forward to are that and Framingham because those are the two coaches that I’m most closely tied with and it’s not a lot fun. Especially if I beat them… well that might be a little more fun.”

How he’d describe his coaching style: “The kids on my teams have played smart and they’ve played hard. I definitely believe that there’s a right way of doing things, or at least a better way of doing things than some others. With that being said, as I told the Brookline kids today, they’re going to have the freedom to do what they do well, and if we’re good at getting up and down the floor and scoring 70 or 80 points a game then that’s what we’re going to do. I try to give the kids a basic framework and give them some general concepts and then try to shape things to their skills. Then you practice it, you practice the execution and then when you go out on game night, most of the time if you’ve done it right, they’ll execute.”

Brookline High athletic director Pete Rittenburg confirmed this morning that Luke Day, the former basketball coach at Wellesley High, has been named the new head coach for the same position with the Warriors.

Day replaces Mark Fiedor, who in his 11 seasons as head coach took the Warriors to two MIAA Division 1 state finals, won over 150 games, and saw one of his alums, Jeff Adrien, move on to the NBA after a stellar four-year career at UConn.

Day stepped down from his position with Wellesley following the 2010-11 season, after the Raiders qualified for the Division 2 South tournament for the first time in four seasons.

After 11 years at the helm of Brookline High basketball, Mark Fiedor has resigned, he confirmed this morning to ESPNBoston.com.

A former center for Boston University under Rick Pitino, Fiedor will likely be most remembered for his first three seasons as head coach of the Warriors. He took over for Lance Tucker in 2001, and over the next three seasons the Warriors endured one of their most successful stretches in program history, going 64-9 and making two Division 1 state final appearances, losing in 2002 to Springfield Cathedral and in 2004 to Springfield Commerce. Those squads were led by Jeff Adrien, who led UConn to a Final Four appearance in 2009 and has since seen minutes with the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets.

Brookline went 148-95 in Fiedor's 11 years. The Warriors finished 10-12 this season, failing to qualify for the Division 1 South tournament for the second straight year.

Fiedor confirmed the news, and explained his rationale, in an email this morning:

"Yes, the rumor is reality. I took a couple days off work and went away with Val (wife). It was obvious to me that it was time for me to change my focus and step out. I went in the next work day and resigned (March 19th). I asked Pete [Rittenburg, Athletic Director] to keep it under wraps until I had met with people, players, my kids, etc. It's been an incredible job and I will continue to teach at the high school and run my camp at Thayer [Academy] during the summers.

"When I got into this back in '91 it wasn't really for basketball, it was more for the opportunity to have an impact on kids' lives. I had a clear set of priorities: God, Wife/Family, Friends, Career, Basketball. Having those things in the right order is what allowed me to invest my passion into basketball and trying to help others start the process of developing their vision and building a life for themselves. I realized that my life had become flipped and that God, Wife, Kids, and even friends where getting the leftovers and that the very things needed in order make the basketball meaningful were being neglected. My life has changed quite a bit in the past few years. I have two teen girls now and a nine year old son who wants me to coach him, as well as a wife that has been full blast working weekends for the past 7 years. It's been difficult and I've done some damage to these relationships with neglect. I don't think this move was the right decision, I know it's the right decision, and I am at peace with it.

"I guess the two things I'm very proud of is that we've sent 19 young men to play in college over the 11 seasons I've been head coach, and I've never had a player go academically ineligible in the 18 seasons as a head coach at BHS (frosh, JV, varsity). It's funny but I've spent the last week talking with about 50 different people involved in the program and about two seconds has been about basketball strategy and previous games. It's all been about relationships and thank yous and the impact we've all had on the direction of each others lives. One of those people was Lance Tucker, who literally opened his arms to me the first day I randomly walked into his gym back in 91. He didn't know who I was and the next thing you know, I'm helping him coach the team."

BROCKTON, Mass. -– No. 15 Brighton pulled out a less than stellar 69-60 victory of No. 12 Brookline last night to open up the 38th Annual Rotary Club of Brockton Holiday Tournament.

“I think we were able to get it together a little quicker than them, and I think that made the difference,” said Brighton head coach Hugh Coleman, who noted that that both teams were slow out of the gate after taking the holiday break off from game play.

The teams volleyed single-digit leads throughout the first half, with turnovers and missed shot opportunities abound. With the score 29-28 going in the break, it was anyone’s game, as neither team had shown they were ready to seize the opportunities that the other was affording them.

That changed in the third quarter when Brighton was able to pull up for a 10-point lead with 2:47 left in the quarter. They stretched the lead to as much as 13 (47-34) with 1:51 left in the quarter, but themselves could not put on a significant offensive run after early third-quarter contributions from sophomores Mark Mojica (5 points) and Nick Simpson (18 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists), and entered into a nearly shot-for-shot contest for the rest of the match. Brookline was able to close it down to within seven early in the fourth at 53-46, but extended slowly until the Bengals were back up by 13 with 1:09 left in the game.

Mental Toughness: Although he didn’t have a triple double, or a double anything, Brighton’s Prince Unaegbu was a presence for the Bengals in the post, grabbing five rebounds, taking one steal and scoring two points. By the look of those statistics, the numbers are not impressive, but what he brought to the Brighton game tonight cannot be counted by numbers, but from a mentality and access point of view Unaegbu was a force.

“Really raw in talent, but athletic,” is the way that that Coleman described the 6-foot-5 junior. Unaegbu played football this past fall for the Bengals, and Coleman believes that Unaegbu’s antagonism is going to be key in his career for the Brighton basketball team.

“For him to get in there, take up some space and be aggressive, I think it’s important for the other team to see that, for him to get in there and bang around," Coleman said.

Bench Depth: Late in the game, Brookline had some opportunities to score off of Brighton’s missed shots, passes that didn’t make it to their intended targets and rebounds that were simply taken out of the Brighton players’ hands -– but they could not score off many of these opportunities.

This tactic, of putting in bench players such as seniors Tre Dowman and Anderson Teneus, as well as underclassmen like Mojica and Nate Hogan, is a building exercise and is a risk that Coleman carefully calculated.

“We’re trying to balance, making sure that we get our guys in and making sure that we’re developing guys that are on our bench. We can’t expect to go deep into the season or in the playoff and not have a solid bench and role players to get in there with confidence,” Coleman said.

Déjà Vu: The last loss Brookline took was at the hands of BC High, 53-58, on December 19th. During that game, as with tonight’s loss, the Warriors were unable to play well in the third quarter and never recovered.

“Brighton took it to the basket more during that stretch and our guys didn’t responds as well as I’d like to see,” said Brookline coach Mark Fiedor. “After the third it ended up playing out even."

Unfortunately for the Warriors, when you are behind you need to play better than the other team to overcome them, not as good. Brookline boasts a mostly junior squad, and suited up played three seniors tonight. Fiedor hopes that this scenario does not become a regular showing for his team as they are preparing for league play.

BROOKLINE, Mass. -- The Boston College High Eagles continue to win in grind-it-out fashion.

Just like their season-opening win over Brockton, the points were hard to come by Monday afternoon at Brookline High. But just like the win over the Boxers, the No. 8 Eagles managed to get great defensive rotations on the blocks when they needed most, to maintain control of this game from start to finish, beating the talented but young No. 15 Warriors, 53-48.

For BC High (2-1), the backcourt of juniors Charles Collins (13 points) and Jameilen Jones (12) provided the bulk of the scoring again, while Brookline (1-1) was led by junior guard Lake Berry (15 points).

Simply put, the Warriors would not go away in this one, even as the Eagles continued to make things difficult in the half-court with a 1-3-1 defense that looked improved from Saturday's 15-point loss to No. 2 Charlestown. The Warriors frustrated at several points of the night with full-court presses.

After the Eagles went up 21-15 midway through the second quarter on a Jameilen Jones strip-and-slam on the breakaway, Brookline responded with an 8-0 run, taking the lead on a Berry three from the right wing. The Eagles were able to close out, heading into the break with a 27-23 lead.

BC was at its best, however, in the opening minutes of the third quarter, coming out of the gates on an 11-0 run to take its largest lead of the night at 38-23. The Eagles went high-low, getting multiple touches out of a possession with either Oderah Obukwelu or Justin Roberts, be it entry passes or shots from mid-range that they were able to position for an offensive rebound. The two combined for seven points and seven rebounds in the first five minutes of the quarter.

"We knew we had to attack the boards on them," Eagles head coach Bill Loughnane said. "They [Brookline] are very quick, and strong inside, but our strength is trying to get second or third shots. We knew the more we could get, the better off we'd be tonight."

Staying calm: One couldn't blame Obukwelu if he seemed frustrated in the game's earlygoings. The senior found himself on the bench in the first half with four fouls. But instead, he came back in the second half and played some of his most poised low-post defense of the early season, avoiding that fifth and final four for the rest of the game.

"The second half, he came out and he was strong," Loughnane said. "That's what we need from him if we're going to be a good team."

Filling the lanes: As noted above, one of the things that makes BC High's 1-3-1 zone defense so efficient is the length it has at its arsenal.

Last season, Division 3 state champion Whitinsville Christian boasted one of the state's tallest starting fives, led by wing Taylor Bajema (6-foot-5) and center Hans Miersma (6-foot-9). Flexing Miersma under the basket or in the middle of the zone, the Crusaders made things difficult for any team looking to attack the lanes. Its masterstroke was the state championship game, in which the Crusaders held Watertown to 11-of-54 shooting from the field -- connecting on more three's (6 for 39) than two's (5 for 15).

Loughnane's personnel grouping is obviously different, but it's the same concept: disrupt the routes on entry passes, trap in the corners, and generally keep one's hands and feet wide and active.

"One of the things we want to do with that is pressure the ball," Loughnane said. "Big teams make good plays. They made some big plays, they made some open shots, but we're hoping that they don't make too many."

Said Brookline head coach Mark Fiedor, "I think the first half, you're adjusting to seeing the guys and their length. BC's a long, athletic team, so those passes have to be at the right angle when you throw them. It's hard to simulate that at practice."

Promise on the horizon: As much fight as Brookline showed tonight, and as much height and athleticism they already display, this could be a different team come February.

At 6-foot-6, senior Zeev Gray-Mandell demonstrates tremendous jumping ability, and came up with four blocks. There were possessions where he was caught out of position, but the room for growth is evident.

Sophomore Anthony Jennings, a transplant who just moved here from Cleveland a year ago, uses his lanky 6-foot-3 frame well. Tonight, he came up with eight rebounds, six blocks and three steals harrassing the inbounder at the front of the press.

Berry and sophomore Elijah Rogers bring spunk in the backcourt, but the key may be the health of 6-foot-6 sophomore Obi Obiora, who is out with plantar fasciitis and was in a walking boot on the bench tonight. If he is healthy and in shape at the end of the year, that's another big body to throw into the fire -- and at this level of competition, size can have a significant influence on the playing field.

"Anthony's a heck of a rebounder, he really is," Fiedor said. "Zeev is a heck of a shot blocker, and I think when we get Obi back that'll help us up front, able to put another 6-6 guy in there. But they [BC High] are a little bit ahead of us developmentally. They showed a little more mental toughness than we did tonight, especially to start the second half."

ESPNHS editor Eric Snyder has a rundown on the finalists for Massachusetts' Gatorade Player of the Year award in volleyball. Leading the list is Brookline senior outside hitter Maya Midzik, who helped lead the Warriors to the Division 1 state semifinals, where they lost to eventual state champion Barnstable.

The award will be announced later this month.

From the ESPNHS Gatorade Player of the Year blog:

Maya Midzik
Senior outside hitter/middle blocker, Brookline (Mass.)

2011 Team record: 19-3
2011 Team standing: Lost in Division 1 state semifinals

2011 Kills: 262
2011 Blocks: 15
2011 Digs: 87
2011 Aces: 61
2011 Assists: 5

Academics: A average
Collegiate destination: Yale (verbal)

How she’s played herself into the State POY conversation: USA Volleyball High Performance Department’s 2011 U.S .Women’s Junior A2 Team member. Two-time Division 1 First Team All-State selection.

Cassidy Stankowski
Junior outside hitter, Frontier Regional (South Deerfield, Mass.)

2011 Team record: 23-1
2011 Team standing: Won Division 3 state title

2011 Kills: 276
2011 Blocks: 20
2011 Digs: 143
2011 Aces: 76
2011 Assists: 15

Academics: A-minus average
Collegiate destination: HS junior

How she’s played herself into the State POY conversation: Three-time Division 3 First Team All-State selection. Starter since seventh grade. More than 1,000 career kills.

Make no mistake, the Gatorade State Volleyball Player of the Year race isn’t over yet. Time remains for one standout student-athlete among thousands to rise to the top of our list. Here are some more of many who’ve been in the conversation throughout the 2011 campaign.

Kayla Crook: Barnstable (Hyannis, Mass.) junior setter
Kaylee Deluga: Barnstable (Hyannis, Mass.) senior outside hitter
Taylor Fearing: Marlboro (Mass.) senior setter

Brookline senior attackman Jason Lee has made a commitment to play men's college lacrosse for Assumption College, ESPNHS lacrosse editor Tom Peace reports.

Lee, a member of the Greyhouds' class of 2012, plays club lacrosse for Laxachusetts.

The Greyhounds had a promising 2011 season under head coach Mel Mckee, posting a 9-7 record.

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- There’s something in the water when it comes to Barnstable girls' volleyball.

The Raiders used a swarming defensive effort — where it looked at times there were eight or nine red jerseys on their side of the court — and a powerful display at the net by Kaylee Deluga (18 kills) and Lynne Hibbard (eight kills) to take out Brookline 3-1 (25-14, 25-18, 22-25, 25-15) in the Div. 1 state semi-finals last night at Bridgewater-Raynham High.

Barnstable (22-0) will now play Central Catholic in the state finals in hopes of securing a 14th championship trophy.

“I’m proud of my girls, they rose to the occasion,” said Raiders coach Tom Turco, who has been at the helm for 24 seasons. “You have to give these girls credit.”

Turco’s crew was able to establish a presence at the net early in the first game. Hibbard had three blocks for kills in the early stages and Deluga showed off her ability to put away points with a big, sweeping lefty strike in the 25-14 win for the Raiders.

The key for Barnstable was limiting the Warriors’ key outside hitter, Maya Midzik, from causing havoc on the Raiders back-line. And for two and a half games — including a 25-18 second game victory — the Raiders were able to keep the Warriors (20-3) threat under wraps.

“The thing about their offense is that they don’t just go to her exclusively. They trust their other hitters, but we had to key in on her,” said Turco. “I thought we did a good job and we adjusted our defense outside the block more and came up with some key digs. She’s not going to hit into blocks, she’s going to hit around the blocks and to our kids credit they did that well.”

Midzik and the Warriors did get things together when it looked like the Raiders would wrap up the clean sweep late in the third game. With the Raiders leading 21-17, Brookline went on a 9-1 run to take a 25-22 victory and extend the match.

The Warriors did most of their damage off the serve of Marie Fleming, as Midzik put away four keys points in that stretch, including a loud kill to complete the comeback.

“We executed our game plan,” said Warriors coach Mike Frank. “That was probably the best eight points we played all night, in a row anyway. We didn’t quite execute what we wanted to do.”



The Warriors had all the momentum going into the fourth game, but the Raiders calmly got back to the defense at the net and the ability to withstand the rushes from Midzik and the other outside-hitters to grab a lead at 3-2 and never look back.

Hibbard starred again as she teamed up with Regan Bristol to record a few blocks and form a wall at the net, and the back-line did it’s job in funneling the ball to their attacking offensive players to finish off the match with a 25-15 win.

“We just knew that we had to step up the intensity and we didn’t talk as much as we should have,” said Hibbard. “We knew that we had to come together as a team, because we wanted it and we got it.”

We have a new number one team in our MIAA boys' soccer Top 20 poll this week.

The Lincoln-Sudbury Warriors take the top spot after previous number one Ludlow lost for just the second time this season. The Algonquin Tomahawks remain in at No. 2, while Needham and Weymouth flip flop spots after the Rockets defeated the Wildcats, 1-0, last week. The Bay State Conference is now Needham’s to win after dropped another game 1-0 to Brookline.

Here's a breakdown of the week that was and the week to come from resident soccer guru James Walsh:

ON THE BUBBLE
Lowell (11-2-4) - Scored three second half goals to defeat Central Catholic 3-2.
Wellesley (11-5-0) - You don’t want to play this team in the tournament.
Newton South (8-6-3) - The Lions have won six in a row, and only concede two goals over that stretch. Coach John Conte has his team play well at the most important time of the year.
BC High (8-6-3) - An away loss to Xaverian and a well-earned tie with No. 15 Hingham.
Westford Academy (8-5-2) - A tough 3-1 loss to Lincoln-Sudbury and will be without starting keeper Joe Brunelle after he was shown a straight red during the match.
Brighton (13-0-1) - The Benglas are leading the Boston City League.
Chelsea (8-1-0) - Defeated North Shore 6-0 in their only match last week.
Somerville (11-1-4) - Haven’t loss since opening day.

TOP OF THE TABLE
Lincoln-Sudbury’s win over Westford Academy on Wednesday sealed the Dual County League championship for the Warriors. Westford proved a tough test for L-S, but a Chris Kafina goal from an Andres Driscoll headed cross gave the visitors a 2-1 advantage, and Peter Jandl’s goal in the 69th minute sealed the deal.

“That’s one of our goals that goes down first on the sheet every time is win the DCL” Lincoln-Sudbury head coach David Hosford said, “We’ve done that, and did it with a game left, which is hard to do.”

Experience is also a key for the Warriors, who have all the players to make a deep run in the division one north bracket.

“I’ve got 15 seniors on the team, and a lot of them have been in these types of battles before,” Hosford said. “There is a lot of leadership out there and it’s not just from the captains.”

RECAPPING LAST WEEK'S BIG GAMES
(Last week's rankings)
No. 14 Winchester 2, No. 19 Lexington 1
Sophomore Russell Kunes scored to break a 1-1 deadlock and give the Sachems a 2-1 win and the Middlesex title.

No. 7 Needham vs. No. 4 Weymouth
Needham senior Max Swartz got just enough on his shot to force a rebound out of Weymouth keeper Scott Greenwood, and Needham striker Mac Steeves finished the second chance for the games only score.

“[Brandon] Miskin got the ball pretty quick, played a good ball to me, and I was lucky enough to get just enough on it for Mac to come make that play” said Swartz of the game’s lone goal.

He also had some praise for his opponents. “They’re a good team, and they’re always physical, the most physical team we play. We just had to do our best against them”

GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 19 Lexington at Newton North
Pending Thursday’s results, the Tigers may need this game to qualify for the post season. But they went through this last season and things turned out pretty good for Roy Dow’s team.

The fifth annual Lois Wells Memorial "Kicks for Cancer" event commences this Saturday afternoon, at Concord-Carlisle High School. This year sees the largest field yet, with 12 teams set to face off on two fields.

Kicks for Cancer is held in memory of the late Lois Wells, a Concord resident who passed away in 2007 from cancer. She was the mother of Steve Wells, the team's assistant coach and a 1999 graduate of Concord-Carlisle.

Tickets are $5 for children and $10 for adults. Raffle prizes will be given away, and there will be gourmet concessions. Donations are being accepted here. All proceeds benefit the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

3 p.m.
Lexington vs. Belmont
Brookline vs. Newton North

5:15 p.m.
Reading vs. Woburn
Stoneham vs. Wakefield

7:30 p.m.
Concord-Carlisle vs. Lincoln-Sudbury
Acton-Boxborough vs. Wayland

DyeStat's Marc Bloom breaks down the high school boys' cross-country landscape, state by state, today on ESPNHS. You can read the full preview here; below are his remarks about the Bay State:

MASSACHUSETTS: Pembroke, Gallagher Seek Repeats

State champion Wesley Gallagher returns for Div II defender and Northeast NXN qualifier Pembroke, which has 4 of 7 back and some work to do to match last year’s regional runner-up achievement. Div I defender Brookline has 5 of 7 back, led by 9:24 3200 men Chernet Sisay and Mark Perry, who’s made huge progress since last fall.

The Div I individual ranks are wide open. The contenders include Peabody senior Nick Christians, 3rd in 2010 and then 18th in the Foot Locker Northeast, as well as Marshfield’s Joel Hubbard, 4th in 2010 and then 3rd in the state 1600 in 4:14.52. Another improving runner is Chris Allen (King Philip), the New England 3200 champion (9:05.97) who placed 30th in the Foot Locker Northeast last fall.

The Bay State Conference announced its boys' lacrosse all-stars today, in addition to naming Wellesley goaltender and Penn State commit Conor Darcey as the league's MVP.

Here's the complete list:

First team:
Goaltender - Conor Darcey, Wellesley*
LSM Specialist - Ryan Cassidy, Wellesley*
LSM - Justin Lanzafane, Framingham
Defense - Nate Menninger, Newton North*
Defense - Jake Shearman, Newton North
Defense - Joe Manganaro, Natick
Defense - Jimmy Hughto, Wellesley*
Defense -Matt Ndden, Walpole*
Mid - Mike Stearns, Framingham*
Mid - Cam Brown, Natick*
Mid - Sam Lawrence, Wellesley*
Mid - Charlie Jennings, Wellesley*
Mid - Oliver Saffery, Wellesley
Mid - Mark Riley, Needham*
Mid - Davis Cutter, Needham
Mid - Eli Yannekis, Brookline*
Attack - Peter Crane, Wellesley
Attack - Kyle Guilbert, Walpole*
Attack - Brian Rossman, Norwood
Attack - Matt Hillman, Brookline*
Attack - Will Stenberg, Needham*
Attack - Nico Panepinto, Needham
*Denotes Eastern Mass All-Star

Second team:
Attack - Brendan Kelley, Milton
Attack - Conor Nugent, Framingham
Attack - Nick Foley, Walpole
Attack - Jason Lee, Brookline
Mid - Zack LaFavre, Weymouth
Mid - Ryan Quinn, Newton North
Defense - Matt Kustra, Natick
Defense - Kyle Skinner, Norwood
Defense - Mike Vespa, Needham
Defense - Josh Miller, Braintree
D Mid - Adam Horelick, Wellesley

STARTING FIVE

Guard – Nicole Boudreau, Jr., Andover
The state's Gatorade Player of the Year and Merrimack Valley Conference Player of the Year led the Golden Warriors to their second straight Division 1 state title, and put up impressive numbers in her junior season: 23.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.9 steals, 4.5 assists and two blocks, as the Warriors went 27-1. Boudreau is verbally committed to Boston College.

Guard – Natalie Gomez-Martinez, Sr., Andover
Together with Boudreau, the 5-foot-6 Gomez-Martinez formed the state's most formidable backcourt, and backed it up with some impressive numbers of her own. She averaged 13.5 points, 5.6 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 4.3 steals as the Golden Warriors won their second straight Division 1 state championship. Gomez-Martinez will continue her career next fall at Division 1 Marist College.

Guard – Blake Dietrick, Sr., Wellesley
The Raiders made a surprise early exit from the Division 1 South tournament, but the 5-foot-11 Dietrick leaves Wellesley as one of the school's all-time greatest athletes. This season she averaged 20.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 3.9 steals and was named the Bay State Conference's MVP. She also hit 52 three-pointers this season. She leaves Wellesley with 1,440 career points, and is the school's all-time leading scorer for either gender in both basketball and lacrosse. Dietrick will continue her basketball career next fall at Princeton University.

Forward – Elizabeth Belanger, Jr., Acton-Boxborough
The 5-foot-11 junior continued the momentum from sophomore season, in which she won the Dual County League's MVP, to held the Colonials break through to the TD Garden floor in 2011. After outlasting archrival Lincoln-Sudbury in overtime, the Colonials made it to the Division 1 North final at the Garden, where they lost to eventual state champ Andover. For the season, Belanger averaged 20.5 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.7 steals, and registered her 1,000th point in a D1 North first round win over Billerica.

Center – Tori Faieta, Sr., St. Mary’s
At 6-foot-2, the senior imposed her will around the rim for four years, culminating this season with a Division 3 state championship, the school's first state title since 2003. She was named the Catholic Central League's MVP, and is a four-time league all-star. This season, she averaged 13 points and 11.2 rebounds, and finishes as the all-time leading scorer (1,471 points) and rebounder (1,416 boards) in school history. She will continue her basketball career next fall at Stonehill College.

BEST OF THE REST

Cassi Amenta, Sr., St. Mary’s
Together with Faieta, the 5-foot-11 Amenta formed one of the state's most vicious frontcourts, culminating with a Division 3 state title. The two-time Catholic Central League All-Star leaves St. Mary's as the third all-time leading scorer (907 points), including averages of 10.5 points and 7.6 rebounds this season.

Nicole Beresford, Sr., Marshfield
The 5-foot-11 Beresford has been a rock for the Lady Rams since her freshman year, earning Atlantic Coast League All-Star nods in all four of her years on the varsity and earning a McDonald's All-American nod this season. She averaged 22.4 points and 11.2 rebounds in her senior season, and leaves Marshfield as the school's all-time leading scorer for either gender (1,804 points). Beresford will continue her career next fall at Dartmouth.

Sophie Bikofsky, Sr., Newton South
As co-MVP of the Dual County League for the Large division champs, the 5-foot-11 Bikofsky honed her reputation as one of the area's best shooters. This season she averaged 18.5 points, seven rebounds and 2.7 steals, and memorably got her 1,000th point within 30 seconds of teammate and fellow All-Stater Kendall Burton. Bikofsky will continue her career next fall at Brown.

Kendall Burton, Sr., Newton South
The DCL's other co-MVP was just as versatile on the court as her counterpart Bikofsky. She averaged 15.5 points, six rebounds and 1.7 assists for the Lions as they advanced to the Division 1 South semifinals. Burton, along with Bikofsky, was also a McDonald's All-American nominee this season. She will continue her career next fall at Villanova University.

Amber Dillon, Sr., Brookline
The 5-foot-4 Dillon led the Warriors to a 14-7 campaign in her senior season, while finishing second to Wellesley's Blake Dietrick in scoring in the Bay State Conference. She averaged 15.3 points, four rebounds, four assists and earned a McDonald's All-American nomination this season.

Khadijah Ellison, Sr., Burke
With freakish athletic talents, the 5-foot-8 senior established herself as one of the state's craftiest ballhandlers, if not the best in the city of Boston. The Bulldogs made an early exit in the Division 3 South tournament, but her brightest days are ahead of her. Ellison, the No. 44 overall player nationally in the Class of 2011 by ESPNU, will continue her career next fall in the SEC at Mississippi State.

Julie Frankian, Sr., Millbury
The 5-foot-11 Frankian established herself as one of the most dynamic scorers outside of I-495, leading the Woolies to a fifth straight Central Mass. Division 2 title and fourth straight appearance in the Division 2 state championship. Frankian leaves Millbury as the school's all-time leading scorer, and for her senior season averaged 19.3 points, 8.9 rebounds and three assists. She will continue her career next fall at Division 2 Assumption College.

Arielle Gomes, Sr., New Bedford
The 5-foot-11 power forward was a force in the middle for the Whalers, who went 20-0 during the regular season to earn the No. 1 overall seed in the South and advance to the Division 1 Eastern Mass finals, where they lost to eventual state champion Andover. Before losing to Andover, the Whalers allowed just 40 points per game in the playoffs. For the season she averaged 17.7 points and five assists, and finishes her career at New Bedford as the second all-time leading scorer (1,284 points).

Brenna Gonsalves, Sr., Coyle-Cassidy
The 5-foot-10 Gonsalves leaves Coyle as the school's all-time leading scorer for both boys and girls, with 1,615 points. She was also a three-time Eastern Athletic Conference scoring champion. With Gonsalves leading the way, the Warriors won three straight EAC titles, and took the Division 3 South crown earlier this month. She finishes with a career scoring average of 17.9 points, and amassed 672 rebounds, 254 steals, 202 assists and 140 blocks. She will continue her career next fall at Division 2 Adelphi University.

Monique Heard, Jr., Holyoke
Holyoke's spark plug of a 5-foot-5 point put in a dazzling junior season for the Purple Knights, averaging 22.5 points and six assists per game as they went 19-3 and advanced to the Western Mass. Division 1 semifinals. Heard was also the inaugural recipient of the Basketball Hall of Fame/MassLive Western Mass Player of the Year.

Morgan Jenkins, Sr., Revere
The 6-foot Jenkins was a dominant force in the paint for the Patriots, who won the Northeastern Conference and went 20-0 in the regular season to earn a No. 1 seed in the Division 1 North tournament. Jenkins, who led the NEC in scoring average (18.8 points), will continue her career next fall at St. Michael's College.

Carlene Kluge, Sr., Reading
The 6-foot Kluge lead a young Rockets squad to Middlesex League dominance, as they went 21-2 and won the league outright in the last year before splitting into two divisions. She averaged 13.2 points on the season, as the Rockets advanced to the Division 2 North semifinals. Kluge will continue her career next fall at Bentley College.

Melissa Miller, Sr., Central Catholic
A four-year member of the varsity, Miller co-captained the Raiders to a 20-3 campaign this season and was one of the region's premier forwards, averaging 11.1 points and 7.2 rebounds. For her career, the Merrimack Valley Conference All-Star amassed over 850 points and 500 rebounds. She will continue her career next fall at Merrimack College on a full scholarship.

Gabie Polce, Sr., Central Catholic
A four-year varsity player who has run the point for the Raiders the past 3 years, the 5-foot-9 Polce captained the Raiders to a 20-3 campaign, averaging 10.6 points, 3.7 assists and 2.8 steals. For her career, the Merrimack Valley Conference All-Star scored 838 points, over 210 steals and more than 300 assists. She will continue her career next fall at Division 2 College of St. Rose.

Alyssa Roach, Sr., New Bedford
Along with Arielle Gomes, Roach was a force offensively for the Whalers, who averaged nearly 70 points per game in the regular season and finished the year 24-1, bowing out to eventual state champ Andover in the Division 1 Eastern Mass finals. She averaged 12.6 points and 8.1 rebounds on the season. Roach will continue her career next fall at American International College.

Emma Roberson, Jr., Arlington Catholic
The 5-foot-9 Roberson was the catalyst for a young Cougars squad that captured their first Division 2 state championship in school history in dominating fashion, a 49-28 drubbing of Millbury. After a competitive Catholic Central slate, Roberson led a Cougars defense that allowed just 39 points per game in six playoff games.

Bri Schnare, Jr., Wachusett
The 6-foot-2 forward turned in a stellar junior season for the 15-6 Mountaineers, averaging 12.2 points, eight rebounds and four blocks per game and earning a Mid-Wach A All-Star nod. When play resumes at the end of the year, Schnare will be a captain for head coach Jim Oxford.

Dana Theobald, Jr., West Springfield
One of several lightning-quick point guards to rule Western Mass, the 5-foot-6 Theobald led the district in scoring with 23.5 points per game. Behind Theobald, the Terriers earned a No. 1 overall seed in the Division 1 West sectional, and lost in the semifinals to Longmeadow in an overtime thriller.

BROOKLINE, Mass. -- Jeff Adrien touched down at Logan Airport 1:30 a.m. Thursday morning, and there was no jet lag from the west coast. Not when it's coming home to Boston.

"It's definitely great to be home, definitely not lagging," said the former Brookline High star and newly-minted Golden State Warrior this morning from inside the school's Schluntz Gymnasium, on the eve of Golden State's game with the Celtics tomorrow night at the TD Garden.

Adrien made the Warriors' final roster cut to start the season, but was sent to the D-League after 15 games to make room for point guard Acie Law. With Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Adrien dominated, averaging 18 points and 11 rebounds before getting called back to Golden State last week following the trade of Brandan Wright and Dan Gadzuric to the New Jersey Nets.

He was back at his alma mater this morning, speaking to a quarter-filled gymnasium of Brookline students for a question-and-answer session. Adrien, of course, led Brookline through one of its most successful runs in school history before moving on to a storied career at UConn, twice taking the Warriors to the Division 1 state finals (2002, 2004).

Anything was fair game over the nearly 45 minutes that Adrien spoke with students. His first questioner wasted no time cutting to the chase: is Monta Ellis a ball-hog? Adrien laughed it off, calling the Warriors' lightning-quick point guard "a tremendous athlete" and one of the league's best scorers.

Kobe or LeBron? Adrien chuckled and turned the question back on the student: "Who do you think is better?"

His first and only star-struck moment thus far? Passing by Michael Jordan in the hotel at the D-League All-Star game.

His biggest influence? His own mother.

"My mom worked very hard, I get my work ethic from her," Adrien said. "She kept grinding, kept putting food on the table."

After answering everyone's questions, Adrien then took part in an informal pickup game with current Brookline players Lake Barry, Zeev Gray-Mandell and freshman Elijah Rogers (the latter of whom was a Bay State Conference All-Star Selection this season). Adrien, wearing street clothes and low-tops, paced delicately but set up the 6-foot-4 Gray-Mandell for a big one-handed slam going to the hole.

Gray-Mandell called it the best moment of his high school career thus far.

"It's crazy. That was probably the best feeling I've ever had on a court," Gray-Mandell said. "That was something...It's pretty sick (seeing him), he's a legend here, and it's great that he comes back.

Meanwhile, Adrien struggled to describe the feeling of returning home to the gym where he first toiled under head coach Mark Fiedor.

"Man, words can't really explain how I feel right now," he smiled. "There's alot of new things I'm noticing right now...everything's good."

Adrien also admitted there "definitely" will be some nerves when he sets foot inside the Garden tonight, possibly for some quality minutes.

"It's definitely a different level, but I'll be ready to play," he said. "I'm excited."

Thirty-eight athletes playing at Massachusetts high schools have been nominated for this year's McDonald's All-American basketball games, and it is quite the interesting list. On the boys side, Notre Dame Prep has a whopping six players nominated; also of note, Newton North's Tevin Falzon gets a nomination despite not playing a minute all season due to a wrist injury.

Below is the complete list of nominees for the boys and girls games:

BOYS

Pat Ackerman, Worcester Academy
Khem Birch, Notre Dame Prep
Joe Bramanti, Andover
Ryan Canty, Brimmer & May
Sam Cassell Jr., Notre Dame Prep
Dennis Clifford, Milton Academy
Pat Connaughton, St. John's Prep
Aaron Cosby, Northfield-Mt. Hermon
Myles Davis, Notre Dame Prep
Tevin Falzon, Newton North
Grandy Glaze, Notre Dame Prep
Jon Henault, St. Bernard's
Kyle Kager, Deerfield Academy
James Kennedy, Cushing Academy
Samir McDaniels, New Mission
Joe Mussachia, Manchester-Essex
Angel Nunez, Notre Dame Prep
Kachi Nzerem, New Mission
Andrej Pajovic, Wilbraham & Monson
Joe Sharkey, Northfield-Mt. Hermon
Chris Sherwood, Brimmer & May
Tyler Strange, Notre Dame Prep
Vincent Van Nes, Northfield-Mt. Hermon
Jimmy Zenevitch, Central Catholic

GIRLS

Nicole Beresford, Marshfield
Sophie Bikofsky, Newton South
Kendall Burton, Newton South
Blake Dietrick, Wellesley
Amber Dillon, Brookline
Tori Faieta, St. Mary's
Julie Frankian, Millbury
Natalie Gomez-Martinez, Andover
Brenna Goncalves, Coyle-Cassidy
Briana Hunt, Newton North
Mariah Lesure, Tabor Academy
Samantha Mangano, Winchester
Gabie Polce, Central Catholic
Clare Sullivan, Rivers