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12/28/2016 11:00 PMEven with a new head coach and several newcomers to the varsity ranks, the Hand boys’ basketball team isn’t looking as this year as a rebuilding season. Instead, the Tigers are aiming for the 2016-’17 campaign to be one of steady progression from game to game with hopes of growing as a group.
Last year, Hand went 11-9 for the regular season before defeating Cheshire in the SCC Tournament and then losing to Hillhouse in the quarterfinals. In states, the Tigers traveled to E.O. Smith and scored a 73-71 road victory in overtime in the first round. The Tigers then took a 70-62 defeat to Notre Dame-West Haven and finished the season with a record of 13-11.
This winter, Hand has a new head coach in Jim Economopoulos and, although his boys are a little light on experience, Economopoulos and company are learning together on the job, while putting the pieces in place to ultimately create a machine of success. So far, the Tigers’ inexperience has shown up a bit in the standings as Hand is 0-3 after having taken a 67-52 home loss to East Lyme on Dec. 20, a 62-49 defeat in Guilford two days later, and a 65-27 loss at Ridgefield on Dec. 27. Still, Coach Economopoulos knows that his athletes are going to work as hard as they can on a daily basis.
“Our goal is to come into practice every single day and improve. Most of our guys returning have little varsity experience at best and so several are new to varsity,” said Economopoulos, who replaces Frank Rossi. “We want to try and improve on the small things every day because those small things are what will help you win games. Our main goals are to try and work hard and improve each day.”
The Tigers are led by their senior captain trio of forward Garrett Noonan, along with guards Ken Ciotti and Colin Parsch. While each of athlete brings his own unique attributes to the court, all three are also making big-time contributions with their heart and hustle.
“Garrett has a great motor and you know he will show up ready each day. You don’t have to motivate him at al, and he’s one of our toughest players,” Economopoulos said. “Ken is a great leader and coach on the floor. He’s always making sure the guys are organized and in their right spots. He’s been our best shooter and made four three-pointers in our first two games. Colin comes off the bench and he is a solid leader. He always gets the most out of his body with his work.”
Coach Economopoulos added that Hand also features four more athletes who could pose problems for SCC opponents in senior forward Louis Donofrio, 6-foot-5 junior center Graeme McGivern, junior guard Kijana Richmond, and sophomore Joshua Cabral.
“Graeme has been a pleasant surprise so far. He’s a tough kid who rebounds well. Joshua works his butt off. He has no varsity experience, but he’s a talented player,” Economopoulos said. “Louis is a football player who is a starter and great shooter. We are looking for him to have an impact for us down the stretch. Kijana is a strong defender that is coming off the bench.”
Even with such a short sample size this season, Economopoulos said that he’s already marked improvement from his squad. The first-year coach hopes to continue seeing an upward trend as the winter campaign unfolds.
“It’s early, but in our first game against East Lyme, I could tell the kids had some jitters and we turned the ball over a lot, but since then, we’ve improved in every quarter,” said Economopoulos. “We improved a lot from the first game to the second against Guilford. We are looking to do just that all year long. I’m not so much concerned with wins and losses. I just want us to always be working hard.”
With the realignment of the SCC, the Tigers have moved out of the Hammonasset Division and into the Housatonic with league powers Hillhouse and Hamden, as well as Lyman Hall and North Haven. In what will be a long and arduous journey through the dead of winter, Economopoulos knows that Hand can only look so far ahead.
“We are in a tough division with two really good SCC teams in Hamden and Hillhouse and both Lyman Hall and North Haven are looking good this year,” he said. “There are no gimmes on our schedule, so we have to just take things one game at a time.”
From the Sidelines
The Tigers’ assistant coaches this year are new JV coach Julian Sanders, who was a teammate of Head Coach Jim Economopoulos at Albertus Magnus College; along with freshman coach George Braun.
Economopoulos had previously spent two seasons with the boys’ freshman team at Foran. He’s also coached both boys and girls at the AAU level through the past decade.
Hand’s non-divisional schedule includes two games against Branford, Amity, and Cheshire, plus one versus Guilford and Xavier.