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01/05/2022 11:00 PMThe Daniel Hand boys’ basketball team couldn’t have asked for a better start to its 2021-’22 campaign. The Tigers opened with three straight wins, and Head Coach Jimmy Economopoulos is pleased with the strides his team made from last season.
“I am most looking forward to playing a full-game schedule and having an opportunity at the end of the year in both the league and state tournaments,” said Economopoulos. “Playing in those single-elimination tournaments is a great opportunity for our guys to compete and play for a championship.”
Hand opened its season on Dec. 16 with a convincing 61-35 victory at home against Foran. Senior Tyler Favre had a team-high 14 points and eight rebounds in the win, while senior captain Trey Adams amassed 11 points and six rebounds.
“We need to continue to improve on the offensive end,” said Coach Economopoulos. “When we play fast we are able to get into our offense and move the ball. At times, however, we get stagnant and don’t look like a cohesive unit. We have the ability to put up a lot of points with the talent on our roster, but we are still working on coming together as a group and getting everyone involved.”
Two days later, Hand played host to Greenwich and came away with a 47-44 win, capped off by a game-winning three-pointer by junior Hudson Geremia. Geremia finished with a team-best 18 points, while Favre collected 13 points and 16 rebounds.
“I really liked how hard we played on the defensive end,” said Coach Economopoulos. “The most points we gave up in any of the three games was 44 so we will always be pleased with that. I was also encouraged with how we battled in the Greenwich game. They are a tough opponent, and we gave up an early lead. Greenwich had a lot of momentum at the end of that game, and despite some mistakes we were able to hang tough and find a way to get the W.”
The Tigers’ most recent victory came at Jonathan Law on Dec. 20, when Hand defeated the Eagles 55-36. Favre had 14 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in the win. Geremia, junior Jacob Rachler, and sophomore Kyle Hoffman each had nine points.
“We have a great group of guys this year,” said Coach Economopoulos. “Obviously we are happy to have started out 3-0, but our team has a lot we hope to accomplish, and we are just getting started. We have a lot we still need to improve upon, and we have only scratched the surface of what we are capable of. We have a great combination of upperclassmen leadership mixed with talented youth. We play a gauntlet of a league schedule that we hope will challenge us and have us ready for postseason play.”
Hand was scheduled to compete in a holiday tournament over the Christmas/New Year’s holiday, however, due to a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, all competition was canceled.
“Unfortunately, we had to shut down this past week and postpone our holiday tournament games,” said Coach Economopoulous. “We had a number of people in our program test positive for COVID. Luckily everyone is okay and only experienced mild- to no symptoms and our games are already rescheduled for later in the year.”
Coach Economopoulos is most excited for the depth his roster features this season. The team returned two All-SCC players, and he’s looking forward to seeing others contribute to the team as well.
“We return two all-league players from last season in sophomore Kyle Hoffman and senior Tyler Favre,” said Coach Economopoulos. “Other senior leaders include captains Trey Adams and Morgan Veth.
“We also return seniors Danny Hilmer, Jack Balletto; juniors Hudson Geremia, Jacob Rachler and David Howe,” Economopoulos continued. “Freshman Chase Geremia has been starting for us at the start of the season.”
Hand’s schedule for the 2022 season features games against Notre Dame-West Haven, Lyman Hall, Wilbur Cross, Wilton, Career Magnet, Amity, Guilford, Platt and Morgan.
The Tigers’ roster this season features seniors Jack Balletto, Danny Hilmer, John Adams, Morgan Veth and Tyler Favre; juniors Hudson Geremia, David Howe, Andrew Onubogu, Nicholas Paoella, Kiran Pathy, Jacob Rachler, and Reece Scott; sophomores Chase Docker, Aidan Doyle, Kyle Hoffman, Tyler Maynard, Tai Nuzzi, Owen Preskar, Jack Shay and Jack Tompkins; and freshmen Ernesto Barrosa, Orion Brueckner, Griffin Bayne, Kenny Carter, Chase Geremia, Sam Markovitz, Michael Mazzola, and Quinton O’Dea.
“We have a huge game tomorrow when Notre Dame-West Haven comes to Madison,” said Coach Economopoulos. “They are a great program that always seems to be in the SCC championship game year in and year out. Them and Wilbur Cross are both top-five teams in the state in my opinion, so having the opportunity to compete against the best is a great challenge for us, and we are excited to take that on.”