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03/17/2016 12:00 AMThere was no sophomore slump for Noah Rubino with the Guilford boys’ basketball team this year. In fact, Noah had such a solid season that he’s now on the map as an athlete to watch in the Southern Connecticut Conference.
Noah, a center, grabbed some valuable minutes while enjoying a starting role for the Indians as a freshman. This winter, however, Noah raised his game to another level by averaging 12 points a night to go with team-best totals in rebounds (10), assists (2.6), and blocks (2.0) in helping Guilford notch 11 victories and return to postseason play.
“Last year, of course, was only my first year, but having that experience going into this year certainly helped me, plus my teammates were also more experienced,” says Noah, who also plays baseball for the Indians. “My teammates playing well correlates to me playing well—like, for example, when I pass the ball and they score, that helps with my assists and their scoring.”
Indians’ Head Coach Jeff DeMaio notes how Noah’s skill-set has improved by leaps and bounds in just one year’s time. DeMaio also credits Noah for developing into an athlete who knows how to make those around him into better players.
“The growth that Noah has made between last year and this year is incredible. He has matured both mentally and physically and his game has improved on a number of levels,” says DeMaio. “He is attacking the rim, while he also is an unselfish player that is always looking for his teammates. We expect big things from him over the next two years.”
In terms of his defensive abilities, Noah sends the praise back DeMaio’s way and feels his coach’s emphasis on the importance of defense and dominating the glass plays a huge role in his prowess on that end of the court.
“Coach DeMaio always stresses defense in practice with me, so I knew I had to step it up this year when it came to my defense,” Noah says. “We don’t have too many bigs on the team, so I just had to rip down those boards. But it all came from coach’s words and using the practice time to improve on defense.”
Noah made his first postseason contest one to remember this year when he scored 14 points to help Guilford pull off a 46-45 upset at Notre Dame-West Haven in the first round of the SCC Tournament.
“We went into that game knowing it was going to be a dogfight, but in the first half, we certainly didn’t play our best,” says Noah. “Yet after a halftime speech from Coach DeMaio, we played probably our best half of basketball this year in that second half versus a good team and it was a big thrill afterwards when we got the victory.”
Strong kinship among the Indians paved the way for their turnaround in the 2015-’16 season and, with the direction the program is heading, Noah feels confident that Guilford can continue climbing the ladder toward the top of the SCC and state ranks next winter.
“We really have stressed the concept of our team being one big family and we supported each other 100 percent. We had a lot more camaraderie on the team this year with guys pushing each other to do better,” says Noah, who thanks his teammates. “We want to make this team one of the best in the SCC with getting, hopefully, a top-three seed for the league tournament and top five for states, while becoming a powerhouse in the state.”