'A great opportunity': New Taunton boys basketball Colbey Santos hopes to improve each day

TAUNTON— A couple decades ago, a young Colbey Santos attended a basketball camp where legendary Taunton boys basketball coach Charlie Dacey was an instructor.

Little did either know at the time that someday, Santos would be the man to eventually succeed Dacey.

Santos was named the new Tigers boys basketball coach in June, replacing Dacey after 35 years at the helm that included winning the 1997 Division 1 title and, more recently, the program's first outright Hockomock Kelley-Rex title in 2022. Taunton also earned a share of the league title with Mansfield in 2021.

"I don’t take it for granted," Santos said of succeeding Dacey, who was elected to the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame last month. "It’s a great opportunity."

That's not to say Santos doesn't have his fair share of accolades. The Onset native was a standout player for Tabor Academy before playing NCAA Division I basketball player for James Madison and the University of New Hampshire. In 2014, he was hired to coach Bishop Stang and led the Spartans to a 121-76 record as well as three Eastern Athletic Conference titles and the 2016 Division 3 state title.

However, to Santos, that's all in the past. He's much more concerned with the present and future.

"Every day (for me) it’s ’what have you done for me lately,’" Santos said. "My mindset is that I haven’t done anything yet (and) I don’t look at anything I’ve ever done (because) I’m starting from ground zero. With tomorrow being a new day, I’ve got to prove myself and that’s the attitude that I want our players to have."

He takes charge of a Tiger team in the middle of influx. After back-to-back league title and graduating their "big three" of Trent Santos (no relation), Tristan Herry and Faisal Mass, Taunton had an up-and-down campaign before ultimately finishing 13-8 and falling to Hockomock Kelley-Rex foes Attleboro in the Division 1 Round of 32. While they retain 2022-23 Taunton Daily Gazette Boys Basketball Player of the Year Troy Santos (also no relation), fellow All-Scholastics Chris Volcy and Jakare Innocent graduated and transferred to St. Mark's School respectively.

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"Troy is an unbelievable leader," Santos said of the senior guard, captain and University of Hartford commit. "He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen. We actually have to push him to get away from the gym so he takes a break. He is the ultimate role model."

This season, Taunton sees the return of senior guard Cyrus Morissette after a year away from the team and the addition of senior forward Kenzel Jeanmichel, a transfer from Avon who was named an an Enterprise/Patriot Ledger Honorable Mention last year. Senior guard Tyson Carter is another key returner, while junior guard Brandon Adorno will look to establish himself as a main man among others.

"We‘ve got some guys that can shoot the ball and score," Santos said. "We can spread it out this year pretty well, so we’ll go from there."

In particular, Santos is putting an emphasis on improving defensively, something the Tigers struggled with in their season opening 77-73 loss to Sharon.

"We’re figuring it out (and) trying to add a lot of defensive principles so we’re focusing on that," Santos said. "The kids have been very positive so far, so not a bad start to the season."

As for the players, their new coach has already earned their respect as they buy in to the culture he's creating.

"We all trust in Coach Santos," Troy Santos said.

Going forward, Santos said his biggest goal is simply to keep improving day in and day out.

"Every day we’ve got to get a little bit better than we were yesterday, so we’ll take a lot of small goals and let the chips fall that way," Santos said.

Taunton Daily Gazette sports reporter Cameron Merritt can be reached at cmerritt@tauntongazette.com. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @CamMerritt_News. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to the Taunton Daily Gazette today.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: New Taunton boys basketball coach Colbey Santos looks to prove himself