Two holiday break wins brighten outlook for NFA boys basketball
NORWICH - It's a long 20-game regular season but after starting 0-3 with a first-year coach and a game with powerhouse New London looming, the Norwich Free Academy boys basketball team needed some cheering up during the holidays.
Coach Jeff Brown and the Wildcats gave themselves the best present possible: two straight wins to brighten their early-season outlook.
NFA can write thank you notes to a variety of givers, including a crop of underclassmen.
Brown started two freshmen guards, Josh Lavoie and Jamier Ford, to spark NFA's 72-67 win over East Hartford on Dec. 27. Lavoie was outstanding defensively and Ford's quickness caused three steals to go with his four points.
“Ford is very quick and ready to play varsity ball,” Brown said. “Lavoie gave us a defensive presence. He's a starting soccer player and can get right on people. We got them in the mix to shake things up. They add to our rotation of about 10 players, most of all are guards, and allow us to play at maximum intensity.”
Wildcats senior shooting guard Armanee Davis scored 19 points in the win over East Hartford. Davis also had a team-high 19 points in the Wildcats’ 61-51 win over Glastonbury at Windsor High School.
“Armanee came up big offensively in the wins,” Brown added. “We have a number of players that are capable of going off for big scoring nights, but it’s key to have someone step up like Armanee did to provide points.”
NFA opened the 2023-24 campaign with losses against Fitch, East Lyme and Lincoln (R.I.). The Wildcats shot the ball well in all three games but Brown felt his club needed to ramp up its pressure defense to disrupt teams more.
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“We played some tough teams but I thought we could execute better,” Brown said. “In our two wins, we stuck with the game plan.”
Davis, who averaged about 10 points a game last year, was NFA's go-to guy. And he got help from senior guard Keegan Johnston, who scored 15 points against East Hartford on a flurry of 3-pointers, and senior forward Camron Barnoza, who added 14 points.
“Camron has a low-post presence offensively despite being six-feet,” Brown said. “We get what we can inside from him and 6-foot Ethan Graham. He's (Graham) a talented sophomore who has the whole package offensively inside and out. Keegan came back to school much stronger after spending a lot of time in the gym this summer.”
Junior shooting guard Kody Jamieson, one of the tallest Wildcats at 6-2, and 6-1 enforcer Gage Hinkley, have contributed as well. Jamieson scored 10 points against East Hartford, including a seven of eight shooting performance from the free throw line.
Brown also looks to insert senior guard Eshaad Hernandez, a 3-point shooting threat, into the rotation after he missed early games.
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Brown realizes he doesn't have the type of physical talent NFA had two years ago during its 16-3 regular season record. NFA will not throw down dunks the way 6-6 center Javen Foster did two years ago and may not feature the wicked crossover dribbles and 3-point wizardry of former guards Tony Williams and Nazir Rembert.
Despite Tuesday’s 71-58 loss against No. 8 New London, Brown fully expects this nucleus to play competitive basketball and post the type of success it showed against up-state teams in the last two games.
“It wasn't ideal starting with an 0-3 record, but the players' attitudes have been great on and off the court,” Brown said. “It's a long season and it's going to be a grind. We're looking forward to a nice 2024.”
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Jeff Brown and Norwich Free Academy boys basketball team regrouping
