Joe Mussachia has been offered a full scholarship to St. Anselm's College and Southern New Hampshire University in the Northeast 10.  Mussachia a senior to at Manchester Essex High School is another great story for the Rivals basketball program.  The 6'5" Mussachia has worked extremely hard at developing his perimeter game over the last couple of years.  Mussachia has earned himself the reputation as a hard nose kid that gets after it.  Mussachia had a sensational Spring and Summer with the Rivals turning college heads along the way.  Particularly this past Spring and Summer, Mussachia showed a developed body that has obviously made frequent visits to the weight room and a perimeter game that is much improved and could of only been done by hours and hours of hard work in the gym.  Mussachia has shown that at 6'5" he is able to knock down shots as well as put the ball to the floor and finish. 

Mussachia is an excellent student at Manchester Essex and is also considering top academic schools such as Williams College and Amherst College.  We congratulate him for a job well done as we know how hard it is to earn a four year scholarship.

The Rivals 16s also starred in Los Angeles, going 2-1 in pool play with their only loss coming to the eventual tournament champions, Reach Legends from Michigan.  Following the loss the Rivals went on to capture the championship in the silver bracket, defeating Aim High in the championship game and finishing the tournament with a 6-1 record. 

In the finals, Alec Brennan continued his physical play controlling the boards and blocking shots.  Brennan tallied 12 points and 15 rebounds on the evening.  Steve Haladyna was the spark for the Rivals the entire tournament as he continued to come up with lose ball after lose ball and had some huge put backs on the offensive end. Ryan Hartung was the leading scorer for the Rivals with 20 points as he knocked down the big three every time Aim High seem to make a run.  Sam Dowden (14 points) played extremely well knocking down shots and getting to the rim and finishing.  Derek Collins showed that he is a complete player that can score the ball in a variety of ways including knocking down the three, using the pull-up, and finishing around the rim.  Collins also had a couple of length of the court bounce passes that were on the money.

Other contributors to the Silver Medal were Eric Davis who was the Rivals play maker, Joel Barroa who athleticism at the wing was critical at both ends of the court, and Mike Carbone who knocked down critical shots for the Rivals throughout the tournament.

WFU Summer League Highlights: Day One 

 http://www.bloggersodear.com/2010/7/13/1567688/wfu-summer-league-highlights-day

Some of the Rivals pose for a picture at Hoop Mountain.  From left to right are Eric Davis, Cedric Kuakumensah, Joe Mussachia, Ben Hill, Jordan Laguerre, Scott King, Ryan Canty, Javon Williams,  Matt Cimino, Mickel Simpson, Mike Auger, Brad Holler, Ryan Hartung, Mack Burt, Quentin Bullin, and Zach Auguste. Missing from the picture but in attendance were David Madol,  Dimitri Floras, Alec Brennan, Steve Haladyna, Mabor Gabriel, and Ken Miyachi.

The Rivals Basketball Club was the story at this weeks Hoop Mountain Camp at Stonehill College in Easton, MA.   430 kids attended the camp and the Rivals were the most represented AAU team with 22 players in attendance.  With many college coaches in attendance, it was easy to recognize that UMass Head Coach Derek Kellog was parked under the basket on whatever court Jordan Laguerre and Ryan Canty were playing on.  It was just as noticeable that B.C. coach Joe Jones was watching the talented Zach Auguste. Jordan Laguerre, who just accepted a scholarship to UMass Amherst, was outstanding all week as he was awarded the camp MVP.  Ryan Canty was the slam dunk champion (no surprise) as he brought down the house during the contest.   Jordan and Ryan were named camp All-Stars and were joined by Zach Auguste,  Cedric Kuakumensah, Joe Mussachia, Scott King, and Ben Hill.   Congrats to all.

July 4th, 2010
New England Recruiting Report

Minutemen keeping one of New England's top guards close to home for next four years.

The University of Massachusetts picked up a big commitment earlier this weekend from New Hampshire native Jordan Laguerre. 

The timing couldn't be better for the Minutemen as they lock up one of the region's most talented guards just prior to the beginning of the evaluation period. 

Laguerre is the rare talent who can thrive on both ends of the floor.  He is an explosive offensive player who can get anywhere he wants with his dribble, has an endless array of bouncy finishes at the rim, and has developed into a consistent shooting threat behind the three-point line.  Defensively he is just as good, showing the quickness to lock up scorers in the half-court or pressure the basketball for 94 feet. 

His talents seem to be ideally suited for UMass' system which relies on full court pressure defensives to create tempo and playmaking guards to operate in their dribble drive motion offense. 

Beyond the style of play, Laguerre was also comfortable with a variety of other factors at UMass. 

"I have been down three times, played with the team, and gotten to know the underclassmen," Laguerre said.  "I like the kids I'm going to be playing with, feel like I can talk to the coaches, and like the school itself."

While staying close to home wasn't necessary a priority, Laguerre admits "it is very convenient" and is looking forward to having family and friends watch as he hopes to help continue to rebuild the UMass program. 

"There is a lot of talent there," he said.  "The program is definitely going in the right direction and I want to be a part of it." 

One person who was instrumental in Laguerre's decision was his guardian Jeff Gore. 

Laguerre says that he has known Gore "since I was like five years old."

Gore works with a number of inner city kids in Laguerre's hometown of Manchester, New Hampshire but the two formed a quick bond and have been extremely close ever since. 

"There have been a lot of other kids that I've done the same thing for but Jordan was always special," Gore said.  "It wasn't just because of his basketball talent.  He has always been a great kid, very respectful.  He's always been that good kid that everybody likes.  I've always looked at him as a son and tried to be like a father figure to him." 

Gore has also proven to be a tremendous resource to Laguerre and his mother when it came to the basketball world.  A division II assistant coach at Southern New Hampshire University, Gore was not only able to offer Laguerre guidance on the floor but also with his knowledge of NCAA rules, prep schools, and recruiting. 

And while basketball is certainly a passion that binds the two, Laguerre says their relationship extends far beyond. 

"He's really more like a dad to me than a coach," he said.  "He's helped me through a lot through the years." 

While Laguerre's recruiting stock has really taken off within the last year, Gore saw his protégé's potential at a very young age. 

"He always had an ability to make difficult shots," Gore said.  "When he was younger he would take some crazy shots, but he made them.  He always took

Noah Vonleh Is Making National News

The rankings for the top 25 sophomores in the country just came out and Rivals Noah Vonleh appears in a list of 5 players that fell just short of making the top 25.  Doing the math, that puts Vonleh in the top thirty.  That's pretty amazing for a  young man that is only 14 years old and could technically be an eigth grader.  Here is what ESPN had to say about Vonleh.
 
Noah Vonleh (Haverhill, Mass./Haverhill)
SF, 6-5, 175 pounds | College: Undecided
He's a long, strong swingman with huge hands and feet but appears to still be growing. Vonleh has star qualities with instinctive efficiency in his game. He attacks the rim, is a big-time rebounder and has a rapidly-developing jump shot.

Carson Desrosiers

Position: Center
Height: 6'11"
Weight: 230
High School: Central Catholic
Hometown: Windham, NH
College: Wake Forest
GPA: 3.1

Rivals standout and Wake Forest bound Carson Desrosiers was selected to play in the 2nd Annual High School Academic All-American Classic will be held this weekend May 1, 2010 at the Felix Events Center on the campus of Azusa Pacific University.  Desrosiers is known for both his talent on the basketball court and in the classroom.  Derosiers has a 3.1 GPA and had over a 600 in each of his Math and English section of the SATs. 

THE SELECTION PROCESS
The HSAAAC will feature the finest basketball players in the country who have excelled in the classroom and have contributed to their communities. Student-athletes are selected based on the following criteria: grade point average, SAT/ACT scores, strength of high school curriculum, college selection, community service involvement, extra curricular activities and basketball ability. In this, the 2nd year of the classic, players chosen will have had to maintain a cumulative 3.0 grade point average. This year's participants have an average grade point average of 3.6

In addition to the game, this year's event will feature a formal banquet, a Los Angeles tour, a free camp for Special Olympics, Slam Dunk 3-Point Competition and a parent workshop. This year we will also provide Life Skills Performance workshops on the following topics:

- Financial Planning For Life After Basketball
- Managing Academics & Athletics In College
- Mental Training For Success (Graham Betchart - GB Performance)
- Maximizing The College Experience
- Preparing For Professional Basketball After College
- College Panel Board with former Academic All-Americans

To learn more about the game visit http://www.hsaaa-classic.com/

CLASS L:  FIRST TEAM: David Madol, jr., forward, Trinity; Alex Burt, sr., guard, Winnacunnet; Alex LaRosa, sr., guard, Salem; Zach Mathieu, sr., center, Pinkerton Academy; John Wickey, jr., center, Manchester Central; Cormac Fitzpatrick, sr., guard, Manchester Memorial.

The New Hampshire Basketball Coaches Organization recently announced that the prestigious Mr. New Hampshire Basketball Award was going to Dover High School's Alex Burt for the 2009-10 season. 

Burt won the award by virtue of being the top vote getter in the state.  Players were graded in three different areas - academic excellence (25 percent), sportsmanship (25 percent), and basketball accomplishments (50 percent). 

Burt was the leading scorer for a Dover team that advanced to the semi-finals of the Class L state tournament and finished with an overall record of 16-5. 

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