Monadnock Regional Athletics
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Boys Varsity Basketball
Team News.
7.0 years ago @ 10:17AM
SWANZEY CENTER — Monadnock Regional junior guard Joe Minson lives and breathes basketball. He emits energy and emotion out on the court; it boils over into the bleachers, where the Monadnock student section hangs on his every move.
Blink, and you might miss something extraordinary.
Just minutes after the game, Minson was already back on the court shooting jump shots with middle schoolers and friends in a backwards visor and button down shirt.
During breaks in the game, Minson can be seen on the court, mouthing lyrics to a song or bumping the beat of the Monadnock student drumline.
“The student section really gets me into it,” said Minson, some white face paint that he sported throughout the game still residing on his right cheek. “You can see me point to them or talk to them during halftime, trying to create a better environment in the gym.
“To me, it’s a huge advantage. When the student section is going off, it is a tough place to play.”
When Minson makes a move, like he did in the third quarter with a crossover and jump shot reminiscent of Allen Iverson, the student section goes nuts. He’ll also occasionally set up a teammate with a behind the back pass in the paint.
Monadnock Coach Jim Hill has coached Minson since he was in middle school. They both moved to the high school ranks together.
“It’s funny, I’ve been Joe’s only coach since middle school,” said Hill, in his third year at the helm of the varsity squad. “He was so scared about not making the middle school team that all he did was shoot and dribble, shoot and dribble. There were rumors of Joe walking up and down the road, dribbling.”
The hard work paid off. But where does Minson get his flair?
“Youtube,” Minson said. “I try to watch other people’s moves, copy them and use it.”
Minson’s ball handling skills even leave some of his own teammates in awe.
“I’ve never seen some of the moves he makes,” senior guard JT Cloutier said. “I have defended against him in practice, and it’s very hard to do because he’s so creative.
Along with Cloutier, a senior, Monadnock has a formidable back court with plenty of varsity experience. Cloutier chipped in 14 points on Tuesday.
“Joe and I have great chemistry outside and inside of basketball,” Cloutier said. “Even though the back court is a strong point, we have amazing bigs, so it’s just one of the strong points.”
The Huskies (1-1) out-rebounded Fall Mountain 40-19. Senior forward Jacob Wood hauled in eight boards to go with 14 points. Senior center Jacob George reeled in six rebounds.
A large portion of Monadnock’s boards came on the offensive end, creating second and third scoring chances.
The balance between the back court and front court bigs are why expectations at Monadnock are skyrocketing. Coming off an 11-9 season a year ago and a playoff appearance, “state championship” is a phrase that the Huskies are not afraid to throw around.
“No longer are we going to say in the offseason we had a fourth quarter lead against somebody but blew it,” Hill said. “The kids are ready to take the next step, they’ve been practicing hard and it’s been enjoyable to come to the gym.
“The heart is there, the grit is there and we are definitely deeper as a team than we were last year.”
Monadnock is back in action on Friday at home against Mascoma Valley. Fall Mountain tips off on Friday at Franklin
-The Keene Sentinel- Michael M. McMahon
7.0 years ago @ 11:09AM
Join us January 3rd at 5:00 pm for the Boys Junior-Varsity game and 6:30 pm for the Varsity game where we will honor and dedicate the Monadnock Gymnasium to Mr. Paul Breckell
Paul Breckell was an institution at Monadnock Regional.
He spent 33 years at the school, 18 as the Athletic Director and 15 as coach of the Boys’ Varsity Basketball team. Mr. Breckell also guided the baseball team to a pair of state titles in four seasons, but basketball was where he made his mark. The patch is simple — Hill said that’s how Breckell would have wanted it to be. It has Breckell’s initials, “PJB” enclosed in a circle. The Huskies will don it on their warmups before each game this season. Hill still has a tremendous amount of respect for his former coach, always calling him “Mr. Breckell” and never referring to him by his first name.
Coach Hill learned how to coach basketball from Breckell. Hill coached the jayvee squad and learned a valuable lesson when he first started out from Breckell, who was coaching the varsity. Hill is entering his first full season as the head coach of the varsity squad, and said he will use a lot of what he learned from Breckell. Hill was close with Breckell both professionally and personally. Breckell’s son, Mark, was the same age as Hill and they were friends as they grew up.
