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Shea cagers eye playoff run |
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Thursday, 26 February 2009 |
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By BRENDAN MCGAIR Sports writer PAWTUCKET – Greg Barker, the head coach at Shea, knew there was potential lurking. He saw glimpses of what the 2008-09 campaign could have in store late last season when the Raiders circled the wagons in the nick of time, winning their final four games to squeeze into the postseason as the 14th and final seed.
Sliding through the backdoor won’t be necessary this time. Armed with an 11-game winning streak heading into tonight’s regular season finale at Scituate, Shea is primed to enter the Division II tournament as the hottest thing in shorts and sneakers.
Regardless of the sport, teams yearn to peak towards the tail end of the season so that the momentum easily rolls over into the second season. It’s just that Shea has been on an upward tick for so long that you wonder if Barker & Co. has crossed over into another realm of excellence.
Asked if he expected the Raiders would turn out in the fashion they have – 17-5, 15-2 Division II-North – Barker responded that he wasn’t caught completely off guard by the team’s play.
“We knew we had some talent, but we didn’t know if the players would develop as quickly as they have,” said Baker, now in his eighth season manning the top post at Shea. “There was a special group of juniors and a good complement of seniors.”
Shea’s string of success can be directly traced to a series of watershed moments. There was the fourth-place finish in the Donaldson Tournament, a disappointing showing that culminated with the Raiders falling by 28 points in the consolation game. More agony was sustained on the same hardwood when Tolman toppled its crosstown rivals by 21 in mid-January.
More heartache ensued a few days later when Shea suffered a last-second loss to defending champ Classical. The defeat was a bitter pill to swallow because the Raiders were in command the majority of the contest before faltering late.
“It was a struggle early on, but through it all myself and my assistant (Matt Pita) saw through the rough times,” admitted Barker. “The kids wanted to show they were better than what was going on.”
The Classical setback was Shea’s last taste of adversity. Since then the Raiders have been mowing down the competition, winning by a runaway average of 18.4. The winning aura included “revenge” wins against Tolman (57-43 on Feb. 13) and Classical (73-59 a week ago).
Barker says the turnaround is directly linked to a team-first/everything-else-second attitude that runs rampant up and down the roster. The Raider player who was first to embrace this “check your ego at the door” concept was Malcum Moniz. It’s little wonder why Barker named the junior Shea’s captain.
Moniz might be the Raiders’ top scorer (20 ppg) and passer (nearly six assists), but he also leads the team in an intangible category that’s just as crucial. “Malcum is a very calming influence,” said Barker. “Not many of the guys get excited or too down, and that’s a direct reflection of him.”
While Moniz is the heart and soul, classmate Kelvin Walker is the equivalent of a revved up engine that only slows up when it’s time to head in for an oil change. Playing at a fast pace is the only way this acrobatic guard knows, yet Walker has done a much better job of accumulating his points while in the flow of Shea’s offense.
“Kelvin’s a raw talent,” said Barker. “When he’s under control and shows composure, he’s dangerous.”
Rudy Brito, a junior, started out the season on a high note, scoring 17 points in an Injury Fund win over Barrington on Dec. 10. After struggling to regain his scoring torch for the longest time, Britto re-announced his presence with a season-high 20 points in last week’s win over Classical.
While the foundation of this Shea team rests with the junior class, Barker can not overlook the rock-solid approach of seniors O.J. Whitaker, Junior Urracca, Braulio Silva and Teeshaw Robinson along with sophomore Austin Silva. At 5-foot-11, Braulio Silva is a tad undersized to play center, but he hasn’t let his size disadvantage stop him from leading Shea in rebounding.
“He uses his body well,” said Barker about the senior Silva.
Thanks to Shea’s surge the Raiders are in position to reap a reward – that is avoiding the preliminary round and an automatic pass to the quarterfinal round at CCRI-Lincoln. The playoff pairings are scheduled to be announced tomorrow with Shea likely to inherit the No. 3 seed behind Narragansett and Classical (both have one loss).
“This is a group that wants a shot to get to the next level,” said Barker. Starting next week the Raiders will get that chance.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 06 March 2009 )
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