What If? Local also-rans might have built dynasties if superstars stayed home

If James Zenevitch hadn't attended Central Catholic 30 years ago, the landscape of Massachusetts boys and girls basketball might be dramatically different.

Also-rans might be state champions. Heck, they might be mini-dynasties. And juggernauts might be middle-of-the-road teams.

The 6-foot-9 Zenevitch, who never was much of a ballplayer himself, passed on the love of his alma mater to his two talented children.

More importantly, he passed on the height genes!

If 6-foot-3 high school All-American Katie and 6-7 junior Jimmy had attended their hometown school, Methuen High, the Rangers boys and girls teams might have been playing at the TD Garden Friday and instead of suffering through losing seasons.

Instead, the Zenevitches have helped make the Central boys and girls programs among the tops in New England.

Throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire, the teams that flourish are the ones who can keep the home-grown talent home.

Katie, The Eagle-Tribune Player of the Decade, and 6-1 Eastern Mass. scoring leader Rashidat Agboola would have been a 1-2 punch the likes of which the Bay State has rarely, if ever, seen.

On the boys' side, Zenevitch and 6-7 Tilton (N.H.) School star Georges Niang with Rangers standouts Raudy Minaya and Michael Gorman would have made Methuen High nearly unstoppable.

Or maybe they would have paled in comparison to Haverhill.

What, 4-16 Haverhill?

The Shoe City boasts 6-5 Haverhill High star Noah Vonleh, one of the top 15 freshmen in the country, according to ESPN.com. But most of the talent has opted to play elsewhere.

If 6-8, 230-pound sophomore Tom Palleschi from Phillips, 6-4 sophomore sharpshooter Ryan Hartung of Phillips, and powerhouse St. Mark's guard Jaymie Spears (an All-Scholastic last year as a school-choice student at Georgetown High) had all stayed home, how good would the Hillies be?

We'll let Hartung answer that one.

"We probably wouldn't lose a game," he gushed. "It would be the most ridiculous team of all-time."

Put Windham's Carson Desrosiers on Salem High and what happens?

"We never lose a game," said Blue Devils coach E.J. Perry.

Until the new Windham High was built, Windhamites attended Salem and this year's Blue Devils team includes several players from the town.

Of course keeping kids home is easier said than done. But those who adhere to the "I'll-coach whoever shows up the first day of practice" philosophy often find out the hard way who shows up for practice might not be enough to win many games.

Losing the 6-11 Desrosiers to Central was obviously a huge hit for the Salem program.

"I've often said we got two titles (2007, 2008), but with him, we'd probably have four," said Perry, who hopes his 13-7 club can surprise in the upcoming Class L tourney. "There are a lot of could-haves and would-haves, but once he made his decision, we just moved on."

The list goes on and on illustrating the fine line between success and disappointment.

If North Andover High kept towering in-town products like Central's All-MVC junior Melissa Miller, a 6-footer who has been offered a scholarship to Merrimack College, Central's 6-0 freshman Casey McLaughlin and Governor's Academy's 6-2 sophomore Katie O'Book, the sky would be the limit.

Perry has worked tirelessly promoting the program with a popular summer camp, in which Desrosiers was a regular, and making his presence felt in the youth leagues.

He said, "You want visibility. You want to be in the community. You want to be successful. We do community service with the second-graders. We have halftime fourth-grade games (during the varsity games)."

Second-year Haverhill coach Mike Trovato has a big rebuilding project ahead of him. The Hillies have won just one state tourney game in the last 11 years.

"If we had half those kids, 16-4 would be underachieving," said Trovato, whose team went 4-16. "Four or five are potential scholarship-level kids. Of course you would love to have them. But every public school goes through it. ... How can you say don't go to Phillips? It's one of the best schools in the country."

That doesn't mean the former Central Catholic and Bentley point guard is going to give up without a fight.

"We're going to those games (with Haverhill youth teams)," explained the young coach, who also coaches with the Rivals AAU program. "We made a big point with the staff to go to travel games. We want them to know who we are. ... It shows them we care."

Unfortunately for Trovato, eighth-grade hotshot guard Tyler Nelson is taking his talents to Central.

Nobody ever said it would be easy.

E-mail Michael Muldoon@mmuldoon@eagletribune.com.

What Might Have Been

The All-Haverhill team

NameSchoolSizeYearComment

Noah VonlehHaverhill6-5Frosh.Destined for superstardom

Tom PalleschiPhillips6-8Soph.230-pounder with a soft touch

Ryan HartungPhillips6-4Soph. Has size, touch, work ethic

Jaymie Spears St. Mark's5-8Soph. Ex-Georgetown scoring machine starting at prep powerhouse

Dennis DriftmeyerHaverhill5-10 Sr.Averaged 17.4 points in final 12 games

Ryan Grant Whittier6-0Frosh. Averaged 14.1 points a game

The All-Methuen Team

Jimmy Zenevitch Central6-7Jr. Top candidate for Eagle-Tribune MVP honors

Georges NiangTilton6-7Soph. Strong, versatile, battle-tested

Raudy MinayaMethuen6-1 Jr.Area's No. 3 scorer at 22.3 ppg

Michael GormanMethuen5-8Jr. Can stroke it from deep

Jaycob MoralesCentral 6-0Jr. Unsung hero for state semifinalists

Jason BucoBrooks6-1Sr.Two-year starting guard

D.J. FazioAndover5-8Sr.MVC All-Star point guard

The All-Salem/Windham Team

Carson DesrosiersCentral6-11Sr.One of greatest players in area history

Alex LaRosaSalem5-9Sr.May be top guard in Granite State

Ben ProulxPinkerton6-4Sr. Multi-talented forward had option to attend Pinkerton or Salem

Joe GallantSalem6-3Jr.May be region's most improved player

Matthew CannoneSalem6-2Jr.Two-sport star has come on strong

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