CAPE COD – It’s not always easy selecting a single player who stands above all others, even when compared or contrasted with a wide variety of statistical and non-statistical factors, but the bottom line in the selection process was the same question we asked about every nominee for the 2014-15 Cape Cod & the Islands basketball season: what are the intangible qualities that the nominee brings in addition to that player’s statistical output and do those qualities make a significant difference in the success of the player’s team?
Joey Downes, Sandwich High School
Capecod.com Player of the Year
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports file photo
There was one player who brought all of those things together in perhaps the most dynamic fashion: Joey Downes, senior co-captain for the 21-2 Sandwich Blue Knights. Not only did Downes finish the season with a remarkable 508 points, averaging 22.08 points per game, he finished with 1,535 career points and averaged over 5.0 assists per game. More importantly, he breathed confidence into the Blue Knights’ team whenever they seemed on the cusp of doubt – as rare as that was – he brought fans to games, played selflessly and to his credit only scored points when it was necessary. Think about that intangible factor for a moment. How many varsity high school basketball players with the ability to score 40 points per night, actually choose not to do so in an effort to make all five players shine? Not only does that intangible speak volumes about his ability to lead, hence his captaincy, but it speaks volumes about his comprehension of a system or strategy his coach has implemented.
The Sandwich Blue Knights enjoyed the program’s finest season in recent memory, if not in school history, and won 19 straight games before finally capitulating to a tough Oliver Ames team in the sectionals. Downes factored into each one of the season’s victories, set the pace for his teammates, picked up the ball and ran with it when necessary and if scoring 15 points in just one 4:00-minute overtime stanza is not enough to make you look twice, nothing will.
To top it off, Downes paced the Blue Knights to back-to-back Atlantic Coast League championship titles, this year finishing a perfect 8-0 in league play.
For an undeniably magnificent senior season that gave second-year head coach Dennis Green and the Blue Knights one they will never forget, there was little doubt in anyone’s mind who the 2014-15 Capecod.com Cape & Islands Player of the Year was: Joey Downes.
2014-15 Capecod.com Cape & Islands Boys’ Basketball Coach of the Year: Dennis Green, Sandwich High School
Of Sandwich High School boys’ basketball head coach Dennis Green there is no doubt: he knows the game as well as anyone, but more importantly, he is able to teach it to young men and he is able to get them to physically implement what he wants them to do and when he wants them to do it.
Dennis Green, Sandwich High School
Capecod.com Coach of the Year
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports file photo
Yes, there is plenty of fire in the former three-sport collegiate athlete and longtime coach. Yes, there were moments of passion, but those moments of managerial exuberance not once overshadowed what his players were doing on the court and those moments were tempered with a quick reflex to rein his horses back into the stable. Green articulated things well, and could quickly break down any situation to help his Blue Knights reach their ultimate destination. Yes, in the end, the Blue Knights fell, but eventually almost every team does at some point. It is never easy to give 100% every competitive moment, but for what it’s worth, his Blue Knights sure tried.
Green is somewhat of an anachronism, this is true. But that’s a good thing and it is clear he bonds well with the young men he coaches. In spite of the inherent drive to win you could read on his face, and by association and tutelage, his players’ faces as well, one could easily see the prerequisite for any good coach and good team worn clearly on his sleeve: heart.
In just two seasons, Green has established the Sandwich Blue Knights as the team to beat in the Atlantic Coast League and we’d be willing to say that as long as that he’s at the helm it will stay that way.
2014-15 Capecod.com All-Cape & Islands Boys’ Basketball Team
First Team, All-Cape & Islands
Guard – Joey Downes, Sandwich High School, Senior
Guard – Eric Demers, Falmouth High School, Senior
Forward – Andrew Galanek, Sandwich High School, Junior
Forward – LK Metz, Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School, Senior
Center – Hank O’Brien, Sandwich High School, Senior
Second Team, All-Cape & Islands
Guard – Jacob Ashworth, Bourne High School
Guard — Johnny Hatem, Cape Cod Academy, Senior
Forward – Henry Zezze, Cape Cod Academy, Senior
Forward – Jacob Tobey, Sturgis East High School, Senior
Center – Connor Schaefer, Bourne High School, Senior
Guard — Scotty Reels, Sandwich High School
Guard – Will Bennett, Sandwich High School
Forward — Jonathan Warden, St. John Paul II
Forward –Tim Roberts, Martha’s Vineyard
Forward –Ethan “Big Red” Ladue, Nauset Regional High School
Forward –Razz Green, Nauset Regional High School
Forward –Elijah Baptiste, Barnstable
Guard — Riley Fusaro, Nantucket
Forward — Kenny Dorr, Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School
Third Team, All-Cape & Islands
Guard — Diego Meritus, St. John Paul II
Guard — Kevin Marsh, St. John Paul II
Guard — Austin Smolinsky, Upper Cape Tech
Center — Kyle-Andrew Irving, Nantucket
Forward –Chris Davis, Bourne High School
Forward — Parker Freedman, Bourne High School
Guard – Alex GordonBeck, Martha’s Vineyard
Guard — Nick Meehan, Nauset Regional High School
Forward — Gino Fellini, Mashpee High School
Guard — Mike Mondello, Sturgis West
Forward — Logan DeSouza, Monomoy
Forward — Chris Ryder, Monomoy
Center — Will O’Day, Barnstable
Guard — Jordan Lewis, Cape Cod Tech
Wednesday Night: check back for our 2014-15 Capecod.com All-Cape & Islands Girls’ Basketball Team and 2014-15 Capecod.com Girls Basketball Player and Coach of the Year.
Editor’s Note: The 2014-15 Capecod.com All-Cape & Islands Team was selected using a wide variety of resources including coach recommendations, statistics, witnessed performances, news reports, win-loss records and other data.
Sean Walsh is the sports editor for Capecod.com. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm
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