By Christopher Tremblay

Staff Sports Writer 

Last winter was not one of the better seasons for the Holliston boys’ basketball team.

With 8 returning players this winter, coach Chris Vanesian believes that the squad is ready to take a turn and improve upon last season’s 1-19 campaign.

“Last year was really tough, but we progressed a lot throughout the season,” the Panther Coach said. “The kids stepped up when needed and developed into their roles; I am looking forward to this year.”

Although the Panthers were only able to secure one win last season, their defense was stellar throughout keeping many teams under 50 points per contest. 

Unfortunately, while the defense was doing its part, the offense just could manage to score more points than they were allowing to pick up the victories.

“We had some games that we just couldn’t score,” Vanesian said. “The kids all believe in each other and I am very excited to see what type of jump they make this year.”

Of the eight returners only two, Owen Vaughn and Ethan Suhajda, were staters for Holliston last winter and both will be looked upon to help increase the Panthers scoring.

Vaughn, a two-year captain and four-year varsity starter, will be a big part of the Panthers identity this season. According to the coach, the senior forward is a great shooter that average 10-points er contest for Holliston last year while shooting 30-percent from the three-point line. 

“He’s a basketball junkie, a bigtime shooter and the guys look up to him as the leader of the team. His work ethic and his intangibles are things that cannot be measured,” the Coach said. “As a two-year captain he knows what is expected of him and is always trying to improve. During the off-season he has been able to get the guys together to improve on their games.”

While Vaughn brings back the leadership and experience Suhajda will be only retuning for his second season on the court with the Panthers. As a first-year varsity player last year he started 17 games and averaged 7 points while adding 5 rebounds per contest.

Vanesian noted that the freshman developed his perimeter shooting as the season went on last winter.

“He is a phenomenal soccer player, but loves basketball,” the Coach said. “Being on the younger side he relates to the younger kids on the junior varsity and middle school teams and was able to get them into the varsity weight room to start training. These kids will be an important piece of our team in the future.”

Brent Kiley is the other senior captain, and although he only saw spot minutes last year he was ready to go whenever his number was called. Each and every time that he does get to step onto the court he works extremely hard and gives it all that he has. He is also the team’s true vocal leader. He continually is talking up the other players and was a huge part in getting them together to play in basketball leagues during the off-season.

Another athlete who saw a lot of time last year was Cooper Fiamani. The junior was the team’s sixth or seventh player off the bench last season and although undersized he plays big for the Panthers. As a sophomore he averaged 4 rebounds and 5 points per game last year.

Fiamani also worked on his perimeter shooting and should be an important piece in the Holliston offense this winter.

“His scoring should be up this year, but he also does a lot of the dirty work for us,” Vanesian said. “Cooper is a hard worker and will do whatever you ask of him to the best of his ability. He adjusted well as a sophomore and has been progressing and should be better moving forward.”

Juniors Robbie Howell and Alessio Pinci will find themselves as role players for the Panthers this season. Both juniors are good shooters, especially from beyond the three-point arc. Vanesian is hoping that they both take that leap this season and come to the aide of the offense.

Despite the poor performance in regard to last year’s wins and losses Vanesian believes that this year’s team will continue t get better as the season goes along.

“We’re playing to build, while pushing the culture on the court with these guys working hard together,” the Coach said. “I know that they have a lot of talent and can compete with anyone.”

The Holliston season will get underway on Dec. 13 when the Panthers host Dedham in what they are hoping is a chance to redeem themselves and make a statement. Playing in a strong Tri-Valley League the Panthers are ultimately looking to achieve their goal of making it into the state tournament. Vanesian firmly believes that if the squad focuses on getting better, they will be able to reach that goal.