Johnston trying to rebuild on the fly for third straight year

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At some point, graduation losses take their toll in high school sports, but the Johnston boys’ basketball team has managed to avoid that the past few years by replacing their stars with almost no drop-off.

When Isaac Medeiros graduated in 2011, there was still 1,000-point scorer Ryan Anderson in the fold. When Anderson graduated, Evan Hopson, another 1,000-point scorer, was there to grab the reins as the team’s go-to offensive player.

It’s no coincidence then that Johnston has finished in the top two in its Division III subdivision each of the past four years and has gone 12-6 or better every time.

But with Hopson gone this year, the Panthers are tasked with replacing another big-time player, and they’re hoping a few of their returners are ready to step into the spotlight. There are definitely some candidates, but for the first time in a while, it’s not all cut and dry for Johnston.

“We always had that one guy whether it was Isaac or Evan or Ryan Anderson that when it came to that last shot we could always depend on them,” said head coach Steve DeMeo. “These guys are going to have to pick it up.”

That isn’t to say there isn’t talent on the team. If everything falls right, Johnston could have one of the better starting lineups in Division III, and it has potential breakout stars in senior guard Ryan McKeon and senior big man Mark Breton.

McKeon, a baseball standout, will play one of the guard spots, and he’s been a fixture in the lineup since his sophomore year. Last year, he really became a weapon with his outside shooting.

“We can just pencil Ryan in,” DeMeo said. “He’s used to playing a lot of minutes since he was a sophomore.”

Breton played some last year and emerged as a force during Johnston’s two-game D-III playoff run. He was stuck behind Hopson and Alex Tenerella at times last year, plus swingman Steve Simone, but there’s no question he’s the leader of the frontcourt now.

“He’s taken his leadership role very seriously,” DeMeo said. “He’s working hard. There aren’t going to be too many stronger people than him.”

Joining McKeon in the backcourt is senior Zach Coro, another player who made contributions last year as a junior. He was at times behind guard Tyreek McPhail, but McPhail transferred to Mt. Pleasant this year, opening up a guard spot.

The other starters are junior Larry Dureault and sophomore Eddie Gallucci. Dureault was on the team last year, while Gallucci played junior varsity as a freshman before being called up for the team’s playoff games.

“Eddie is a work in progress,” DeMeo said. “He’s only a sophomore, but he’s probably the hardest working player on the team.”

The starting lineup figures to be versatile, specifically on the perimeter. The rest of the team, however, will need to come around if Johnston is going to make any noise.

“Our starting five is going to be very, very good,” DeMeo said. “The rest of the guys, no one will out-work us, but we don’t have the biggest depth in our frontcourt.”

Just about everybody on the bench is a guard. Johnston will turn to junior Louie Sasa to help out down low, and then junior guards Matt Paquin and Jacob Dannenfelser and seniors Abdullah Jobe and Joe Bongiovanni.

Sophomore Steve Cotoia has been working hard and could get some minutes too, as could freshman Ryan Yankee, who was on the Ferri Middle School state runner-up team from a year ago.

“We’ve scrimmaged Barrington and Shea and starting five against starting five, we’ve more than held our own with them,” DeMeo said. “There is right now kind of a drop-off. But everything that is going on is correctable. Their heart and desire is there. That’s not a question.”

Johnston is in a sub-division D-III-West, with Scituate, Ponaganset and East Greenwich, and there won’t be any cakewalks. The Panthers’ first league game is against Scituate on Thursday, Dec. 19 at home at 7 p.m. Before that, though, they will play at Cumberland on Friday at 7 p.m. in an Injury Fund game, then compete against Warwick Vets on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Ponaganset’s Pink Madness Classic. On Monday, they will host D-I Cranston West for a non-league match-up at 7 p.m.

Johnston will try to replenish on the fly once again.

“We’re going to be fighters,” DeMeo said. “It’s probably not going to be pretty at times, but we could make the playoffs if everything falls together. It’s just getting the second group up to varsity standards.”

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