Going into the winter season, Madison fall athletics set the tone for a wild year with 4 teams winning a sectional title. So now it’s time to see if the winter athletics for Madison High School can keep that same idea of success.
One of the winter teams that are expected to have great success in the winter is the boys basketball team, coming off of a sectional title and state championship appearance the year prior.
The roster last year had lots of talent. And that roster has a lot of returners, notably guard, Ithaca commit, senior, and captain Gavin Randall.
Gavin is no doubt the star of the team. He averaged 19.8 PPG, 7.72 RPG, and 3.31 APG. Also surpassing 1k total points in his Highschool career.
Another notable captain absolutely crucial in the sectional title run is Callum Regan, who played the 3 and D role every single game. He’s always had the role of guarding the opponent’s best player.
Finally, Ryan Nallin, who was only a sophomore last year played a crucial role playing guard with Gavin Randall.
Although most of the team is returning, the team will be missing a very important star in Michael Liddy, who actually hit the game winner to win the sectional title against Hoboken last year.
Michael Liddy averaged 11.5 PPG, 3.17 RPG, 3.03 APG last year. The second best player on the team and stepped up when his team needed him most.
So without a player like Michael Liddy playing this year. Other players need to step up. One of these players is Cruz Cassett, who showed various flashes on scoring runs in multiple games.
Senior Callum Regan also explains he wants to see “Bryce Porter step up at shooting guard”.
With all the talent returning and getting better throughout the offseason, it won’t be a surprise to see a repeat run from the Dodgers last year.
Brady Sodano, who’s also expected to make a leap this year, says “We’re hungry for a sectional title and state title”.
Madison’s run was definitely thanks to their coaching in Joe Reel. It’s been said by many of the players on the team that he takes film very seriously, while also being fun and energetic.
The run took the Dodgers to the state final, where they lost to a strong Manasquan team 67-56. The loss of course was heartbreaking, and is probably what the Dodgers currently have on their through the whole season.
Again, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a repeat of the success the Dodgers had last year. And it also won’t be a surprise to see the fall sport success move over to the winter season.