By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – The Bristol Eastern boys basketball team could be on track to get back to the state tournament picture for the first time since 2015.
The Lancers return a boatload of juniors that got plenty of experience over last season’s four-win campaign.
The team will be led by the likes of juniors Brayden Dauphinais and Lukas Sward and the duo wants to compete in the postseason.
A couple athletic sophomores will also enter into the mix as well as senior Nate Fries, one of the leaders of the team.
And if this program can stay away from COVID, injuries and the like, the Kingstreeters could earn a chance to compete in the CIAC Division IV bracket under the guidance of head coach Bunty Ray.
Here’s what to expect from the team over at Eastern in 2022-23:
BRISTOL EASTERN BOYS BASKETBALL
Head Coach: Bunty Ray (7th season)
Last Season’s Record: 4-16 overall in 2021 (did not qualify for state tournament play).
Overall Record: In six seasons at Eastern, Ray is 30-82 overall.
Subtractions: Nasir Walker (guard), Elijah Borgelin (forward), Jeremiah Tatum (guard/forward).
Probable Starters: Brayden Dauphinais (jr, forward), Lukas Sward (jr, guard/forward), Nate Fries (sr, forward), Ben D’Amato (jr, shooting guard), Zaveyn Tate (so, forward).
Reserves: Isaiah Lawrence-Bynum (jr, forward), Jordan Chisholm (so, guard), Dante DePass (so, guard), Cheniel Serrano-Perez (senior, guard), Naseem Walker-Jenkins (so, guard), Brady Bell (so, forward).
Strengths: Long range shooting from all five positions, experience.
Weakness: Size
Why Eastern will be successful: Eastern is well-coached and should be in most games it competes in. It will come down on how the squad executes when the showdown is on the line. If shots are falling in the fourth quarter, the Lancers’ confidence will grow accordingly.
Relevant Fact: Dauphinais, Sward, Fries and D’Amato have played a combined 90 games on the varsity level. Hopefully, some of that experience pays some dividends down the road.
Irrelevant Fact: The Kingstreeters square off against Platt twice this season. The next win against the Panthers will be the program’s 70th all-time against the squad – the most against a single opponent in school history.
Overview: This year’s team has a chance to qualify for the CIAC Division IV dance and that’s the hope as Ray brings back a crew with a little experience under its collective belts.
A big group of sophomores have become productive juniors – ready for the grind of the scholastic campaign.
“Those guys put a lot of time in during the offseason,” said Ray. “A lot of them played, a lot of them worked out. So, it’s not just being a year older but really trying to work on their game. Last year, they got thrown into the fire. Anybody who stepped on the court with us knew how hard we worked. We were just overmatched a lot of the times. This year, there’s a feeling that they could do more, and I think that’s helping us.”
There’s some pop in the offense as eight of the 10 players who could see extended varsity minutes are sophomores and juniors.
One of the seniors who will factor into the mix is Nate Fries, bringing a little defense – an occasional three-pointer – and some rebounding to the court.
His rebounding will be essential to the success of the Lancers’ program this year.
“The biggest surprise for me is how well our interior guys are playing against bigger teams,” said Ray. “We didn’t have that last year. Fries has really, really gotten stronger. He’s getting the ball. He’s fitting a role that we really need as an enforcer around the basket.”
Cheniel Serrano-Perez is the other senior on the squad and will see spot minutes at one of the guard positions.
Experience counts in large amounts and that’s what the junior core of Brayden Dauphinais (team-leading 10.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks-per-game in 2021-22), Lukas Sward (7.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists-per-game), Ben D’Amato (4.5 ppg, 27 made three-pointers) and Isaiah Lawrence-Bynum (4.3 points, 4.9 rebounds) will bring to the program.
Dauphinais has a legitimate outside-to-inside game and is able to breakdown defenders one-on-one.
He’ll block shots, can threes, pass the ball well and even scoop up a steal or two along the way.
Sward is a hustler, a very good ball distributor and led the squad in steals a game last season – swiping 1.9 per outing.
He was the only player to start all 20 games last season and averaged a healthy 27.3 minutes-per-game.
That duo will once again lead the program.
“If you look at the minutes last year and how we ran our offense it was run through those two,” said Ray of Sward and Dauphinais. “They have a passion for the game. They have clearly gotten better as I’ve watched the preseason. They’re big but they’re not by themselves, which is good. There’s a lot out there. Last year, it was kind of them, having to figure it out without nothing around them. This year, I think there’s ten, arguably 12 guys that will assist whether it’s on the defensive end, the offensive end, moving the ball or knocking down shots.”
The D’Amato family tree means Ben D’Amato is a gunslinger from deep and when he sets his feet behind the three-point stripe, he’s clutch.
D’Amato is a steady influence on the court and knows how to position himself and gets the ball to the right player more often than not.
Isaiah Lawrence-Bynum is a tremendous athlete who can hustle up and down the floor with zest.
He played in all but one game last year, making 16 starts, managing to hit 44-percent of his field goals overall.
Once he develops a go-to move in the post, Lawrence-Bynum is going to be hard to stop.
“Bynum is a lot bigger,” said Ray, “and a lot tougher than he was last year.”
Ray is expecting big things from that group of veterans.
And then there’s some exciting youth on the squad that will help this team as the year goes on.
Zaveyn Tate ended up being one of the best players on Eastern’s football team this season and the sophomore is athletic as anyone on the hardwood for the locals.
He’ll spend time at either power forward or can play at the center position.
Tate will block a shot or two and don’t be surprised to see him lead the program in rebounds.
“Zaveyn is beyond his years. You can’t go wrong with a Tate,” said Ray.
“We’ve had a lot of [Tate’s] and he’s playing better than a sophomore right now…he’s only going to get better.”
Sophomore Jordan Chisholm can be explosive in a reserve guard position and isn’t afraid to shoot the ball.
He can drain shots from deep and expect him to back up D’Amato on what could be a high-scoring second unit.
Sophomore swingman Dante DePass played in 16 of 20 games last season, averaging just over 8.0 minutes-per-game, and is also adept at hitting shots from deep.
He’s a heady player who should be a solid rotational player.
And sophomore guard Naseem Walker-Jenkins might be called upon as well and isn’t afraid to shoot the ball.
Walker-Jenkins only played in a handful of games last season but will gain experience as he goes along in JV play.
This group has to make its outside shots count because Eastern won’t be the biggest team out on the court and size from other squads could be a problem.
But just about everyone in the program can and will shoot from range and if threes start falling, opponents will be in hot water.
This program simply has to play as a team and minimize the one-on-one play.
Snapping the ball around, making that extra pass, is going to be critical as the Lancers don’t want to be fighting for its eighth victory in the final game of the regular season against the likes of Bristol Central.
Health has not been Eastern’s friend in the past either as depth has always been a problem on the roster.
If this outfit can muster a little confidence and chemistry early in the season, Eastern is going to be in decent shape for a postseason berth.
“Last year as sophomores, there really wasn’t anybody older to play with,” said Ray. “[Elijah] Borgelin got hurt and Nasir [Walker] wasn’t with us at the end of the year. There wasn’t a lot there. This year, the younger guys get the luxury of playing with some older ones.”
