By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – Is it time for the Bristol Eastern boys basketball team to finally make a deep playoff run?
Don’t be surprised if the Lancers take off this season after getting a little sampling of the CIAC Division IV tournament in 2023.
This squad is locked and loaded, experienced through the gills and has enough firepower to handle all the CCC programs the Kingstreeters will bump into.
The starting unit of Lukas Sward, Brayden Dauphinais, Brady Bell, Zaveyn Tate and Jordan Chisholm bring speed, ability and some downright nastiness to the hardwood and opponents are in for a long night when BEHS boys basketball is firing on all cylinders.
Here’s the deal when it comes to Bristol Eastern in 2023-24:
BRISTOL EASTERN BOYS BASKETBALL
Head Coach: Bunty Ray (8th season)
Last Season’s Record: 10-11 overall in 2023 (No. 23 Bristol Eastern lost to No. 10 Seymour by a 65-43 final in a Division IV, first round playoff showdown).
Overall Record: In seven seasons at Eastern, Ray is 40-93 overall.
Subtractions: Nate Fries (forward)
Probable Starters: Brayden Dauphinais (sr, forward), Lukas Sward (sr, guard/forward), Zaveyn Tate (jr, forward), Jordan Chisholm (jr, guard), Brady Bell (jr, forward).
Reserves: Isaiah Lawrence-Bynum (sr, forward), Dante DePass (jr, guard), Ben D’Amato (sr, shooting guard), Naseem Walker (jr, guard).
Strengths: Vast amount of experience, chemistry, three-point shooting ability.
Weakness: Size
Why Eastern will be successful: Most of the team have been playing together since the completion of the 2022-23 campaign. The chemistry the group has shown has been a bit uncanny.
Relevant Fact: Dauphinais, Sward, Bynum and D’Amato have played varsity basketball since they were all sophomores. That experience cannot be discounted.
Irrelevant Fact: Eastern won’t have a home game until the completion of the New Year’s holiday. The Kingstreeters have six games away from home before finally returning to the campus at BEHS on January 5 in a CCC showdown against Tolland.
Overview: This Eastern squad is going to be tricky to contend with in 2023-24.
The Lancers have shared the ball extremely well in preseason play, the individual players understand their roles and Ray has a three to four man bench he can turn to in a heartbeat to keep the momentum going.
And there’s a big expectation that this squad is going to win more than its usual share of games.
“We’ve been talking a lot about the season. I think the kids are really excited,” said Ray. “For the first time ever, my goals are kind of different than theirs. We keep talking about things aside from basketball. I think that’s really helped us.”
“I don’t want them playing with pressure, I don’t want them thinking they have to do more than they can. I want to them to just really enjoy the season and each other.”
In terms of on-court stature, the Lancers may not have a 6-foot-8 giant in the middle but the starting five are going to muddy the water defensively, all those players on the floor – and more off the pine – can and will shoot from three-point territory and the squad has developed a winning basketball IQ that will help fuel this season’s effort.
That starting five will feature two, two-year varsity standouts in Lukas Sward and Brayden Dauphinais, a couple highly skilled players who will help navigate the ship.
Sward is a complete point guard while Dauphinais plays multiple positions whether he’s slotted as a big guard or at small/power forward.
“It’s all of their time,” said Ray of the team. “I don’t think anybody is really above anybody else. Lukas has the most minutes but Dauphinais probably has six minutes behind him. And they both have been with me for a long time, being captains as sophomores.”
“Those guys have been thrust into that position and now they’re starting to realize how important being on the team is, building up the younger players. When you’re young, you need to look to older players and [Sward and Dauphinais] never really had that because they were always out there.”
Last season, Sward posted 9.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.6 steals-per-game.
He connected on 48.4-percent of his field goals and is an improved three-point shooter this year.
Dauphinais, a CCC South All-Conference performer last year, dropped in a team-leading 11.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists-per-game.
He connected on 23 three-pointers, blocked 22 shots and can really light up the scoreboard when he’s rolling.
“Lukas is obviously very talented,” said Ray. “He puts a lot into it and so does Dauphinais.”
This team is going to push the envelope as much as it can on both sides of the ball this season.
And if that means running over an opponent or two in the process, so be it.
“I’m really impressed with our physicality so far,” said Ray of the preseason. “Just being able to be physically stronger to do some of the things that I know that they always wanted to do, it’s been pretty good.”
Sward and Dauphinais are joined by junior Zaveyn Tate (11.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists) and junior Brady Bell up front.
Tate can finish at the hoop, hit from deep, can and will defend and block shots – doing it all from the power forward/center position.
And Bell is long and troublesome on defense, also showing three-point ability, all while getting his first extended minutes of his career on the hardwood.
He can finish at the free throw line and helps make Eastern a threat anywhere on the court.
Rounding out the rotation will be junior guard Jordan Chisholm (7.3 points, 2.4 rebounds-per-game, 27 three-pointers) who has looked absolutely fearsome over the preseason.
Chisholm will chuck up threes with the best of them, shoot with extreme range, and take loads of pressure off of Sward/Dauphinais with added firepower.
The guard could be the team’s most improved player and, perhaps, the leading scorer of the program. He’s shown extreme confidence and ability.
The bench is going to be critical this year as the top three reserves could easily crack the starting lineup.
Senior Ben D’Amato (5.1 points, 33 three-pointers, 43-percent shooting from 3) brings his vaunted three-point shooting abilities to the table and while he might be one of the smallest competitors on the court, he’ll still grab his share of rebounds and make all the right plays.
When Chisholm needs a break, the squad won’t suffer with D’Amato dropping in 3s.
And the first big off the bench, Isaiah Lawrence-Bynum (3.3 points, 3.3 rebounds), brings energy, effort, hustle and plenty of guile.
His offensive game has improved leaps and bounds while his rebounding will lead the second unit.
“Isaiah is a three year guy,” said Ray. “D’Amato’s a three year guy. They’ve all been out there.”
Junior Naseem Walker is a slick defender who can also shoot 3s, play-make for the Kingstreeters while doing all the little things to pick up the slack in a reserve role.
If the Lancers need to go a bit deeper, or the injury bug threatens the squad, junior Dante DePass has been competing on the varsity level since his freshmen campaign.
He knows how to score and if called upon, DePass will produce.
That’s the best starting nine Eastern has employed in several years.
“You mix in a bunch of talented juniors like Tate and Chisholm, whose really improved, and Naseem Walker and Dante DePass,” said Ray. “You’ve got a core group that has seen some success and they’ve seen some failure and you hope it translates for them.”
This group has completely bought into the program and the goals laid out this year.
However, there’s another important element to it.
“I think they buy into each other,” said Ray. “I think, obviously, they have to understand what we’re trying to do and I think their IQ now has gotten to the point where they understand that there’s different phases of the game. They’ve played a lot of offseason basketball together. AAU is a little different than high school and [competition] in our offseason leagues. One thing I’ve noticed is that they know where each other is on the court. I think if we give them some basic ideas of what we’re expecting, there’s got to be a mutual trust between coach and player.”
“I’ve got to trust them to make plays and they’ve got to trust me to put them in positions that they have to make the plays in against certain teams.”
Frankly for Eastern, it’s all a matter of putting the finished product on the court.
These athletes have been playing together all year long and are ready for the challenge the CCC South will provide.
“We’ve been at this for a little bit with this group,” said Ray. “When they were young, they were taking their lumps and last year, they took a big step forward. I just want them to understand what the process is. I think if they can do that, I think they’re going to be really good at the end.”
“If they’re not, we’ve already won off the court anyway. The maturity and the things that I’ve seen already and their togetherness, it’s really fun to watch.”
Health might be the only element that keeps Eastern from truly going where it wants to be and that next man up mentality is understood by the unit.
“The biggest key for us is staying injury free and being able to navigate the schedule, the ups and downs,” said Ray. “I think we’re going to be fine. I never worry about this team because when things are going well, we’re going well.”
“Now, we’re got to take that next step. If things don’t go well, we need to be able to handle it.”
CCC South
Ray doesn’t see a front runner in the CCC South this year but some of that is due to the different offenses and defenses certain programs will employ.
“The CCC South is difficult because it’s not one style of play,” said Ray. “It’s multiple styles of play you have to be able to adjust to on any night. I think they’re certain days where we fell back a little bit because we weren’t able to adjust to what was happening. These guys have seen different situations against zones, against pressure, against different man offenses and defenses.”
So, is there a team to beat in the CCC South?
“I think it’s as wide open as it’s ever been,” said Ray. “There’s a lot of good coaches, there’s a lot of parity this year. Usually, it’s top-half and bottom half. I don’t see that this year. I think the team that plays defense and makes shots, they are going to be in games.”
“It’s going to come down to the shot clock now in terms of execution.”
Ray likes Eastern’s senior leadership which will help the team stay at the top of the standings but upsets that have happened in the past may not be upsets this season in the CCC South.
“You’ve got to bring it every night,” said Ray.
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