D-IV hoops previews: Gym renovation sees basketball return to Franklin HS for the first time in 30 years
Published: 12-06-2024 6:01 AM |
FRANKLIN – Franklin High girls’ and boys’ basketball is returning to the Golden Tornadoes’ high school building after 30 years of playing in the middle school gym.
Franklin’s athletic director, Dan Sylvester, attributed the success of the project to community fundraising. Others say the success was in no small part due to his efforts. The new court was used by Franklin’s volleyball team during the fall season, but its use for basketball this winter is especially exciting for Sylvester and the Golden Tornadoes.
The gym is an immense source of pride for Sylvester – who is the all-time highest basketball scorer in that gym – because of the revitalization and re-centering of school spirit. He scored his 1,000th point in the last game of the season in 1983 and is now responsible for bringing basketball back on campus so that athletes can pursue their own 1,000-career-point marks there.
“To have a brand new gym, a new facility for our students to play home games and to have our own fans come in our building to showcase this facility has been absolutely amazing,” said Franklin’s principal, Dan Levesque. “The gym is incredibly loud. It feels very personal and has a nice home-court feeling, but the sense of pride in the building, in the gym itself, has been incredible.”
Raising the money for the gym renovation was difficult when Sylvester embarked on the journey. That was until a grant opportunity came along from the Pat Connaughton Foundation. Counnaughton is an NBA shooting guard for the Milwaukee Bucks and an Arlington, Mass., native.
The year-long process for the grant resulted in $117,000 of the $170,000 price tag being covered and the rest came through community fundraising, allowing Franklin to build a new court.
“Many alumni are beginning to return to the high school to be part of that, sharing it,” said Skip Dubois, a retired Golden Tornadoes coach who mentored Sylvester as a student. “When they first started the thing, the donations that came in were phenomenal, and a lot of it was for feelings people had for the high school.
“But a lot of that was also in support of Danny’s efforts. People did it for Danny too, because he’s just been such a part of Franklin.”
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The court is a beautiful light-colored hardwood with logos and little details highlighting the deep history and representing a new era for Franklin athletics. The renovation has allowed the school to finally hoist its championship and record banners to decorate the walls full of history and transport people back in time.
The gym’s walls are lined with the Golden Tornadoes colors, blue and yellow. It has retractable hoops installed, new bleachers and an exclusive student section behind the basket at the back and new scoreboards donated by Franklin alum Matt Kaplan, who played football for UNH and is now a business owner.
“This is my baby. They know I’m from here, they knew I was going to do things the right way,” said Sylvester. “I ran everything by them. Don’t get me wrong, but they let me do the whole design, other than Pat Connaughton and the Connaughton Foundation, the couple caveats for them.”
The trophy cases and awards were all moved to the walls next to the refurbished entrance, creating a sense of pride in Franklin for all who walk through those doors and simultaneously creating an intimidating scene for visitors. The new gym is a centerpiece of the school and after years of work, it’s finally seeing action.
Sylvester said some basketball players on both the boys’ and girls’ teams are approaching the 1,000-point mark in their varsity careers and that he’s looking forward to seeing it happen in-house. He’s happy to give back to the town that raised him.
“They all know what it means. Because it’s not just about just volleyball or just P.E. or whatever. It’s for the community,” Sylvester said.
Franklin opens its season on Friday, the first night of the entire NHIAA winter calendar, when the Golden Tornadoes host Mount Royal. Franklin’s girls’ basketball team will have the first tipoff on the new court at 4:30 p.m., followed by the boys’ varsity game at 6 p.m.
The Capital Area’s other Division IV basketball programs – Pittsfield boys’ and girls’ teams, and Concord Christian’s boys’ team – also open their seasons on Friday, while Divisions I, II and III open one week later on Dec. 13.
Previews of the area’s D-IV teams are below.
BOYS
Coach: Greg Farland (2nd year).
Last year: 9-10, reached prelims.
Returning starters: Isaac Kirby, sr.; Logan Duffy, sr.; Jaden Young, sr.; TJ Charbono, sr.
Top newcomers: Luke Farland, so.; Alex Xu, jr.; Jack Owens, so.
Outlook: The Kingsmen return four starters from last year’s team and have some newcomers whose height will make an immediate impact. Duffy, Young and Charbono are all good shooters from the guard positions, while Kirby provides size inside and will help lead the defense. Farland provides additional depth at guard, while Owens – a 6-8 transfer from Pinkerton – and Xu – who stands at 6-4 – boost the Kingsmen’s defense.
“The team is working hard with high hopes for the season,” coach Farland said. “We are coming back stronger and deeper than last year and the boys are hungry to show what they can do.”
Coach: David Bedard (6th year).
Last year: 11-8, reached prelims.
Returning starters: Harrison Kaplan, sr.; Cole Johnson, sr.; Nate Holmes, jr.
Top newcomers: Matt Carlsen, jr.; Matt Nason, sr.; Alen Veletanlic, sr.; Cody Williams, jr.
Outlook: Last season Franklin had its best season with the most wins since 2015-16. The Tornadoes no longer have All-State point guard and 1,000 point scorer Zeke McCoy, who graduated in the spring, so Franklin will rely on a more balanced approach this season.
“We return eight players from last season’s playoff team … We have three or four guys who may be our leading scorer on any given night,” Bedard said. “Some coaches may expect us to take a step back, but I believe we have the pieces to be right back in the thick of the playoff conversation. With more experience playing together we can become a cohesive team that moves the ball well and gets the best shot, regardless of who it comes from. If our defense can create some offense for us, we will win our fair share of games and keep others very competitive.”
Coach: Jay Darrah (23rd year)
Last year: 2-16, did not make tournament.
Returning starters: Brayden Pelletier, sr.
Top newcomers: Mason Weldon, fr.; Gavin Martin, fr.
Outlook: After just two wins in 2023-24, the Panthers will be focusing on growth and development this year. Pelletier, Weldon and senior Jared Landry will be counted on to shoot from the outside, while seniors Elias Gates and Cameron, and Martin will defend the paint and control the boards.
“We will learn to execute and at the same time work to make adjustments at the faster paced game than most of our players are used to,” Darrah said. “We have a challenging schedule and will look to be playing much better basketball in February than in December.”
GIRLS
Coach: Catherine Robbins (1st year).
Last year: 11-8, reached prelims.
Returning starters: Kourtney Kaplan, so., G; Lily Cornell, so., C/F; Sage Slocum, jr., G; Payton Cloutier, jr., F; Savaughna Slocum, sr., F.
Top newcomers: Kayla Adams, fr., G.
Outlook: Coming off the program’s best season in about 15 years, the Tornadoes are looking to continue that momentum under Robbins, who has taken over for previous coach Mark Dionne. Franklin returns its entire starting lineup, including Kaplan, who led D-IV in scoring as a freshman with 20 points per game.
“With our entire starting lineup returning we are going to lean on our experience, as well as incorporate new tactics to make a deep run into the playoffs,” Robbins said.
Coach: Logan LaRoche (4th year).
Last year: 4-14, did not make tournament.
Returning starters: Addison Clark, sr.; Ashley Clark, jr.; Chelsee Chagnon, fr.
Top newcomers: Katherine Schuster, 8th grade.
Outlook: The Panthers doubled their win total from 2022-23 and looking to make another jump this season. Pittsfield returned to varsity status in 2022 after playing JV only in 2021, and a few of the players who have been on the roster since they were seventh graders now have varsity experience as underclassmen.
With a core group that is young and motivated to improve, the future of the program is certainly promising,” LaRoche said. “We have a unique blend of youth and experience, and Addison Clark is the perfect senior to lead this team.”