Friday night's showdown between Putnam and Killingly turned out to be a showcase for Killingly junior Shane Gibson.
Gibson won his second consecutive Most Outstanding Player award at the Putnam Clipper Classic as he scored 23 points but was a thorn in Putnam's side all over the court. Gibson had seven steals, dished out four assists and grabbed four rebounds.
What's even better, he could have and, probably, should have scored more.
"He should be more selfish than he is," Putnam coach Tony Falzarano said of his opponent. "We've played Stonington, Windham,Plainfield, and scouted others and he's the best player I've seen so far. He could be the best player in the league amongst all 19 teams- that's how good he is."
Gibson didn't exactly set the house afire in Putnam as even though he made 7 of 15 from the floor. He and his teammates, however, did more than enough to beat Putnam and take the tournament title for a second straight year.

Here's just a couple of random thoughts from the world of high school basketball.
St. Bernard coach Tim Payne was happy to be 5-0, after all, it means his Saints need just three more wins to qualify for the state tournament.
He also knew his Saints hadn't faced the tough part of their schedule yet and part of that began Thursday night when they were brought back to earth a bit by Plainfield.
The Panthers have had some tough games but rallied for the 75-70 win behind 22 points from Chris Smith and 21 from Corey Dilweg. Payne knew that St. Bernard would have trouble against Plainfield's inside strength and that rang true.
If you want to see an old fashioned high school basketball game tonight, you might want to check out the Putnam-Killingly game. It takes place in the band box gymnasium of Putnam complete with a pep band, large crowds (or what passes for a large crowd at Putnam's small facility), plenty of heat and generally a game that goes down to the wire between the two next door neighbors. The game is the finale to the Clipper Classic tournament and begins around 7 p.m. (Hint, it may be advisable to get there a little early, they have a habit of locking the doors when the gym is full).

I had an interesting call the other night from a college coach (no, I'm not going to mention from where) asking if it was a good idea to go and see Waterford's Kerrianne Dugan.
I thought it was a great idea.
Kerrianne can only be described as a blue-collar player. She's very physical, not afraid to mix it up in the post and more than willing to take the likes of Heather Buck from Stonington.
You may say Buck scored 22 points against Dugan and Waterford last Friday night but consider this. The Stonington junior made only 6 of 18 from the floor and the 22 points was eight below her average. In addition, Dugan frustrated her enough to get her into foul trouble in the second quarter and the Lancers, essentially, put the game away before the first half ended.
Dugan finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and a stat that some may dismiss- seven steals.
That kind of effort led coach Rob Von Achen to say she was the toughest player he's ever coached and she's certainly proved she's also one of the toughest to play against.

This is the transition week for high school hoops. A week where many teams spend their time at tournaments playing competition they see but once a year. It also comes just a week before the true battles start, the divisional competition.
Wouldn't you like to be one of the Montville Indians girls basketball team right now?
They worked hard to raise the money and now they get to enjoy the fruit of their labor as they travel to Florida later on this week to participate in a basketball tournament at Disney World.
The way coach Derek Wainwright explained it to me was that 72 teams will be in Florida for the holiday break with Disney World doing it's best to keep the schools aligned along the lines of school size and the previous year's record (although Melbourne, Florida seems a little bigger than Montville and the Indians play their first game against Melbourne).
The nice thing for the Indians, play a little basketball, enjoy the sun and the Disney parks as the trip is an all-expense paid deal including meals.
This wasn't given to them, though, the girls did have to work raising the majority of the money and their parents had to kick in some as well.
As for the rest, most stay in the state although Stonington does cross into Rhode Island to play in the Westerly tournament. The only real local tournament takes place in Putnam where the Clippers play host to Parish Hill, Ellington and Douglas,MA. later on this week.

I know it's Christmas and you may not be the motivated to go and pick up the newspaper but today would be a great time to pick up the Norwich Bulletin.
It's our annual All-Bulletin issue with our choices for the top high school athletes of the past fall and it's worth a few minutes of your time on this Christmas Day.
Brian Girasoli did a fantastic job of putting together this section with the help of the Bulletin's photography team and the rest of us in the sports department. There are full color pictures of the athletes and coaches whom we, and fellow coaches, felt deserved a little extra praise for a job well done this fall.
That's not all when it comes to high school sports in the Bulletin today. Check out the high school page for our Monday basketball notebook complete with the first scoring and 3-point leaders of the season as well as complete standings and stories about St. Bernard, Montville, Waterford, Putnam and others.
And last, but certainly not least, from everyone at the Norwich Bulletin Sports Department - Merry Christmas!

I know many of you are asking yourself this and, frankly, so am I.
Was Bob Brackett forced to withdraw his application for the football job at New London or was it of his own volition?
Brackett told me that it was because he still has other things in his educational career to pursue and that his being a football coach would certainly hinder if not make those pursuits impossible.
But let's look at the writing on the wall too.
A rather large group of parents and players went to the Board of Education and asked them to re-instate Jack Cochran as head coach. That group also included some of Brackett's (probably the correct term here is Cochran's) staff.
The Board of Education left the decision up to Superintendent Christopher Clouet whose salary is made possible by the Board of Ed through the taxpayers. The taxpayers spoke and Clouet had to listen.
Brackett's salary is also made possible by the taxpayers and it's pretty clear he did see the writing on the wall.
In everyone's life, however, you have to take a walk on the wild side. Sometimes the move you make turns out to be a very positive, life changing, event. In others, it turns out to be a short-lived, had-to-do-it at the time, decision.
Brackett accepts that this was one of the latter as he knew his chances of being retained as coach were 50/50 at best. He also felt, at the time however, that to turn down such an opportunity to coach a New London High football team was something he couldn't let pass by him.
Without decisions like these, life can be boring.
You have to credit Brackett for taking the plunge and you have to hope that Cochran comes back as the same born-to-coach kind of guy, only this time he carries a rule book in his pocket.

I had a chance to talk with Gene Blain just last week and it looks like the Eastern Connecticut Conference will be in good hands under his interim leadership.
Why?
The Windham High Principal sees the role of the Principals of the member schools as a lesser one in the overall scheme of things. Under previous leadership, it was believed the Principals should make policy but it wasn't always that which the real conference leaders, the Athletic Directors, thought was the correct decision.
Blain told me that he thought it was time to leave most of the decision-making process to those who truly know what's happening- the AD's. That was glimpsed in the last big vote when the Principals followed the Athletic Director's guidance and voted to revert back to a three-division football alignment next fall.
The old Quinebaug Valley Conference, generally, ran pretty well because the AD's were the ones who guided the policy-making. No offense to the Principals but they have many other things on their minds than interscholastic athletics.
Blain assumed the post of chairperson of the ECC when former Putnam Principal Linda Joyal chose not to serve. Blain said he volunteered to be chairman for the next couple of years because "no one was jumping out of their seats to take the position" and because when Windham's true turn to be chairman takes place, "sometime around 2025", Blain will likely no longer be in the picture.

Many coaches would say they've reached a milestone, 100,200,300 wins because they've been around for awhile. Reaching this milestone, however, means you've not only been around for awhile but you've also been a pretty darn good coach.
500 wins is a number that few have reached but Griswold's Gary Kinel is on brink of becoming one of the elite few to accomplish it. The Griswold coach needs just five wins to become only the ninth coach in state history to reach that level in boys basketball.
Kinel, like fellow 500 game winner Tony Falzarano of Putnam, is a veteran of the Quinebaug Valley Conference which saw many a spirited battle in it's time. He, like Falzarano, have experienced the growth of the area which has seen the small school battles become larger school battles in the Eastern Connecticut Conference.
But he has kept his focus, he didn't want this chase to a milestone of his own to dwarf the accomplishments of his players this season and didn't even want to talk about it. So, we let his players and a fellow coach do the talking for him, check out today's edition of the Norwich Bulletin to see what I mean.

It's not all that hard on a reporter but when it comes to the athletes and coaches- that's another ballgame.
Here's a little trade secret, you probably won't see many of us carrying a pen and notebook around early in a wrestling match like Saturday as 15 teams competed in the Waterford Lancer Invitational.
Reporters generally show for some of the semfinals and the championship matches, we get to miss the other nine or 10 hours of actual competition and more than that for those who organize these large scale events.
Waterford's tournament actually started at 7:30 a.m. when the first people arrived to begin the set up process, the first match was at 10:30 a.m., the last one around 9:15 p.m.
"It's tough on everybody, it's draining," Ledyard coach Steve Bilheimer agreed. "This sport is a draining sport, you have have to have a lot of endurance, a lot of stamina to watch it, to do it, and to coach it."
But it can be pretty exciting too such as Saturday when Waterford eeked out a one-point win over Southington that went down to that final match before it was decided.
Just as an aside, look for the high school notebooks in the Norwich Bulletin this winter. The basketball notebooks are scheduled to appear on Monday and the other winter sports on Friday. It's just more information for you from your information center.

Expect it before Christmas, in fact, expect it early this coming week.
That's the word from New London Athletic Director Leo Facchini on a decision by the school as to who will coach the Whalers football team next fall.
The New London Board of Education heard plenty of public comment from players and even assistant coaches Thursday night, all in favor of bringing back Jack Cochran as head coach. Cochran was replaced last year year by former Griswold coach Bob Brackett but was allowed to re-apply for the job.
Facchini said the turnout at the Board of Education meeting was something that he expected would happen. The Board turned over the hiring process to New London Superintendent Christopher Clouet.
Although the Board gave Clouet the blessing to go out and organize a committee to handle the hiring process, Facchini said he thinks the process will end early this week as they would like to end the situation "sooner rather than later".
We'll keep you posted.

The Putnam Clippers got some great news on Wednesday and it wasn't only a win over Tourtellotte.
Without getting into the specifics since it is a health-related issue, the Clippers were very concerned about the status of their one remaining starter from last year's team that advanced to the Division IV state championship.
Tim Sabourin had been forced to the sidelines awaiting the result of some tests but got the news he wanted to hear as he has been cleared to play as of next week. He missed the Clippers opener against Tourtellotte and, likely, will not play vs. Stonington Saturday.
Without Sabourin in the lineup, Putnam didn't play particularly well offensively against Tourtellotte but had more than enough to get by. They beat the Tigers 59-33 as John Herlihy led a balanced attack with 12 points. The Clippers also dominated the boards with Sam Arcand leading the way with eight rebounds and Dan Derosier chipped in six.

What's it like playing in the shadow of Heather Buck?
Not all that bad, really.
The Stonington Bears beat Lyman by 24 points on Tuesday night to go 3-0 and Buck was her normal self as she scored 29 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked nine shots. That happening, of course, while a coach from Notre Dame was on hand amongst others to see how she had progressed, no less than nine Division I coaches were in the stands in her first game of the season.
You would think there might be some jealousy from her Stonington teammates with all the attention the six-foot-four center recieves- quite the contrary.
"She's a great leader, she's so nice, really helpful," fellow forward Erin Wiley said following Tuesday night's game.
"When I need help going over plays, she's right there. That's why she's team captain," she added.
And there's another fringe benefit. While all the coaches have been there to see Buck, others have recieved some notice such as point guard Arie Woods who was complimented for her play by a college coach through another person Tuesday night. (College coaches cannot speak directly to a high school player.)

There was some doubt as to how Stonington would prosper after losing four starters to graduation.
The defending Class M girl's basketball champs had the answer all along, just give the ball to Heather Buck a bit more.
The 6'4" junior, who is being recruited by just about everyone in the realm of women's basketball, has responded with a pair of 36-point performances in her first two outings and the Bears are also on their way to developing a supporting cast. Erin Wiley stepped up nicely against East Lyme and the Bears are off to a 2-0 start going into their game vs. Lyman tonight.
A little side note about Heather, a player whom I've been impressed with ever since I saw her as a freshman and not only because of her size. She continues to take things in stride despite some pretty large decisions ahead- no rash moves, no overnight decisions.
She admits to having eliminated a few schools from the list of possibilities but when you have everyone from UConn in your own back yard to Stanford some 3000 miles away chasing you, that leaves a whole lot of possibilities.
She has been on some visits, she has taken in first night at UConn and visited places like Notre Dame, North Carolina State, Duke and Holy Cross but don't put them above any one else on the list- she was just taking a look-see and has no plans to announce where she's going to attend college any time soon, at least, that's the game plan for now.
It's nice to see a player from the Eastern side of the state enjoying this kind of attention- it doesn't happen all that often.
See you at the Stonington-Lyman girls game tonight.

He certainly is one of the more colorful characters on the sidelines in high school sports.
Former Putnam High assistant Dave Vitale used to make a great team with head coach Tony Falzarano (just ask the officials!) but he's not bad by himself either.
Vitale, now the head coach of the Marianapolis Golden Knights keeps things pretty animated over on the bench.
"This guy is already in church and it's not even Sunday," one of the more original quips that was uttered by Vitale on Saturday in his team's game vs. St. Thomas More in Oakdale referring to a call that went the way of St. Thomas coach John Hastings and his team.
I talked with Vitale later about the team's early season hectic schedule and he told me what makes it even more difficult was the team's language barrier. Some of his players don't speak english all that well and that makes for a tough combination with a "lunatic" like himself running the show.
As good as he is for a quote, Vitale is equally as good on the sidelines as he has re-vitalized the Marianapolis program. What was once one of the most feared, and controversial, programs in the public school ranks is now one of the more respected on the prep school circuit thanks to Vitale's contribution over the last three years.

I do hope everyone has noticed the new high school sports page in the Norwich Bulletin because I think it will provide a lot of what everyone has been asking for.
Updated standings will now be consistently available, the local high school schedules will be much easier to find and we will continue to publish high school scoring leaders.
Of course, that means we need the help of all the coaches out there. If you don't call in your games, the standings and leaders may not reflect your team and individual athletes correctly.
If you happen to notice something, a record or a statistic, that differs from what you have- let us know. I can be reached at 425-4212, leave me a message and I will call back.
You will also be seeing one of our most popular features in the fall, the high school notebook, back this winter for basketball, indoor track, wrestling, gymnastics, and hockey. If you have an interesting tidbit for us to use in the notebook section, once again, give me a call or drop me an e-mail at mallard@norwichbulletin .com. We would love to hear from you.

Let me start by saying sorry about a lack of new posts here on this blog but the blogger has been out of town.
I had to make a semi-annual trek to Las Vegas this week (not to gamble mind you, there's plenty of opportunity in our own backyard to do that). Let me tell you, it was a rude awakening to be greeted by that nasty wind chill Thursday night after enjoying 65 degree temperatures out west.
The wind and the chill means it's not only the Christmas season but also the basketball season and with girls basketball underway this week, we have to bid adieu to a pair of long time coaches who left with little fanfare.
Plainfield's Jan Voland had been at the helm of the Plainfield girls for 19 years before she turned the program over to Dave Wilcox this winter. Voland also stepped down as softball coach last spring to, not only devote more time to her Athletic Director duties, but also to herself. Voland doesn't know what a winter or spring vacation feels like- maybe she will get the chance to experience one this year.
A tip of the fedora as well to Killingly coach Paul Coutu who leaves the Killingly program in the capable hands of long time assistant Rich Lebel and former player Gina Derosier.
See you at the Norwich Tech-Windham Tech girls game tonight.

We all know the saying, "Nice guys finish last".
It's nice to see that isn't always necessarily true.
The Windham Whippets coaching staff are just that, a bunch of nice guys, who get the honor of playing for the Class M state championship in football Saturday afternoon.
I can honestly say that Brian Crudden is one of the most friendly and cooperative of coaches that I've met in my travels and a state championship will be a just reward for the efforts that he and his staff have put in.
Talking with Brian, his Principal Gene Blain, and his volunteer assistant coach Bob Chalifoux just the other day showed their true qualities. They care not only about the program, they care about the athletes who make up that program. What's even better- they're having as much fun this season as those athletes are.
"Personally, it's a lot of fun," Blain said, "It's great grabbing one of the football players aside and talking to them about a game. They respect your opinion and you can have a real high level conversation around football. What this has done for the school and the way it changes the atmosphere is really something to watch."
Blain is in Atlanta right now but is hoping that he can arrive back in time to see the game on Saturday.
We hope many of you, Windham fans or soon-to-be Windham fans, get on out to New Britain and cheer on the Whippets against Hillhouse. Brian Girasoli will be on hand to give you first-rate preview and post-game reaction in the Norwich Bulletin. Look for it today, tomorrow, Sunday and Monday.