Beware of the ‘Ferocious’ Lions’ Den

WEST BOYLSTON – Two groups of basketball players stood spread out on both ends of the court during a recent boys’ high school practice on Wednesday.

“Pass left! Pass left!” Lions head coach Patrick Tobin called out to his team. His players then began a passing drill with a lot of movement of players weaving in-and-out along the base and three-point lines. Their level of intensity was high.

They did that for a few minutes and then Tobin called out, “Pass right! Pass right!” The players repeated the drill, but in the opposite direction with that same passion and concentration.

The West Boylston boys’ basketball team is on a mission to compete hard this season, especially after finishing 11-0 during a pandemic shortened season last year. Tobin and his players anticipate this attitude of practicing hard will translate into wins.

“I’m expecting our team to compete at a high level in every game,” Tobin said. “We graduated a lot of talent from last year’s team, but we have four returning seniors who have all made significant contributions at the varsity level over the past two seasons.”

The returning seniors Tobin expects to make an impact are also the team captains. They are forwards Zylas Abney, Will Palmi, and Cody Gosselin, and point

Jaiden Bonilla

guard Jaiden Bonilla.

“All four of these young men lead by example, both on and off the court,” Tobin said. “They work hard every day, and bring a mix of skills, athleticism, and strength to the table.”

Tobin’s senior captains also agree that every player on the team must give their all in practice to be successful in games. They set a tone as leaders and have established a strong, team work ethic.

“I’m just giving it my all at practice making sure I try my hardest so people look up to me and do some things I’m doing to be successful,” Abney said, who prides himself on being a strong defensive player.

Gosselin, who provides strong communication and solid rebounding on the defensive end of the floor, said “we have high intensity in our practices and that carries on into the games. We all protect each other. We encourage everyone every day to be the best that they can be at practice. We want to be a hundred percent every practice … I think we have a good opportunity to make the postseason if we all are on the same page with practices and learning new things and accepting the criticism that our coaches and my other captains will give.”

Cody Gosselin

The captains pride themselves as being a strong defensive team first, which will lead to fastbreak transitions and scoring opportunities. “It starts with the defensive end where I feel we’re pretty strong,” Bonilla said. “As long as we keep working hard at practice and get the offensive plays down, I feel we’ll be alright … We have a lot of slashers this year. Last year we had just one big guy, but I feel this year we all have good abilities to get around the hoop to score.”

Gosselin agreed. “Honestly, I think our offense is going to depend on everyone on the team and not just one person,” he said. “It’s not gonna be one person with 40 points. It’s going to be five people with ten-to-fifteen points. We need to score as an offensive unit.”

Palmi, who has become a consistent outside shooter for the Lions, said West Boylston will be a difficult team to play regardless if they win or lose. They are going to make their opponents earn everything they get. “We are going to be ferocious on defense,” he said. “We’re all going to be engaged in every possession, and we are going to be really physical. We’re going to let the other team know that we’re here to play defense. You’re not going to score on us. We work on it every day in practice and I feel these kids are really good. We’re gonna just get steals, play physical, and score off turnovers.”

The captains do their best to be role models for the underclassmen outside of practice. “They also volunteer with our town youth basketball program to help players in kindergarten through grade two begin their own basketball journeys,” Tobin said.

“I see myself as a role model and we like helping others,” Gossilin said.

“I think it’s important for us to be role models,” Bonilla said. “Well, I want people to look at me like, ‘oh it’s Jaiden. He’s always nice to people.’ It’s important. That’s what we’re about and it’s how we get it done.”

Tobin said another key contributor this season will be 6-foot-5-inch junior Christopher Nasuti. “He will provide size and length for the interior of our defensive

Christopher Nasuti

and offensive schemes,” Tobin said. “He has the ability to rebound, score, and alter shots.”

The rest of the roster includes senior guards Dante Ramadan and Austin Smith; senior forward Zachary Hogan; junior guards Dorian Ramadan and Dominic Ritacco and junior forward Eniola Ige.

“With some new additions to the varsity roster, we will need to continue to gel and grow as a team and program as we try to qualify for postseason play,” Tobin said.

The Lions’ first game of the season will be on the road against Bromfield High School in Harvard, MA on Friday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m.