Cushing Academy Preview

Andrew Chrabascz will lead the Cushing AA Quest

March of the Penguins II

- Out in Ashburnham, Mass at Cushing Academy, head coach Barry Connors has a fascinating roster in terms of talent and story-lines.  Everything will start with 6'8 junior power forward Andrew Chrabascz, a versatile, hard-nosed, high-IQ ballplayer who can operate down low or he's also a guy through whom you can run offense in the high post or out on the perimeter.  Another player through whom Cushing will launder offense is Maine-native Alex Furness, a talented 6'6 left-handed post grad with a nice feel for the game.  Furness can effectively play the one spot through the three...Cushing will showcase a talented group of six guards.  There's Treaven Duffy, a flamboyant 6'2, left-handed senior scoring guard from Northern California who's the son of NBA Agent Bill Duffy, the representative of players such as Steve Nash and Rajon Rondo.  Then there's the tantalizing pair of sophomore guards in Kaleb Joseph and Idris Taqqee, who together form New England's top sophomore back-court duo heading into the season.  Two additional back-court weapons will come in the form of high IQ junior sharpshooter Chris Mullin Jr and the freshman who has everyone talking, Jaime Carey.  What's the connection there?  Mullin Jr is of course the son of NBA all-time-great Chris Mullin while Carey is the nephew of New England all-time great Chris Herren and as noted in both Basketball Junkie, (Herren's book) and Unguarded (Herren's ESPN 30 for 30 Film), Mullin was instrumental in helping Herren in his struggle against addiction and the two remain the closest of friends.  Good stuff...And lastly for the Cushing back-court will be 6'1 junior Bernard Mokum, a catch and shoot artist from New York who actively pursues opportunities to practice his craft...While the Penguins will possess overflowing depth out on the perimeter, the same can not be said for the big man bunk, where in addition to Chrabascz, Cushing will have only two other true bigs pulling shifts in the middle.  Senior Tyler McFarland is a 6'5 bull-dog from Camden, Maine who rebounds the ball hard and mixes it up in the paint, looking to outwork the opposition.  Additionally, Cushing will call upon 6'6 senior step-away 4-man Andrew Esancy, a player who can draw out the interior defense with his perimeter stroke or sneak up on you with his deceptive athleticism and catch a dunk from the wing....Cushing opens up on Wednesday, November 30 against St Andrews and as things get going, it'll be interesting to see how Connors begins to weave this group together.