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The new varsity rosters are still “hot off the press” as 12 local boys basketball teams hit the hardwood tonight for their first scrimmage action. And it will be a doozy!
It’s the first-ever Ron Bennett Boys Basketball Jamboree and it begins at 4:00 p.m. at Lynn English High School (LEHS), former 41-year coaching home for Bennett, who is the winningest high school coach in the history of the city of Lynn. Coach Bennett was the boys’ basketball head coach at Lynn English from 1965-2013 and the baseball head coach at LEHS from 1975-2013. In 41 years steering the two major Bulldog sports seasons, he rang up over 800 coaching wins.
With two other like-minded preseason jamboree events having come and gone in Lynn, Lynn English Athletic Director Dick Newton brought this type of event back this year, this time honoring his own former coach. Newton was a standout for English in the late 1970s and early 1980s in both sports under Coach Bennett. “We wanted to bring it back in his name,” Newton said, “I’m lucky I am in a position to honor him. He did so much for the school and the kids.”
The jamboree includes six games, each 45 minutes after the previous game, with the first beginning at 4 p.m. The scrimmage games will consist of two eight-minute quarters. Competing in this inaugural event will be 12 teams in all, including seven of the eight Greater Boston League (GBL) varsity teams, including host Lynn English. Three Advocate readership teams – Everett, Malden and Revere – will be competing tonight, along with three other GBLers: Chelsea, Lynn Classical, Somerville. KIPP Academy, Lynn Tech and Wakefield round out the even dozen dusting it up at Lynn English High tonight.
Locally, Coach David Leary’s Revere High Patriots will open the event by taking on the Chelsea Red Devil boys at 4:00 p.m. Everett will take on Wakefield at 5:30 p.m., and Head Coach Don Nally’s Malden High Golden Tornados play Lynn Tech at 6:15 p.m. Following is the full schedule at Lynn English High School tonight: Chelsea vs. Revere(4 p.m.), KIPP vs. Somerville (4:45 p.m.), Everett vs. Wakefield (5:30 p.m.), Lynn Tech vs. Malden (6:15), Lynn Classical vs. Melrose (7 p.m.), Lynn English vs. East Boston (7:45 p.m.).
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Coach Nally, Malden High boys looking forward to tonight’s Bennett Jamboree
The longest-serving boys basketball head coach in Malden High school history says he’s been looking forward to the start of this season a bit more than most – for a lot of reasons. “We had some big-time injuries last year which really left us shorthanded on a lot of nights,” said Coach Nally, who embarked on his 21st season at the helm for Malden on Monday, referring to the forgettable, 1-19 campaign last winter.
The Malden coach said this year’s group is a mix between seasoned veterans and talented newcomers. A big piece of the puzzle this season is the return of 6-4 senior Jonald Joseph, who missed all of the 2021-22 season with a microfracture in his back, an injury more common to college and NBA players. Joseph and senior classmate Justin Bell, a 5-10 shooting guard, are the two key guys back for Malden.
Nally said there are still lots of question marks, but he and his players are looking forward to participating in tonight’s event – a little slice of real-time varsity competition in anticipation of the actual real deal.
After tonight’s jamboree game, Malden is back in scrimmage action next Thursday, December 8 at home at 4:00 p.m. The Golden Tornados boys open for real on Tuesday, December 13 at the Finn Gym versus next-door Greater Boston League rival Medford (6:00 p.m. tipoff).
