Former Brockton High hoopsters reunited at Newbury College

Three members of the 2009 Brockton High boys basketball team that won the Div. 1 South title are teammates again this season.

Guards Timothy Young and Chris Torres and forward Rondell Best are freshmen at Newbury College in Brookline after helping the Boxers go 23-1 last season.

Young is leading the Nighthawks in scoring, averaging 16.6 points per game, while Best is the top rebounder, averaging 7.4 per game, and Torres is getting 11.5 minutes per game off the bench.

The three were part of a Brockton team that went 20-0 in the regular season and won the South championship before losing in overtime to Lynn English, 90-83, in the state semifinal round in Boston.

Young is splitting time between both guard positions and is shooting 44 percent from 3-point range (30-for-68). He was named the New England Collegiate Conference rookie of the week in early December after averaging 20.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and a steal in three games.

Asked what he expected to get out of Young in his first collegiate season, Newbury coach Evan O'Brien said, "Not as much as we're getting from him.

"I liked him last year when I watched him at Brockton. He is a great shooter, and now he's turning himself into a scorer and a go-to guy for us. I didn't think he'd be our leading scorer. Most of his points are coming from us trying to get him good outside looks, and he's shooting great from 3-point land.''

Young is about playing half of his 35.4 minutes per game at the point and the other half at the shooting guard spot.

"He's excited about playing the point,'' said O'Brien, whose team is 3-7, 1-1 in the NECC. "We envisioned him as the shooting guard, but he's a very good ball handler and this gives him a shot to maximize his time on the floor.

"When I talked to him over the summer, he told me that he hadn't played point guard at any level. I wasn't sure how it was going to go. But he's a small kid, height-wise, and he matches up better at the point guard.

"As a freshman, you couldn't ask for anything more in the transition process to college from him. He's taking what's given to him on offense. He's not looking to go out and score 20 points a night. He's doing what comes naturally. I think he'll only get a lot better.''

Best, who has started five of Newbury's 10 games, is scoring 8.1 points and has 11 blocked shots.

"He's coming along well,'' said O'Brien. "I wasn't sure what we'd get out of him in the first year, but he has the size, the aggressiveness and a desire to get better. I knew he'd be a rebounder. He's shown glimpses of what he can do, especially when he stays out of foul trouble.''

Torres is averaging 4.7 points and 1.3 rebounds in his limited time off the bench for the Nighthawks.

"His role is that he's a good defender,'' said O'Brien. "He's a high-energy guy who can go to the hoop.''

- Game story provided by Jim Fenton, Brockton Enterprise