Although the 2023-24 season could be considered a down year for the Windham Bombers boys’ basketball team, they are prepared to show that they have learned from their mistakes. Having returned the bulk of last year’s squad, Windham will rely on its depth to push them to a successful season.
“We do return quite a large portion of our team which will be helpful and I think their confidence and the experience that they had last year will only help them moving forward for this year and we are setting our aspirations high,” said Coach Cody Apthorpe. “We have talked about wanting to get a piece of the league. We put ourselves in that category as well and ultimately that is a team goal which is for us to get a piece of our league this year.”
When Apthrope took over the program when legendary Coach Marty Hill retired after the 2021-22 season, the Bombers proved they would be formidable in the post-Hill era by earning a share of the Northeastern Athletic Conference Stripes Division banner with Bristol. Windham did not replicate its success in the 2023-24 season but with so much returning experience, the Bombers are keen on setting the bar high and rising back to the top of the NAC Stripes Division.
“Our goal is always setting high expectations that are very realistic for the personnel that we have on year-by-year basis, but inevitably the goal is to get as much as we can out of our players and our staff and compete at a high level every year,” the third-year coach noted.
According to Apthorpe, since most of the players are coming off the heels of the most successful football season in Windham history, they are eager to also carry that success on to the hardwood.
Despite only graduating two members of last year’s starting group, Apthrope said that the Bombers have only identified two full-time starters and may keep their starting five match-up dependent throughout the season.
One returning starter will be senior guard Nick Hopper, who only played half of last season because transfer rules prohibited him from competing in a full season. Apthorpe said that the 6-foot-2 senior will try to make the most out of his full season after averaging 11.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 11 games last year.
“Nick overall brings a lot of comfort as a ball-handler,” Apthorpe said. “He has great size, he is a good rebounder and has a very good mind for the game and we really look to him as being the tone-setter for us on offense.”
The other returning starter will be senior guard Carlos Bruton, who tallied 17.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 23 games.
“Carlos has a lot of things that are not ever coached, it is just naturally those intangibles that he has the ability to do some things that other guys simply can’t,” added Apthorpe. “He is going to be a main scorer for us and something that we are looking for him to do more this year than last year is to be that defender that gets up into his guy.”
While Bruton and Hopper have locked down starting spots, Apthorpe said that Windham has multiple options for the other three starting spots as the Bombers hope to carry a nine-man rotation at the beginning of the season.
The Bombers will have plenty of leadership in a trio of seniors consisting of forward JayQuon Smith, senior guard Dylan McCune and senior guard/forward Brandon Petrich.
Smith averaged 1.1 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.3 assists in 15 games, McCune 3.8 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 22 games and Petrich 5.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 23 contests.
“We are looking for Brandon being a big rebounder for us,” Apthorpe said. “He is very quick for his size so it should cause the other teams some problems on the defensive end. He is a guy who every day busts his butt, works very hard and is just a great leader for the younger guys.”
Junior forward Matt Kolaczek will bring some size in the front court after averaging 3.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.2 assists in 21 games.
“He had a really big summer for us, he made great strides in his game by playing a lot more aggressively and looking to be a lot more on offense so we are really looking forward to a big year from Matt as well,” Apthorpe said.
Sophomore guard DeJuan Ramsey will also be counted on as a key contributor in his first full season as a varsity starter.
The Bombers’ season will begin when they face Badger in a road game in Trumbull County on Dec. 11 at 11:30 a.m.
