Hometeam Basketball: Main South Cougars thrive beyond court
Basketball at Main South is more than making jumpers and winning games.
Coach Luis Ojeda stresses the importance of getting the job done in the classroom, and keeps tabs on the academics of all the players in his program, including junior varsity and middle school. The approach has worked, and Ojeda’s players are making the grade on and off the court.
“Our job is to keep on doing what we’re supposed to do and focus on the schoolwork,” Ojeda said. “Get good grades and take care of everything else. When it’s time for us to get noticed (in basketball), we’ll get noticed.”
Main South is getting noticed on the court thanks to a six-game winning streak to start the season. The streak came to an end Tuesday night when undefeated Worcester Tech beat the Cougars, 54-47. Despite the loss, Main South has good health and a set lineup, which bodes well for the rest of the season.
“We’ve had success in the past, and we’re doing well now, though last year was kind of tough — we finished the regular season 10-10,” Ojeda said. “But we did well down the stretch (going 8-2), finished strong and played in the City Tournament. First game, we played South close for the first half. Second game, we played Burncoat and lost by two. But it was a good experience for our kids.”
The Cougars qualified for the Central Mass. playoffs last year, but lost to Bay Path Regional on a buzzer-beater.
Ojeda, in his fourth year as varsity coach, has had an interesting run at Main South. During his first year, Ojeda became varsity coach midway through the season. He was also the JV coach, so he ended up running two teams, making for some long nights.
“But each year, I’ve always had the same goal — I wanted every kid in the program to move on to the next grade, or college,” Ojeda said. “The basketball will take care of itself.”
The basketball has taken care of itself this year. Main South can shoot, scoring at least 70 points three times with a high of 85. The team is also doing the job defensively and rebounding.
“But the reason why we’re 6-1 is because we work hard in practice,” senior Jeffrey Moore said. “We run our butts off in practice. But it really starts in school, in the classroom. If we can’t do it in the classroom, we can’t execute on the court.”
Main South, balanced and athletic, gets contributions from many players.
Six-foot-3 senior Kurtis Tucker-Davis has stepped it up on the defensive end and is versatile enough to cover a point guard. Sophomore Kwaku Amponsah is a cerebral 5-11 player with great anticipation.
For his part, Moore is a great shooter who can hit from anywhere, while junior Markel Tolson is a standout point guard with shutdown skills on defense.
Sophomore Timothy Wilkins has a strong understanding of the game and is a solid all-around player. Wilkins and Moore both average 18 points a game.
“I’ve become much more comfortable with this team,” Amponsah said. “Last year I played varsity, but I was more of a shy kid. You wouldn’t hear my voice on the court. Now it feels more like a family out there, and I can honestly say I love my team. Every time we go out on the court, it’s like going to war with my soldiers.”
Congratulations to Abby Kelley Foster senior power forward Kwesi Ewusi, who eclipsed the 1,500-point mark for his career in the Bears’ 56-52 win over North High this week.
Ewusi, who finished with a game-high 28 points, helped Abby Kelley overcome a 27-20 halftime deficit. He now has 1,525 career points. More importantly, the Bears improved to 7-4.
“Winning the game was very important to Kwesi, and it was a great win for us,” coach Lennie Kasprzak said. “He’s very unselfish and wants to get his teammates involved. Kwesi is a real team player and wants to make the team better, but if he wants, Kwesi has the ability to take over a game.”
Kasprzak said that Ewusi, the team’s biggest player at 6-3, gets most of his points on quick, slashing drives. His jump shot has improved with hours of hard work. Ewusi helps the team in other areas as well, most notably with his leadership.
“He’s a natural leader who uses his abilities correctly,” Kasprzak said. “And he is a leader off the court as well, and that includes the classroom.”
Ewusi, who is originally from Ghana, is a three-year all-star in both basketball and soccer. He would like to continue playing basketball after high school, and is interested in Rhode Island College or a prep school.
Contact Craig Holt at sports@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @tgsports.