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Local Sports
Ex-Ram star learning ropes as a coach
Thursday, 21 January 2010

By ERIC RUEB
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Members of the Coventry girls basketball team, waiting for the North Kingstown-Cranston East freshman boys basketball game to end, couldn’t help but talk about the immense height of the North Kingstown freshman coach. A few boys on the Cranston East junior varsity basketball team, waiting for the bus to take them to their game that night, walked ever-so-quietly to get a closer look before scurrying back to the wooden bleachers when he rose from his seat.

North Kingstown’s freshman coach is Michael Andersen and if the name sounds familiar, it should be.

From 1993-1997, Andersen turned himself from a European project to one of the better centers the University of Rhode Island has ever had, helping the team to the NCAA Tournament in his senior season where the Rams lost to Purdue.

After college, Andersen played professionally in Europe for 12 seasons, starting with AEK Athens Basketball Club in Greece before making stops in Italy, Poland, another team in the Greek league before finishing off his career with AEK.

With his playing days behind him and his wife Ellen - who he met while attending URI - keeping him in Jamestown, where the couple made their off-season home, Andersen begins a new stage of his basketball life - as a coach.

“As I grew older and became the veteran on pro teams, I saw I was teaching younger guys how to do stuff and I saw it as something I liked,” Andersen said after coaching the NK freshmen team to a 40-25 win over Warwick Veterans on Jan. 7. “Then it started in my head and it was like why not. You’ve been playing basketball for 20 years now, so what else are you going to do?”

---

North Kingstown varsity coach Aaron Thomas had an opening on his staff.

With Kevin Gormley leaving the North Kingstown basketball program to focus on family and the high school baseball team - which he coaches - Thomas needed someone to take over as freshman basketball coach.

Jim Simmons, one of Thomas’ assistants, had a good idea. Simmons knew Andersen and had seen him around Jamestown and mentioned him as a possibility to Thomas. Thomas knew who Andersen was without seeing or meeting him.

“Once I heard the name it came right back to me,” Thomas says. “I knew who he was, his number and all that stuff.”

Thomas spoke with Andersen over the summer and everything looked good, until the school district decided it was thinking about cutting the freshman program.

When cooler heads prevailed and Thomas had his team, he knew who he wanted to coach.

“Anytime a guy who played college basketball and has that kind of experience, it’s good to have,” Thomas says. “The kids look at him, and obviously he’s tall so they have to look up to him, but the kids know he’s played the game and he’s played the game so they can learn a lot from him.”

---

Michael Andersen had never been to Rhode Island before being recruited by Al Skinner. The trip from Denmark to Kingston isn’t one you just decide to do on a whim.

He started his freshman year as a project player, and fans had a hard time grasping the concept of a seven-footer struggling to play basketball.

By the time he finished at Kingston, he was the school’s second-leading shot-blocker and developed into a player head to the pros.

But there is one game many URI fans remember, and a game Andersen will never forget.

Tied with Purdue in a first-round NCAA Tournament game and the clock winding down, Andersen rebounded a Tyson Wheeler jumper and had the game-winner in his sights. He missed and URI went on to lose in overtime.

“I had the last one, a rebound and the time to get a shot off and I missed,” Andersen says. “I still think about that to this day.”

All wasn’t lost for Andersen. His career at Rhode Island was over and the professional leagues were calling.

It wasn’t the NBA, but it was OK.

“When I came out, they made a rule that Europeans didn’t count as foreigners (in the Greek League), so the money went really crazy over there,” Andersen says. “I made, actually, more money my first couple of years then I would have as a backup in the NBA at the time. Yeah, I was disappointed (to not play in the NBA), but it was a good life. I had 12 great years and I don’t regret it at all.”

---

Andersen’s first meeting with his players was an event, to say the least,

“He walked into the room the first time and they all went OK, who’s that guy,” Thomas said. “He obviously played basketball somewhere.”

Randall Minogue had no idea who his new coach was.

A freshman at North Kingstown, Minogue knew one thing - Andersen was the tallest person he’d ever seen.

“I thought ‘Oh, what did I do now?” Minogue says. “What did I sign up for?”

None of Minogue’s players knew who he was. You can’t blame him - they were still learning to walk when Andersen was playing for URI. But they slowly learned about Andersen.

“My friend’s mom knew,” NK freshman Donald Maroney says. “My friend was a big basketball fan and he told me a lot about him and his parents told me a lot about him and how he was a good basketball player.”

If you’ve been big into college basketball in Rhode Island the last 20 years, you don’t forget a name like Michael Andersen. You remember him holding his own against the Atlantic 10’s premier players and, more often than not, someone at Andersen’s game will ask him if he’s that Michael Andersen - as if there’s many more synonymous 7-foot tall Dutch men in the state.

“I get that from parents, referees and other coaches,” Andersen says. “But all my players have no idea what I did, or where I’ve been.”

---

It’s hard not to notice Andersen’s size. Few seven-footers have made their way through the Rhode Island High School basketball scene and before leaving Barrington High School, Jim Dickinson was the Rhode Island Interscholastic League’s only seven-footer.

“We were down in the locker room and I heard them coming down. I went to open the locker room and I came out and looked, and looked up and saw him,” says Isaiah McDaniel, freshman coach at Cranston East. “It was a shock.”

“Height.” says CE shooting guard Hakeem Jean Pierre when asked what he thought of Andersen. “Mad height.”

Mad height takes some getting used to.

“I thought he was going to be scary,” Minogue says. “... Then I realized he’s mellow - just a laid-back guy.”

Someone that big, with that playing pedigree, should be the loud, angry coach.

Andersen is far from it. He sits the entire game, folding his body into and out of small chairs game in, game out. He doesn’t raise his voice in anger, only shouting when he wants his team to do focus on something - rebounding, setting screens, taking smarter shots.

“I learned from Skins,” Andersen says. “He was really calm, didn’t get too animated unless there was really something wrong. I try to do it the same way.”

It also helps he’s coaching freshmen, where everything is different. Players aren’t quite at the level Andersen’s been at, referees miss a fair share of calls and there are so many things you have to deal with. If there’s a first step in coaching, this is it.

“It’s frustrating at times, I’ll tell you that,” Andersen says. “(Expecting too much) was one of my biggest fears. I just worked out with pros four or five months ago, so I had to tone it down a little. I had to tone it down because they don’t know everything I talk about. I have to go back to basics.

“That’s what it is - keeping it basic and keeping it fun. Today we got to play everybody, some days we don’t get to play everybody but I try to get most of the guys in there.”

---

It’s not a stretch to call Andersen the most technically sound freshman coach the state’s ever had. All it takes is a peek at his scouting sheets to know Andersen knows a thing or two about basketball.

“He can tell you what the other teams are doing, what they are trying to do, what plays they’re running and that’s a huge asset,” Thomas said. “... He comes back with a nice scouting report and can answer the questions. It’s more than going to a game and watching it and that’s what we’re looking for.”

And as the season has gone on, and players and coach have grown accustomed to one another, Andersen has developed into a pretty good hands-on coach.

“We’ve taken to him really well,” Maroney said. “He focuses on everyone getting better and that’s why everyone gets along.”

“We’ve gotten better,” Minogue said. “From the first practice, he didn’t know us that well and now he knows us and we’re working on more stuff.”

“It’s 15,  13- and 14-year olds that think they’re the next (Boston Celtics’ guard Rajon) Rondo or something like that,” Andersen says. “It’s fun, they’re all good guys and I’ve having a good time doing that.”

The best part is the players have grasped the opportunity that presents them. While most teams have coaches who had an interest in basketball, maybe played a little low-level college ball, most likely stopped playing after their high school days, the Skippers are being taught by someone who’s played against some of the best in the world.

“It’s really a good opportunity because he knows a lot about what to do,” Maroney said. “He knows what to do and he’s a great coach.”

“You’re not going to find many freshmen coaches,” Thomas said, “with that kind of resume.”

---

Andersen is ready to settle down.

He and Ellen bought a house in Jamestown six years ago and along with 5-year old son Ryder and 3-year old daughter River Jane, are ready to call it home full-time. With Ellen being from Rhode Island, there was really no doubt it was going to happen eventually.

“She’s been traveling with me overseas,” Andersen said. “Now we want to stay.”

Coaching is something Andersen wanted to try and he’s searched for help on what and how to do it. He talks with Skinner’s former assistants at URI - Tim O’Shea, Ed Cooley, Bill Coen - all of whom currently coach Division I teams.

Thomas knows Andersen’s not going to be the NK freshman coach for long time, more of a testament to Andersen’s abilities than him wanted to pack things up and move on.

“I think ultimately he wants to be a college coach. That’s his ultimate goal and I think he’s got the experience to work his way up and I think it’s great to have a guy with that kind of experience,” Thomas says. “Some guys you find make good players and not coaches and sometimes it’s the other way around, too. He right now, is proving he’s really involved in coaching.”

Andersen says he wants to get in the college ranks and doesn’t see high school as the be all, end all to his coaching career. He doesn’t speculate on if he’ll be moving on next season, instead choosing to enjoy every minute of the one that’s going on right now.

“I have no plans. I’ll take it one year at a time to see how it goes,” Andersen said. “In coaching you never know what’s going to pop up and so far, so good.”






Last Updated ( Thursday, 21 January 2010 )
 
Avenger 'D' ripped by Tiverton offense
Wednesday, 11 November 2009

By JAMES BESSETTE
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TIVERTON — In watching film during the week in preparation for Saturday’s tilt with Tiverton, East Greenwich head coach Bob Corr knew that the Tigers like to pull off the fake hand-off and run the quarterback keeper to gain yardage up field.
However, Saturday for the Avengers was like how Major League Baseball batters look at the fastball from Yankees’ reliever Mariano Rivera.
They knew what was coming, yet still couldn’t do anything about it.
The struggles for East Greenwich continued on both sides of the ball in its latest defeat, a 32-10 score to last year’s runner-up in Division III in a game that saw the Avengers get behind the 8-ball before much of the contingent at Tiverton High School got a chance to sit down.

For the full story, read the 11/12 edition of the Pendulum

 
Avs sixth at states
Wednesday, 11 November 2009

By JAMES BESSETTE
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NORTH SCITUATE — Peter Dion was pacing back and forth near the doorway entering the Ponaganset High School field house awaiting the fate of his East Greenwich boys’ cross country team, whether or not the Avengers be one of the top six heading to the New England Interscholastic Cross Country Championships in Manchester, Conn.
It was pretty much no different from what he did last year when the announcement came then that East Greenwich made the cut at sixth place, breathing a sigh of relief afterwards in the process.
Yet, it was déjà vu for the Avengers as, for a second straight season, East Greenwich qualified sixth place in the RIIL Cross Country State Championships with 208 points on Sunday, giving the Avengers the right to run at Wickham Park next Saturday.
Coming into Sunday’s meet, East Greenwich had a bit of a chip on its shoulder after falling short of winning the Class C Championship last week in placing second to Smithfield.

For the full story, read the 11/12 edition of the Pendulum

 
Avenger girls taken down by La Salle again
Wednesday, 11 November 2009

By BRANDEN MELLO
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CRANSTON — In the East Greenwich High girls’ soccer team’s last two visits to the Division I semifinals, the Avengers have left Cranston Stadium frustrated after one-goal losses to La Salle.
Last Wednesday night, the Avengers lost to the Rams again in the semifinals, but this loss was harder to take for EG coach Dave Petrucci than the last two.
“It’s frustrating. I don’t know what happened, we just lost focus and lost the middle of the field,” Petrucci said after the Avengers lost to the Rams 5-0 thanks to three goals from sophomore McKenzie Meehan. “… La Salle played great tonight, you have to give them credit. It’s not something we didn’t do, it’s what they did. We got caught up in the moment and they buried a couple of balls.”

For the full story, read the 11/12 edition of the Pendulum

 
EG boys capture Division II championship
Wednesday, 11 November 2009

By BRANDEN MELLO
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PROVIDENCE — East Greenwich High School junior forward Mike Monti had seen the play so many times this year that he knew exactly where he needed to be when teammate Ben Berger played a cross into the box from the byline.
Monti, who was the top scorer on a team that scored 90 goals in 19 games this season, used his brilliant track speed to get inside of his defender and proceeded to smash a perfect Berger pass into Lincoln goalie Evan Walsh’s net in the 63rd minute of Saturday’s Division II final.
“It was a perfect pass by Ben, it couldn’t have been better,” the game’s MVP said. “That’s the way we’ve scored all season. We have nearly 90 goals this season and, for the most part, all of them have come the same way. It felt really good to score that goal and this season couldn’t have gone any better. Everything was great.”
The junior added another goal in the 66th minute and Scott Douglas, who injured his left knee at the end of the first half, scored a magnificent third goal five minutes before the end of the game to lift the Avengers to a 3-0 victory and the school’s first boys’ soccer title of any kind. 

For the full story, read the 11/12 edition of the Pendulum

 
The future is now: Cole Middle School girls win title
Wednesday, 11 November 2009

By ERIC RUEB
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WOOD RIVER JCT. – The East Greenwich High School girls soccer team lost last Wednesday in the Division I semifinals.
But if Tuesday night was any indication, there’s a chance the Avengers will have plenty of success in the future.
Sarah Migliori’s goal in the first five-minute overtime gave Cole Middle School a lead and the defense did the rest as the undefeated Lancers – many of whom will be Avengers in the coming years - beat Wickford, 2-1, to win the RIPCOA girls soccer state title, the school’s first.
“They’ve been working hard the whole season so they’ve been playing intense the whole season,” Cole coach Steph Gloria said. “This was an accumulation of their season so they wanted to come out on top since we hadn’t lost yet.”
“We knew that they were undefeated and we were undefeated too,” said Cole’s Sarah Beaulieu, who scored the other Lancer goal Tuesday. “So I knew this was going to be a good game and was going to come down to whoever wanted it more.”

For the full story, read the 11/12 edition of the Pendulum

 
Skipper upset bid falls short
Wednesday, 11 November 2009

By DAVID PEPIN
Special to the Standard

NORTH KINGSTOWN - Nothing ruins an upset bid like a little too much of Portsmouth’s A.J. Pollock and Patrick Fagan.
Looking nothing like the team that had lost 47-0 at Bishop Hendricken seven nights earlier, the winless Skippers threw a good scare into Portsmouth Friday night before the visitors escaped with a 28-12 win.
The Skipper defense was never quite able to stop Pollock, who squirted through small holes and busted tackles on his way to 186 yards and four touchdowns on 27 carries. Fagan quarterbacked the Patriots to victory, but did much more damage as a defensive end, where he recorded three sacks and disrupted North Kingstown’s offense all night.

For the full story, read the 11/12 edition of the Standard Times

 
EWG back in playoff talks
Wednesday, 11 November 2009

By KEVIN RYDER
Special to the Standard

PROVIDENCE — In a game that carried major playoff implications, Exeter-West Greenwich used the one-two punch of running backs Adam Sweeney and Alfred Georgio for a 22-14 win over host Hope Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the Scarlet Knights (4-2 Division IV, 5-3 overall) jumped into second place in the division standings behind first-place Middletown (6-1), while Hope (4-3) is now on the fringe of the playoff picture behind three teams who are tied with third place — Classical, Scituate and North Smithfield.

For the full story, read the 11/12 edition of the Standard Times

 
North swept by Townies
Wednesday, 11 November 2009

By BRANDEN MELLO
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KINGSTON — After a very forgettable first game in Tuesday’s Division I semifinal against I-North champion East Providence, the North Kingstown girls volleyball team served, passed, set and hit its way to precipice of victories in the ensuing two games.
The Skippers, who limped into the playoffs after losing four of their last five regular-season matches, rode the hot hand of outside hitter Annie Ragan to tie the Townies at 22 in the second game and a 19-18 lead in the third game.
But the Skippers simply couldn’t put away the Townies. Because of two late service errors in the second game and another back-breaking service error in the third game, the Townies topped NK with a 25-17, 25-22, 25-21.

For the full story, read the 11/12 edition of the Standard Times

 
Local XC teams OK with run
Wednesday, 11 November 2009

By PAUL J. SPETRINI
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NORTH SCITUATE—As the members of the North Kingstown boys and girls cross country teams boarded their buses and headed home following last fall’s RIIL Cross Country State Championship meet, there was a sense of disbelief in the air.
The Skippers, having finished 12th and seventh, respectively, were, for the first time in recent memory, not heading to New Englands. Their season, in an instant, was unexpectedly over.
That one surreal moment of disappointment, of surprise, has been the driving motivation this fall for the boys and girls of NK. All of their practices, all of their meets, were in preparation for the 2009 state meet, in preparation for a chance at redemption, for a chance to get back to regionals.

For the full story, read the 11/12 edition of the Standard Times

 
Knights fall to Smithfield in D-II final
Wednesday, 11 November 2009

 By BRANDEN MELLO
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PROVIDENCE — A four-minute span of play in the second half of the Exeter-West Greenwich girls’ soccer team’s Division II final against Smithfield Sunday afternoon basically epitomized the way the afternoon went for the underdog Scarlet Knights.
Already trailing by two goals, the Knights had a chance to cut its deficit to one with 20 minutes left when leading scorer Hayley Kenyon beat her defender and broke in on goal. Kenyon’s point-blank shot was saves by Mackenzie Dunphy and the Sentinels, minutes later went down the field and scored a back-breaking goal.
Undeterred, the Knights came back down the field a minute later and senior Chelsea Neves-Carr hit the near post with a perfect, one-timed shot. It was just that type of day for the Scarlet Knights, who were put to the sword by a goal and two assists from Ashley Kuhar in a 3-0 loss at Rhode Island College.
“I thought we played well and I actually think we dominated a majority of the game, it’s just soccer,” Exeter-West Greenwich coach Kevin Fraser said after his team ended its historic season 11-4-4. “Sometimes you can have the ball a lot and not score and the other team gets a couple of breaks and chances and they finish them off. It’s part of the game.”

For the full story, read the 11/12 edition of the Standard Times

 
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