The Division 3 basketball season kicks into full gear this week, and that means some of the country’s best players are returning to the court.
The talent level in D3 right now is as good as it has ever been. And the caliber of player returning is immense and puts some schools right back into both the regional and national mix.
Some teams are so deep that multiple players made the list — including several New England natives.
Here’s a look at 15 players who will make an impact in New England this season.
DIVISION 3 GUIDE:Â 10 teams who could contend this winter
Henry Vetter & Jarrell Okourogo, Trinity
Vetter: Senior, 6-5 guard from Kenilworth, Ill.
Okourogo: Senior, 6-5 guard/forward from Stoneham, Mass.
There is an abundance of riches returning for the reigning national champs, including the top four scorers and so much more. Vetter (15.9 points, 3.5 assists) and Okourogo (12.6 points, 6.9 rebounds) were the top two scorers last year and led the team in assists and boards, respectively. They combined for 34 points in the national title game to clinch the Bantams’ first championship. And this isn’t even counting Drew Lazarre who returns and had a double-double in the final in March. The cupboard is overflowing in Hartford. With the experienced returners this side has, a second straight title isn’t an outrageous goal.
Kenneth Rogers Jr., Westfield State
Sophomore, 6-4 forward
Hometown: Springfield, Mass.
The Owls bring back the best freshman in the region with goals of running it back in the MASCAC. The Springfield native was named MASCAC Co-Player of the Year and also Rookie of the Year, and he was rookie of the year in Region 1. His season was immense to the tune of 18.9 points, nine rebounds and 3.9 assists per game, which puts him on a pace for a 2,000-point, 1,000-rebound career for the Owls.
Justin Molen, JR Newman & Tim Reidy, WPI
Molen: Junior, 6-7 forward from Newark, Del.
Newman: Senior, 6-3 guard from Havertown, Pa.
Reidy: Grad student, 5-10 guard from Needham, Mass.
This three-headed monster for the Engineers has combined to play 203 games and will be asked to lead a squad that lost program stalwarts Aidan Callahan and Brett Marelli to graduation. Newman is one of the best two-way players in the country. Reidy is one of the top 3-point shooters (42.5 percent) and drained 91 triples a season ago to go with tenacious defense. The 6-foot-7 Molen can play all five positions on the court, and he will be asked to for a team that last year played more lineup combinations than you could count.
Thomas Whelan, Southern Maine
Senior, 6-1 guard
Hometown: Bronx, N.Y.
Whelan returns to lead a program looking to contend in the Little East. His 22.1 points per game last year was good for 22nd in the country and he showed yet another marked step up offensively, as he has done every year with the Huskies (8.3 points as a freshman, 16.1 points as a sophomore). Whelan already has more than 1,100 points for USM and can take yet another step up in his fourth year in Gorham for a program looking to improve on a 12-win campaign.
Scott Gyimesi & James Morakis, Tufts
Gyimesi: Senior, 6-6 forward from Fair Haven, N.J.
Morakis: Senior, 6-4 guard from Dallas, Tx.
Another top NESCAC duo returns as Morakis and Gyimesi step into their third years starting for the Jumbos and fourth as key contributors. Morakis had 17.8 points per game last year and shot a ridiculous 49.7 percent from the field. Gyimesi had his second straight year full of double-doubles, averaging 15.3 points and 9.9 rebounds. The pair were key in the Jumbos earning the right to host opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament before bowing out in the second round in a chaotic game vs. Redlands. Tufts returns a ton from last year. If everyone can step up like Morakis and Gyimesi have each year, the Jumbos will be in the national picture throughout the winter.
Boluwasefe John, Clark
Sophomore, 6-8 forward
Hometown: Corona, N.Y.
The sophomore was a key bench piece last year in the Cougars’ run to the NEWMAC title. While his numbers may not jump off the page (6.3 points, 4.8 rebounds), John's explosive athleticism and anticipation on the defensive end certainly did last year. Big slams, monster blocks and a veteran’s ability to disrupt shots and affect opposing offenses made John an absolute problem. He only played 18.4 minutes per game but had more blocks than the next two shot-swatters on the team combined. With a step forward on the offensive end, and dialing in what made him such a good bench contributor last year, John is set to make serious waves in the league.
Timmy Mulvey, Babson
Sophomore, 5-11 guard
Hometown: Reading, Mass.
The reigning NEWMAC Rookie of the Year returns to Wellesley and will be asked to shoulder more of the offensive load. Mulvey is the leading returning scorer for the Beavers after averaging 9.5 points last year. He will need to take a big step up after Babson lost its top three scorers, which combined for 62 percent of the team's total points. A tenacious defender and quick thinker with the ball in his hand, Mulvey has all the tools to continue Babson’s tradition of developing guards that drive the rest of the NEWMAC insane.
Silvano Ismail & Remijo Wani, St. Joseph’s (Maine)
Gyimesi: Sophomore, 6-2 guard from Portland, Maine
Wani: Junior, 6-3 forward from Portland, Maine
Ismail took the region by storm last year as a freshman, averaging 16.5 points and 4.4 assists. A magnetic presence on the ball, Ismail showed a preternatural ability of when to drive the lane, and defenses couldn’t overcommit because of his court vision and ability to move the ball. Wani earned preseason All-American status from D3hoops.com after leading the 24-5 Monks last year with 18.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, three assists and 1.7 steals per game. If these two can take a step up, along with a squad full of veterans and returners from last year’s run to the conference title, the Monks have an incredibly high ceiling.
Javen Flowers-Smith, Nichols
Senior, 6-0 guard
Hometown: Atlanta, Ga.
The star guard in second-year coach Tyler Hundley’s system, Flowers-Smith flourished last year with 20.7 points and 4.1 assists per game. The team had a so-so 13-13 campaign, but Flowers-Smith will lead a team that returns three of last year’s top five scorers. Another year under Hundley, the four-time MASCAC-winning coach at Worcester State, should should only serve to bring the team back into the top echelon in the region, and Flowers-Smith will be asked to shine.
Marcus Montanigno, Endicott
Grad student, 6-4 forward
Hometown: Gloucester, Mass.
Montanigno is the leading returning scorer in New England. His 22.4 points per game were good for 16th in the country last year on a Gulls team that went 18-8 and lost in the CNE semifinals. The graduate student from Gloucester was far more than just a shooter last year, averaging. 8.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.1 steals per game. Kevin Bettencourt’s Gulls have a long history of producing elite scorers — think of players like Jalen Echevarria and Keith Brown — and Montanigno has all the tools to be another 1,000-point scorer and continue that success in Beverly.
ROAD LESS TRAVELED:Â How Montanigno, an aspiring Div. 1 baseball player, wound up at Endicott
