LOWELL, Mass. — Before Salem got on the team bus to head to the Tsongas Center for the state championship game on Saturday, coach Tom Doyle scrolled his phone contacts to deliver some motivation.
Inside Salem’s home locker room, Doyle – a player on the Witches’ 1990 state title team – dialed up a couple of past champions and program legends on FaceTime. On one call was Rick Brunson, a 1990 champion with Salem who went on to play at Temple and the NBA, and his son Jalen, the Villanova great and current Knicks star. The other call went to Scoonie Penn, a ‘95 state champion with Salem who went on to play at Boston College before becoming a McDonald’s All-American at Ohio State.
“I love being part of Salem basketball, and those guys never forget,” Doyle said. “They both talked about the best moments of their time was winning state championships in high school.”
Moments later, the current edition of the Witches boarded the bus to make their own history and put the city back on top.
