ASHBURNHAM, Mass. — When Cushing Academy – after a terrific regular season that earned them a No. 2 seed in NEPSAC Class AA – was upset by Brimmer & May in the first round of the playoffs last season, it told head coach James Cormier two things.
One, he said he simply didn’t prepare his team well enough. Two, he felt like there wasn’t enough leadership that could catapult them to a championship.
Those issues figure to be in the past. Cormier has built a roster that should not only be one of the strongest in New England, but now has the necessary ingredients to win a title. He believes it’s the deepest team he’s had in his eight years as a head coach, one that’s extremely versatile and also possesses the right mix of intangibles that may have been missing before.
“The leadership, the character, the cohesiveness and the overall synergy is what’s separating us from last year,” Cormier said.
Here’s what to expect from Cushing as it chases a championship in 2024-25.
Newcomers who impact winning
As he recruited players with leadership qualities who could help put his squad over the top, Cormier couldn’t have done much better than landing Jay Jones (Brookline, Mass.). The 6-foot-4 guard was a critical piece of three consecutive NEPSAC titles and two straight ISL titles at Rivers, and the Penn commit will join Cushing this season for a postgraduate year.
Cormier has known Jones’ dad Joe, the longtime head coach at Boston University, for a long time, so he had a good feeling about Jay’s high character. He matches it on the court as a strong two-way guard who can be a playmaker, shoot with range and use his growing body to get to the rim. He’ll be a key cog for Cushing this season, someone with a winning reputation who leads by both example and voice.
“He’s willing to be coached and work, and he’s humble enough to listen and buy in, which is so important in this journey,” Cormier said. “The kids who have open ears, those are the ones that typically get what they should out of the development process.”
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Cormier is excited about his other additions, which include some high-level scorers. In the 2025 class, John Price, a 6-foot-7 wing from Texas, is an athletic scorer who can fill it up. Frederik Jellum, a 6-foot-9 wing from Denmark, has professional experience in his home country. A skilled big who can shoot, he’ll need to adjust to the physicality and pace of the American style, but Cormier believes he has high-major college potential.
Cushing also has a couple of new, exciting guards in the 2026 class. Ryan Moesch, a 5-foot-11 guard from New York, has a scoring pedigree, and Cormier believes he’ll open eyes this season. His roommate, Brady O’Connell (Bedford, N.H.), transferred to Cushing from Bedford High and has a knack for making the right plays. David Flores John, a 6-foot-6 junior, is an unselfish player who impacts winning with his offensive rebounding ability and 3-point shooting.
Strength in versatility
Cormier boasts two more seniors who have grown in big ways over the summer. Jacob Davis, a big-bodied 6-foot-7 forward who was a big piece last season, is one of Cormier’s all-time favorite players. Cormier thinks people will be surprised by Davis' perimeter development with his ability to attack defenders off the bounce and still use his physicality and size to finish around the rim. David Melson (Fairfield, Conn.), a Hamilton commit, had a strong summer and will continue to make a big impact with his advanced offensive game.
Cushing also has some unique size in its frontcourt: two 7-footers in Coley Mark (Brookline, Mass.) and Theo Edema, who are both in the 2027 class. They’re both young and raw but have tons of potential. Cormier thinks Mark will be a special prospect with more development, while Edema is already racking up high-major Division 1 offers with his rare skill at his size. They both have a unique ability to defend all five positions, but Cormier said the biggest question mark with them is finding ways to keep good spacing when they’re on the floor.
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All told, though, Cushing has the depth and the versatility to play any style when it’s called for.
“We can play a lot of different ways,” Cormier said. “Ideally, we have teams who feel like they have to match up to us. But if we ever find ourselves in a position where we’re getting beat up on the boards, we can certainly play a tougher, bigger lineup. If we feel like we’re in a shootout, we have shot makers and floor spacers. Defensively, we’ll always be pretty sound, and I’m excited to mix up what we do.”
Potential to be special
Cushing doesn’t necessarily have a highly-ranked superstar on its roster. But Cormier is hoping someone can step into an alpha-like role. He’s had that in years past from the likes of Wabissa Bede, Bensley Joseph and David Duke Jr. – tough guards who stepped up and told the coach they’re taking on a certain defensive assignment or took over when needed.
“I hope someone emerges into that role because that’s a guy the team looks to and they know they have someone who’s gonna get it done when we need to get it done,” Cormier said.
Cushing has high hopes this season, but they don’t want to get ahead of themselves. Last season, they blew out Brimmer in the regular season before losing to them in the playoffs, and at times Cormier felt like his team thought too much about what a championship would look like instead of keeping a narrow, daily focus. He wants that to change this season.
“We just have to be great in that game, and if we’re able to be better than we were last game and we continue stacking great game after great game, by the end of the season, hopefully we’re playing our best basketball,” Cormier said. “If that’s the case, we certainly have the talent to do something special.”
