About seven rows above the court at the Track at New Balance last November, John Clancy sat next to Jeff Moesch for a season-opening weekend game between Cushing and CATS, and they experienced some déjà vu.
Moesch’s son Ryan – who they had both coached at Chittenango High School in New York – was making his NEPSAC debut for Cushing, and the two longtime friends made the trip to Boston. Ryan, a 6-foot guard, initially struggled. Clancy thought he was tentative in the first half, and Jeff saw his son have a hard time adjusting to a level of athleticism, physicality and length he had never seen before. Cushing trailed by as many as 19 in the second half.
But then somewhere, something clicked for Ryan. A scene unfolded before that Jeff and Clancy were all-too-familiar with, as Ryan started taking over and willing Cushing to a comeback.
“We looked at each other and were like, ‘OK, here we go,’” Clancy said.
