First-year Newman head coach Katie Kolinski has repeatedly stressed her mission to create a sustainable, positive culture in the school's second year with a girls basketball program. She's pulling out all the stops — including drawing on a longtime personal connection with basketball Hall-of-Famer Nancy Lieberman.
Lieberman, who was in Boston for a speaking engagement at Harvard, stopped by Newman's Tuesday open gym for an informal talk and Q&A with the Cardinals.
"The reason we can do what we can do is because of her," Kolinski said. "Any time you can have her talk to your team, it's just invaluable."
The Cardinals came out strong in Year 1, making the NEPSAC Class AA playoffs as a No. 4 seed before falling at home against Darrow. But Year 2 is a fresh start in several ways. Kolinski is in as head coach with last year's staff, including Sam Doner and Brian Scalabrine, gone. Newman is also ascending to Class AAA and will test itself against some of the best teams in New England.
It's a tall task for Kolinski and a group with a pretty wide age and experience range. But Kolinski's main takeaway: they love to be in the gym and work. And for returners like Gabby Middleton, they're sensing a shift in culture.
"I think that it's brought us together a lot more," she said. "In aspects we didn't necessarily think about before, now we're thinking about them. Everyone run and go pick your teammate up, not just two or three girls go over — that's what a team does."
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Gabby Middleton wants to reach a new level
Middleton (Stoughton, Mass.) led last year's Cardinals in scoring (15.3 points) and dished out 6.7 assists per game. The 5-foot-10 junior's handle and perimeter shooting at her size has helped her become a dangerous individual scorer and sparked Division 1 offers from a handful of mid-major schools — most recently Stony Brook, Marist, BU and Siena.
But for Newman to take the next step, Middleton wants to be more well-rounded.
"I want to show all the other aspects of my game," she said. "Besides just me scoring, I want to show my passing, my hustle on the court — I want all of those things to go into my game this year."
Kolinski is specifically working with Middleton on speeding up her court reads and getting the Cardinals to collectively play faster. A lot of the work comes through practice repetition and hammering home the expectation of fast pace, along with some film study.
"As a point guard, you gotta be able to push the pace all the time, so we're just working on how you push the pace," Kolinski said. "And just being that vocal leader, making sure people are in the right spots where they need to be on offense. ... She has great skill and great size, so for her it's just, keep growing that point guard IQ."
Morgan Jenkins can be a game-changer
Jenkins (who missed Tuesday's open gym due to the flu) is one of the marquee transfers of this NEPSAC season. The 6-foot-2 2026 center from Higganum, Conn., is in the midst of her final recruiting decisions and official visits as she chooses from more than 30 Division 1 offers. After racking up 20.1 points and 13.7 rebounds per game at Hotchkiss, Jenkins has the Cardinals buzzing about her potential impact.
"Definitely, the experience (helps)," Middleton said. "She also brings something new to the team that we haven't had, because she's an upperclassmen coming from a different state and everything. So I think that she brings a lot of intensity to practices."
Jenkins isn't just a post player; she's worked on expanding her game and is now a real 3-point threat. That puts her next to a bunch of other sweet-shooting wings on Newman, including Merrimack commit Ava Egan (North Attleboro, Mass.) and 2028 riser Ayla Keefe (Cave Creek, Ariz.), who has recently landed offers from Yale and Army. Jenkins feels like the missing piece to a truly versatile offense.
"You can use (Jenkins) in every way. You can run a 5-out (offense) because she can shoot the 3, you can have her push the break for you, you can post her up, (or) you can have her on the elbow and run actions," Kolinski said. "There's nothing you can't do, so it's gonna be fun to implement her in our offense when I can actually start coaching."
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Breakout potential in the backcourt, and a center to watch
Along with Middleton, the Cardinals boast a collection of young ball-handlers poised for breakout years. Both Kolinski and Middleton touted 2027 twins Shannon and Shea Welburn (Wellesley, Mass.) as underrated guards. Shannon started on last year's squad and made her mark with a high motor on boards and quick trigger behind the arc.
"I think (Shannon's) underrated because of how hard she plays all the time," Kolinski said. "And then defensively, she can pick up 94 feet."
Middleton also shouted out 2028 guard Amiah Noel (Boston, Mass.). The explosive guard didn't play much last season after transferring from Boston Latin Academy, but with a year of NEPSAC under her belt, Noel might be ready for major minutes.
"She's definitely becoming more smart with playing the game," Middleton said. "She has all the athleticism and everything like that, and she's finally starting to get the game and understand what she's really needed."
Then in the frontcourt, it's worth keeping an eye on 6-5 center Hillary Simo from Cameroon. Simo, a 2028 talent with an offer from La Salle, has previously been thrown into action with little basketball experience and is still very raw as a prospect. But she already looks significantly more skilled than when she arrived at Newman a year ago, as evidenced by some of the quick spin moves and floaters she put up in Tuesday's open gym.
"Hillary's definitely another breakout player," Middleton said. "From last year to this year, she worked so hard. She goes to every 6 a.m. (workout)."
