Another exciting winter of MIAA boys basketball is upon us. Games across the state start Friday night to ring in the 2025-26 season, which is as wide open as it’s ever been. Central Catholic, led by star Javi Lopez, opened as our preseason No. 1 and the clear-cut favorite in Division 1, but there are...
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Another exciting winter of MIAA boys basketball is upon us.
Games across the state start Friday night to ring in the 2025-26 season, which is as wide open as it’s ever been. Central Catholic, led by star Javi Lopez, opened as our preseason No. 1 and the clear-cut favorite in Division 1, but there are several legitimate challengers behind them. And like always, there figures to be surprise contenders who emerge over the next three months.
Last year brought us an epic Division 1 final, an undefeated season and several emotional championship victories. What will follow this season?
Steve Hewitt and Ethan Fuller previewed the upcoming MIAA boys basketball season on the latest HoopWise Podcast. The episode covers Steve’s Top 10 teams, players to watch, sleeper candidates and much more.
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Highlights
How excited are you for a new season and new slate?
Steve: "There's been a lot of turnover and change in MIAA boys between graduation, coaching retirements, coaching departures, both the coaches in the D1 championship game are gone. D2, Malden Catholic graduated Matt Gaffney and they lost some key guys, and they're in D1 now. St. Mary's is up in D2 now, a lot of changes within divisions. And then some other teams that are emerging into the spotlight that are ready to make some noise this winter. I'm excited to connect with some new coaches, get to some new gyms, check out some different rivalry games and it should be another fun season."
Why is Central Catholic the favorite in Division 1?
Steve: "This group is just battle-tested. They've gone through so much the last few years, they fell to Franklin in the Final Four last year, who obviously went on to win the state championship. They know what it takes now. Mark Dunham, the head coach, was talking about them getting into elite shape this year because they kept it close, I think it was tied 39-all with Franklin going into the fourth quarter...but they kind of just ran out of gas at the end. I kind of liken it to Franklin who also had to go through some things to get where they were last year. They obviously won the state championship, but the year before they lost to Worcester North in another close game, kind of lost it at the end. I think Central is kind of in that same situation."
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