SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — When Leo Papile thinks about the trajectory of his Boston Amateur Basketball Club’s (BABC) season that led to this week’s Adidas 3SSB national championships in South Carolina, the college football playoffs come to his mind.
BABC had another strong year in its second season on the Adidas circuit this spring, and it boasts a 24-4 record heading into its first tournament game of the Adidas 17U championships on Thursday. But after winning the annual Boston Shootout in mid-June, they took a three-week break due to the live scholastic period, when college coaches can watch potential recruits in person. They returned for some tune-up games at the “Basketbull” event last weekend here at Western New England University, but there was some rust.
“It's almost like the college football bowls,” said Papile, the longtime head coach at BABC. “You play your conference championship game at the end of November, and then you’re off 5-6 weeks to the first week in January.
“It’s like, ‘Wow, who are we? Who are these guys, you know?’”
Papile eventually saw the team he recognized. BABC knocked off the cobwebs with a morning victory over Connecticut TakeOver National before turning up the defense for an impressive 77-44 victory over Connecticut Elite, which gave him great confidence as they boarded a plane to South Carolina on Monday.
“If we play like we did today, we’re as good as anybody in the country,” Papile said.
BABC picked up two more wins in showcase games on Tuesday and Wednesday before single-elimination tournament play starts on Thursday. As one of the top seeds, Papile thinks they have a shot at making a run at the championship, which would be on Sunday, with a combination of talent and veteran leadership that makes them a threat to anyone.
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Their headliner is Joson Sanon (Fall River, Mass.), who’s heading to Arizona State this fall and is one of the best pure scorers on the Adidas circuit. Sanon has not officially reclassified to the 2024 class as he completes his graduation before enrolling at Arizona State, but he’s been committed and motivated to bring home a championship for BABC. He scored 40-plus points in both Boston Shootout wins over Rhode Island Elite and New Haven Heat, and he’s ready to lead BABC this week in South Carolina.
“This is a priority. It’s not for any audition,” Papile said. “One thing about Jo, you saw that night against New Haven, he wants to win. He’ll put you on his back. He’s a talented, talented kid, and he works really hard at it. His body looks phenomenal. He’s pro-ready, as they say.”
Sanon leads an experienced group that includes electric point guard Ebuka Okorie (Nashua, N.H.), Rashawn Tibby (Windsor, Conn.), Damarius Roberts (New Bedford, Mass.), Ryan Sullivan (Worcester, Mass.) and Ricardo Nieves (Springfield, Mass.), with talented Class of 2026 big men Ben Ahmed and Collins Chidera Onyejiaka playing up on this 17U squad to anchor the paint.
Oswin Erhunmwunse, who played the entire spring with BABC through the “Boston Shootout,” will not be suiting up for BABC this week after he reclassified to the 2024 class and enrolled early at Providence. But Papile still loves the makeup of his team and the different ways they can win. They can score at a high rate with Sanon. As they showed in Springfield last weekend, they have a ton of defensive versatility with Roberts and Nieves, two big and strong guards. And even without Erhunmwunse, they have two strong rim protectors in Ahmed and Onyejiaka.
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“Ben is clearly a superior offensive player,” Papile said. “He’s like an Elton Brand, Zach Randolph. You get him on that right block, it’s over. He’s a menace. Collins gives you some athleticism, protecting the rim, his offense is decent. They’ll both be back (next year), that’s the good part.”
It will certainly be a tall order to win the championship, but Papile’s group has been battle-tested. They surprised him at the Boston Shootout, where they had just five available players but still beat two strong teams in Rhode Island Elite and New Haven Heat. One of BABC’s four losses was an early spring defeat to Team Loaded (Virginia) – the top seed in the circuit that enters the tournament undefeated – when they went 3-for-19 from 3-point range and only lost by three.
“When you have Joson that’s not going to happen too often,” Papile said.
Papile senses great motivation from his group for its final crack at a national title this weekend.
“Very much (motivated),” Papile said. “Four years of Joson, three years of Ebuka, four years of Ricardo, three years of Sully, three years of Roberts. Those guys want to go out … we’re ready to go.”
