London Powell recalls her dad, Dannie, coming home a week before Greens Farms would begin its preseason practices and telling her he had just been hired as the team's head coach. Powell broke the news to London like it was no big deal, but after he had been in and out of the running during the hiring process, London was surprised.
"I was sure that he wasn't gonna be the coach at that time, because I was like, 'Oh, our season's in two weeks,' and then it came down to a week and I was like, 'Oh no,'" she said. "But then he got the job and I was like, 'Oh, wow!' I was really surprised."
Powell was among a handful of unusually late NEPSAC coaching hires. When previous Greens Farms coach Maria Conlon left to become the head coach at Western Connecticut State (announced in October), that began a scramble to find someone new to lead the Dragons. A similar story played out at Middlesex. When Kenny Small Jr. left in September and filled the head coach vacancy at Rivers, that left the school searching, and they ultimately promoted Josh Smith soon after.
The sudden changes have revitalized both schools in stunning fashion. Greens Farms returns from winter break 7-0, emerging as a true championship contender in Class B. Middlesex, meanwhile, is 6-1 — already tying the most program wins since 2018-19 — and believes it has a real shot at making the loaded, eight-team Class B playoff field.
"The camaraderie is different. The buy-in is different, I feel like, this year," Smith said.
When the Greens Farms position opened up, Powell, who had just coached the Bunnell High boys team to a CIAC championship the previous winter, expressed early interest. At first, Greens Farms was hesitant to have a parent of a current player as the next head coach. But when one of the leading candidates dropped out, the school pivoted to Powell.
"I'm not gonna lie, in the beginning (I was) getting kind of nervous," he said. "For me, it was very important to develop a relationship with the players before I actually started really coaching them. I thought that was important so they can kind of get to know me and my style, and I get to know them and how to motivate them."
Powell had a rapport with several of the players beyond London after having coached them in fall leagues and younger AAU teams. He felt his knowledge base on the girls side was stronger than with boys, and he believed he could be impactful with his insight into AAU and college recruiting. One change prompted by that experience: the Dragons would switch to a heavy dose of man-to-man defense instead of relying on their 3-2 zone.
"We have a good amount of girls that are going to play in college, and I told them, 'You're going to have to learn how to play man defense. I'd feel like I didn't do my job if I didn't show you how to not just guard the ball, but help the helper, be in the right position and things like that,'" he said.
Powell knew how talented his 10-girl team would be. The Dragons have Cheyenne Brand (West Haven, Conn.), a senior and Division 1 commit to High Point, as a fixture at forward. Classmate Ryley Tate-Padian (Easton, Conn.) leads the squad at 11 points per game, with London (Milford, Conn.) close behind at 10. Jacylah "LaLa" Goode (Derby, Conn.), one of the top 2027 prospects in the region, is also a core member.
The small roster started the season with just six healthy players, forcing coaches to take the floor in practice. Powell also didn't realize that NEPSAC coaches have to notify both athletic directors if they want to scout an opponent in-person, so he's instead screen-recording livestreams to watch film.
Those obstacles haven't slowed the Dragons. Their new defensive identity has helped them beat schools like Class A contender Kent (48-45) and reigning Class B champion St. George's (54-31). Powell says the 7-0 start matches his expectations; London is honestly surprised given the injury hurdles they've overcome.
"I was like, 'We're gonna be down bodies. We're gonna be tired,'" she said. "But he made sure that we were in our best shape and he made sure that we got everything down pat. We really focus on defense, so our defense has really been winning us games more than the offensive side."
Smith has embarked on a similar restructuring at Middlesex, which went 6-14 in 2023-24. A quick look at the head-to-head differences tells enough of a story. Middlesex has beaten Governor's by seven points (lost by 15 last season), BB&N by 12 (lost by 17 last season) and Concord Academy by 21 (lost by 3 last season). Their lone defeat came in a 47-42 overtime game against Pingree Dec. 15 — a matchup they lost by 21 a year ago.
Smith had been an assistant coach at Middlesex for the past two seasons after spending the previous nine years at Watertown High under girls coach Pat Ferdinand (now the Framingham boys coach). He considered following Small to Rivers when Small told Smith he got the job. But Smith wanted to be a head coach and saw the opportunity to stay at a school he knew well. He also wanted to stick by the players who had worked hard for him since he arrived.
"I feel like the kids who put the work in deserved a little bit more, " he said. "And I didn't want to just turn my back and just leave the kids that I've been working with for so long — for the last three years. That wasn't gonna sit right with me."
Also a counselor at Middlesex, Smith has taken over a program in need of a reset but with talent and experience, led by Johnson and Wales commit Julia Blum (Danvers, Mass.) and Union-bound Kylee Shah (Billerica, Mass.). Blum was part of a group that sat down with the Middlesex athletic administration and vouched for Smith during the interview process.
"I found a good connection with Josh being the assistant coach, and all the girls — we all wanted him to step up and take the head coaching job," Blum said.
An early change Blum noticed: Smith asks a question of the day at the end of every practice that can range from surface-level to deeper and more thoughtful. On the court, Middlesex is playing faster and more free-flowing basketball. They're more prepared too; Smith, a self-proclaimed "basketball junkie," gives his team detailed packets of scouting reports before each game and uploads film onto the team's Google Classroom.
"I value it lot, and I think the team does as well. He takes his own time, and it's a lot of time," Blum said. "He's watching through video, highlights, videos from games, and forming a scout on the teams we're playing. And a really detailed scout — each player, their pros, cons ... and that's very, very helpful for us as a team as we move into the games."
As Middlesex keeps winning, the aspirations for players like Blum have changed. She's motivated for the team's Feb. 1 home game against Rivers, to prove Middlesex is in a better place and also to take down a Class B frontrunner. Her season goals, including making the postseason, are loftier than before — and that's inspired by Smith.
"(I'm) telling them it's not, it's not wrong to set lofty goals for yourself," Smith said. "Because then the intrinsic motivation is, 'I really want this, and we all kind of want this thing. I don't want to let my teammates down. I don't want to let the person to the left of me, the person to the right of me down.' And I think that's one of the hallmarks so far of the season that's helped us get off to a good start."
