Telegram Article on Sophs

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WORCESTER — After the Holy Cross men’s basketball team’s 2017-18 season ended with a loss at Colgate in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals, coach Bill Carmody advised his players to take a little time off.



“He said, ‘Don’t touch a basketball for two or three weeks,’ ” HC sophomore guard Austin Butler recalled.



But Butler and classmates Caleb Green and Jacob Grandison couldn’t wait that long.



“I think the three of us were in the gym three or four days later,” Butler said.



Butler, Green and Grandison made up half of last year’s freshman class, which also included Matt Faw, Kyle Copeland and Connor Niego, and is now a mostly seasoned sextet.



Green, a point guard, started every game, Grandison and Faw played in all 31 and Butler in 30. Grandison and Butler joined Green as vital members of the starting lineup, and each averaged more than 24 minutes a game, Green a team-high 33.2.



“I knew I couldn’t take them out,” Carmody said. “You play through your mistakes. You keep going. They were very important. Different guys had different big games. This year, we’re looking for more consistency. It’s still a pretty young team with that whole sophomore class, but those three played the most, so they’re sort of veterans.”



Last season, the senior-less Crusaders finished 12-19, 8-10 in the Patriot League.




Led by center Jehyve Floyd, who had a breakout year, HC played its best basketball over the final month, and it seems those strides have carried over into the preseason.



“I don’t have to motivate them,” Carmody said. “Our practices have been pretty competitive. Our depth is a lot better, which is great. I like what I see.”



In addition to the six sophomores, HC returns seniors Floyd, Patrick Benzan and Matt Zignorski, junior Clayton LeSann, freshmen Blake Verbeek and Marlon Hargis, and walk-on freshmen D.J. Hart, Chris Lovisolo and Lincoln Yeutter. Senior Marcellis Perkins is with the team but will not play this season due to knee issues, Carmody said.



“We have a good group of guys coming back,” Green said. “Our chemistry is on a whole other level.”



HC’s 2017-18 season hit a low point during a 35-point home loss to Navy on Feb. 7, the day after three players were suspended from the team (Karl Charles, Jack Stevens and Will Powers are no longer on the roster).



In their next game, the Crusaders came together for a convincing victory at Boston University and won three of their last five games of the regular season. The two losses were by a combined seven points. HC won at Navy, by 16 points, in the PL quarterfinals, and led Colgate in the second half of the semifinals before falling, 62-55.



“That final seven-game stretch last season,” Grandison said, “there was a difference in the way we looked on the court. It felt different. Something clicked for us at the end. Our defense clicked. We were all moving as one machine.





“The way we felt at the end of the season is the way we feel now. Our progress from last year, we want to take that and carry it. I think that’s where our confidence and energy comes from.”



Grandison, a 6-foot-6, forward, averaged 9 points and 4.5 rebounds, and led Holy Cross in points and rebounds in three of the last four games. Grandison grew up in Oakland, California, but has been on the East Coast for a couple of years. Along with Copeland, he prepped at Phillips Exeter (N.H.) Academy, where they ran the Princeton offense like HC does.



The 6-5, 212-pound Butler, whose tenacity may remind some of former HC star Jared Curry, averaged 9.8 points and 3.7 rebounds.



“There’s always that one guy on the team that brings the gritty energy,” Grandison said. “Austin is like that. He plays hard all the time.”



Butler, who grew up in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, attended the same high school as golf legend Arnold Palmer, and had the opportunity to meet “The King” on several occasions.



Green, who is from Londonderry, New Hampshire, averaged 8.9 points and 3 assists. He scored a career-high 22 points in a win over Fairleigh Dickinson.



“Playing as much as he did,” Butler said, “he’s matured a lot as a leader, and I don’t think there is another point guard in the league with as much all-around ability.”





Green, Butler, Faw, Niego and Copeland made their official visit to HC together.



“I wasn’t sure I wanted to leave home,” Butler said, “and then we all met, and it clicked immediately. We were excited we would be together the next four years.”



They met Grandison the summer before their freshman season.



“We all grew very close,” Green said.



Carmody said that is evident.



“I just think they genuinely like each other,” Carmody said, “and that makes it easier to coach.”