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Post by trimster on Mar 1, 2020 8:02:23 GMT -5
In today’s 76-57 win mike led with 18, inc three 3s and 5 FTs Judson had 12 with one 3. The Telegram and Gazette has a story on HC’s recruitment of Martindale and Rabinovich.
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Post by WorcesterGray on Mar 1, 2020 8:08:48 GMT -5
WORCESTER — Worcester Academy seniors and Holy Cross basketball commits Judson Martindale and Michael Rabinovich have followed the Crusaders’ 2019-20 season with great interest, and attended as many games at the Hart Center as they can.
Under first-year coach Brett Nelson, it has obviously been a tough and very trying year for HC, which, at 3-28 after Saturday’s regular-season finale, has already surpassed the program mark for most losses in a season and is currently tied with the 1934-35 team for fewest wins.
Martindale and Rabinovich are ready to help turn things around.
“I’m really excited to start a new journey at Holy Cross,” Martindale said before Thursday’s practice at Daniels Gymnasium on the Worcester Academy campus, “and hopefully take that program to another level and help build something.”
That’s what Martindale, a 6-6 guard from Sudbury, and Rabinovich, a 6-10 forward from Hopkinton, did at Worcester Academy.
Their freshman year, the Hilltoppers won six games. The next year, it was 10. Last season, WA went 22-7 and advanced to the NEPSAC Class AA quarterfinals. This year, the Hilltoppers are 17-11 heading into their regular-season finale at Tabor Academy on Saturday and preparing for next week’s playoffs.
“All good things start somewhere,” said Rabinovich, who came to WA as a seventh-grader. “That’s kind of where we started here with single-digit wins the first year and kind of building it up. It’s really special once you reach that mountain top when you start at a low point. We want to build something at Holy Cross.”
Nelson believes Rabinovich and Martindale will have the opportunity to contribute immediately.
“I envision those guys coming in and competing from day one,” Nelson said. “There’s no question I believe those guys can do that. You earn everything you get in this program, but with those guys and what they’re made of, I envision those guys coming in from day one and having a huge impact on our program.”
Martindale is averaging 14.7 points and 6.2 rebounds. Last season, he averaged 14.3 points on 58 percent shooting and earned Class AA All-New England honorable mention honors.
Martindale was a highly sought after prep school prospect when he transferred from Lincoln-Sudbury High as a freshman, Worcester Academy coach Jamie Sullivan said, and he has worked hard, developed and grown into a leader at WA.
“As a 6-foot-6 freshman,” Sullivan said, “he wasn’t that skilled as of yet and his shot was good but erratic, but he played fearless. He has continuously worked hard, making ultimate effort plays.”
Rabinovich is averaging 8.3 points and 6.3 rebounds, and also has 20 blocks.
“As he started to grow and blossom,” Sullivan said, “you could see the work ethic within him. Developing a big is something you have to keep working with, and the kid has put his hours in the gym. He became a Division 1 (college) player through hard work, commitment and dedication.
“Judson and Michael are really close and they are really great kids. They are very coachable, and they have been pushed here. They are both very tough, hard-nosed players who (along with senior tri-captain Quest Harris) built this program back to where it is now.”
Sullivan said Martindale received 25 Division 1 offers, including from Brown, Princeton, and Holy Cross Patriot League foes Boston University and American. Rabinovich had offers from Brown, Lehigh, also a PL school, American, UMBC, Hartford and UNH among others.
Nelson set Holy Cross apart.
“For me,” Martindale said, “he reached out to me right away, as soon as he got the job (last July) and immediately started talking to me about the culture he was trying to create at Holy Cross, about creating a winning culture. He wants everyone, his staff, players, managers, on board on the same mission, and that’s something I was looking for in a program, a program really trying to step things up to the next level and win.”
Rabinovich drew some interest from HC’s previous coaching staff, so he had a connection with assistant Joe Kennedy, who stayed on after Bill Carmody retired. Rabinovich met Nelson at last summer’s Holy Cross elite camp.
“That’s where our relationship kicked off,” Rabinovich said.
“It was two different recruitments because they’re two different people,” Nelson said, “but the thing they had in common is both of them are elite competitors in my opinion. They compete and they play to win the right way. They have a hunger to get better and grow and they are high-character individuals. They’ve been on a constant path of improvement, on top of being talented. From a DNA standpoint, they fit exactly what we want to build this program with and I couldn’t be more excited about it.
“They will be core pieces to what we are doing here, and the way we are building this program back.”
As Sullivan pointed out, Rabinovich and Martindale, who are excellent students, have both become embedded in the Worcester community during their years at WA.
“So to be able to do it in the city we grew up in,” Rabinovich said, “be part of what Coach Nelson is trying to build in our backyard kind of resonated with both of us. Kind of carrying on (what we did at WA) to Holy Cross would mean a lot.”
Martindale, Rabinovich, and 6-4 guard DaJion “Bubba” Humphrey of Detroit, signed their national letters of intent to Holy Cross in November. Nelson said Humphrey has good athleticism and speed and projects as an elite defender in HC’s style of play.
As the Patriot League’s last-place team, HC will play on the road in the first round of the PL tourney Tuesday.
“The thing that stuck out to me, is a lot of the games they’re losing, they’re clearly in reach in every game,” Martindale said, pointing to last Wednesday’s six-point loss at Army. “For us, that proves we’re going to have to come in and make a difference right away and turn those close losses to the other side for Holy Cross.”
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Post by longsuffering on Mar 1, 2020 14:09:21 GMT -5
Very nice article. I note the 8.3 ppg scoring average in high school. Is that surprising or par for the course from a strong program like WA? In other words is the 8.3 points against stronger competition for the prep school age bracket than he will face at HC for the college age bracket and thus his scoring average should rise in college?
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Mar 1, 2020 14:55:17 GMT -5
Hopefully his “lane clogging” number will be strong in college
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Post by WorcesterGray on Mar 1, 2020 17:18:35 GMT -5
Very nice article. I note the 8.3 ppg scoring average in high school. Is that surprising or par for the course from a strong program like WA? In other words is the 8.3 points against stronger competition for the prep school age bracket than he will face at HC for the college age bracket and thus his scoring average should rise in college? Worcester Academy's guards, Quest Harris and Dasonte Bowen (along with sixth man, Jhamyl Fricas), took a disproportionately high share of the shots.
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Post by trimster on Mar 1, 2020 17:25:17 GMT -5
Very nice article. I note the 8.3 ppg scoring average in high school. Is that surprising or par for the course from a strong program like WA? In other words is the 8.3 points against stronger competition for the prep school age bracket than he will face at HC for the college age bracket and thus his scoring average should rise in college? I have watched a couple of WA games on the iPad and I am going to guess MR is option number 5 in their offense. If he were playing for his local high school in Hopkinton, I believe his average ppg would be much, much higher.
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Post by hchoops on Mar 6, 2020 22:38:53 GMT -5
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Mar 6, 2020 23:22:09 GMT -5
Nice highlights for both our WA recruits
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Mar 7, 2020 4:34:29 GMT -5
Loving the size they will bring to the table (and skills)......just need that one additional big to pair with Mike!
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Post by res on Mar 7, 2020 9:18:06 GMT -5
Dave, what are you doing up posting at 5:00 am on a Saturday?
I mean, I'm old, too, I have some guesses...
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Post by DiMarz on Mar 7, 2020 9:56:42 GMT -5
Mike showed some of his post moves in the video...He also has a pretty good handle, and can shoot both the mid range jumper from the baseline and is a decent 3 point shooter....Jud is going to be a slasher type wing I think, and has size that will make teams uncomfortable matching up with...Just 2 of the excellent recruits coming our way next season!
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Mar 7, 2020 10:07:27 GMT -5
Mike showed some of his post moves in the video...He also has a pretty good handle, and can shoot both the mid range jumper from the baseline and is a decent 3 point shooter....Jud is going to be a slasher type wing I think, and has size that will make teams uncomfortable matching up with...Just 2 of the excellent recruits coming our way next season! I've got to think that JM must draw some fouls (do we have data for this season?) the way he does drive to the basket. That's an area in which we have been severely lacking.
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Post by trimster on Mar 7, 2020 10:07:37 GMT -5
Mike showed some of his post moves in the video...He also has a pretty good handle, and can shoot both the mid range jumper from the baseline and is a decent 3 point shooter....Jud is going to be a slasher type wing I think, and has size that will make teams uncomfortable matching up with...Just 2 of the excellent recruits coming our way next season! Aren’t they all at this point. We all know they don’t all turn out to be excellent but I guess hoping you have the next Keith Simmons, Kevin Hamilton or Jave Meade is what makes being a fan fun.
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Post by trimster on Mar 7, 2020 10:09:35 GMT -5
Mike showed some of his post moves in the video...He also has a pretty good handle, and can shoot both the mid range jumper from the baseline and is a decent 3 point shooter....Jud is going to be a slasher type wing I think, and has size that will make teams uncomfortable matching up with...Just 2 of the excellent recruits coming our way next season! I've got to think that JM must draw some fouls (do we have data for this season?) the way he does drive to the basket. That's an area in which we have been severely lacking. To say the least. I was looking at the final stats the other day and I believe opponents attempted about 125 more free throws than us.
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Post by WorcesterGray on Mar 7, 2020 10:28:33 GMT -5
I've got to think that JM must draw some fouls (do we have data for this season?) the way he does drive to the basket. That's an area in which we have been severely lacking. In the games I've watched in person (including this one), he hasn't drawn a lot of fouls, but believe he will draw more at the next level.. And he is a very good free-throw shooter - e.g., a technical was called on the Cushing coach during this game, and Martindale was the one the WA coach sent to the line.
As I've noted in previous reports, he loves to drive the ball - especially to his weak (left) side - and uses that ability to open himself up from deep and for pull-ups.
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Mar 7, 2020 13:21:32 GMT -5
Dave, what are you doing up posting at 5:00 am on a Saturday? I mean, I'm old, too, I have some guesses... Cpap machine not doing crap for my sleep apnea....
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Post by dadominate on Mar 7, 2020 13:47:07 GMT -5
don't have much to add on the games of martindale (most exciting recruit in a long time, imo) and rabinovich, but there has been some question as to whether rabinovich has the frame to be a banger.
while not yet developed, he clearly has the frame to put on 25 lbs or so pretty easily with the right training and nutrition. hopefully he gets on the big pat whearty program of stacks of kimball chicken breasts and glasses of whole milk when he gets to campus. while he doesn't seem to seek the contact and lean into his defenders on the post right now - the sign of a natural banger - he also doesn't seem to shy away from it or tend to fade back from contact, either. a good sign. with a layer of armor (muscle) and the confidence that follows, he will be more likely to seek contact and look to cause pain in anyone who gets in his way or tries to stand their ground down low. his footwork is still a little stiff, but definitely potential there, too.
he'll likely have to play minutes early on, but he definitely has some potential and i hope he really focuses on his post game.
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Post by dadominate on Mar 7, 2020 13:50:44 GMT -5
that cushing point guard isaiah gray is a manchild. what a body and not afraid to use it. any idea where he's headed, woogray?
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Post by WorcesterGray on Mar 7, 2020 14:01:44 GMT -5
that cushing point guard isaiah gray is a manchild. what a body and not afraid to use it. any idea where he's headed, woogray? Cornell. We were interested in (and offered) him at one point - right guy, wrong time. Too bad - he's ferocious.
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Post by hchoops on Mar 7, 2020 14:04:55 GMT -5
that cushing point guard isaiah gray is a manchild. what a body and not afraid to use it. any idea where he's headed, woogray? Cornell he is from Brooklyn
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Post by dadominate on Mar 7, 2020 14:43:02 GMT -5
that cushing point guard isaiah gray is a manchild. what a body and not afraid to use it. any idea where he's headed, woogray? Cornell. We were interested in (and offered) him at one point - right guy, wrong time. Too bad - he's ferocious. thanks, didn't realize we had offered him. he stuck out to me in the nmh game when watching moses and thought gray was the best player on the floor. ferocious is an apt description! he is going to do some serious damage in the ivy league.
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Post by dadominate on Mar 7, 2020 14:45:29 GMT -5
that cushing point guard isaiah gray is a manchild. what a body and not afraid to use it. any idea where he's headed, woogray? Cornell he is from Brooklyn no surprise!
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Post by HC92 on Apr 9, 2020 22:43:11 GMT -5
Quest Harris heading to Sacred Heart.
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Post by HC92 on Jun 4, 2020 21:12:51 GMT -5
Martindale’s mom named head varsity boys coach at a Lincoln-Sudbury.
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Post by timholycross on Jun 4, 2020 22:31:46 GMT -5
That's neat. The Braintree woman who won several state titles is now the boys coach at Norwood.
Linda Martindale was Infiniti T-W's coach BTW.
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