BETHLEHEM, N.H. – The Hazen Union boys summer hoop team went a perfect 4-0 over the weekend as they took their talent across state lines in the fifth edition of the Profile Summer Showdown at Profile High School.
Head coach Aaron Hill and his young Wildcat squad defeated Vermont’s Division II power Hartford, along with Derryfield, Concord Christian and Farmington from New Hampshire, to take top honors in the jam-packed two-day event. Hartford was the only other team from Vermont to participate in the annual 10 team summer tournament and hoop camp.
Expectations are high for the Hurricanes this coming winter after a 19-win season saw them come just three points shy of the Division II state title game. Coach Hill has led Hazen to four straight Dvision III state championship games, cutting down the nets in 2022 for his sixth state title at Hazen. The reining Capital League Coach of the Year lost just one senior starter in Brendan Moodie from a seventeen-win team that nearly won it all last March as a No. 5 seed. Moodie nearly became the latest Wildcat great to join the 1,000-point club after averaging over 19 points per game as a senior, pouring in 92 over their four-game run to the Barre Auditorium. Hill will undoubtedly miss the team’s floor general this coming winter but returns a battle tested group that includes senior Sully Laflam, who earned Capital League honors after multiple 20-point performances throughout the season. Hazen also returns Jameson Lamarre who played his best basketball on the biggest stage, scoring 37 points as a sophomore in his first two games at the Aud.
“It was a great weekend for us! We had three different players lead us in scoring in our four games, our defense was outstanding all weekend, and we beat a very strong Hartford team on Saturday. This group’s calling card is their defense and unselfish play. Many of them have put in a lot of hours on their games since the season ended and as a result, we have several players who have improved dramatically already. We know there are some very good teams in our division this coming year, so we have to continue to work hard this summer to keep getting better. There are no egos on this young team, and no one looks for the credit. It’s just a great group of kids and a very fun team to be a part of,” said Hill.
The Profile Summer Showdown featured three of the Division IV Final Four teams from the Granite State this past winter including Woodsville, who capped off a perfect 22-0 season with a 51-48 overtime thriller over Littleton in the state title game.
Coach Hill and his young squad will now turn their attention to the program’s 24th Annual Hazen Hoop Camp this week at the Cat Den. The co-ed camp will run from Monday through Friday for grade levels 3 to 9 and will offer some of the state’s best basketball tutelage from Hill his coaching staff and both former and current Wildcat players.
