by Ken Brown
CRAFTSBURY – Brandon Berry will be on the sidelines this winter for the Craftsbury Academy (CA) boys’ basketball team, as the rebuild continues for a program that has struggled with numbers and results the past six years.
Berry replaces Sean Ryan after two seasons that saw the Chargers struggle in their introduction to the rugged Mountain League. Berry has been an assistant coach with the program the past two years and is excited for the opportunity to lead his first varsity program.
“I feel like I was at the right place at the right time in a way and I was happy to keep the interest going in the program as much as possible over the summer. The reality is that we are a very small school with limited numbers that competes for student athletes with an elite cross-country ski program. We had 11 players come out for the team, including eighth graders. This group loves basketball and we’re lucky to have them. We’re all excited for the season and the opportunity to compete,” said Berry.
CA struggled in their second season in the Mountain League last winter, winning three games against a challenging Division III rich schedule. Berry lost three seniors to graduation, along with Grayson McNaughten, who showed promise with his inside presence as a freshman. He does return a pair of seniors with varsity experience in Sterling Blodgett and Chris Haefs, but if the Chargers are going to have their first winning season in six years, it may rest on the offensive shoulders of fellow senior Dylan Washer. Washer has led CA in scoring the past two seasons and earned Mountain League honors for his efforts last March. The versatile big man could reach 1,000 career points this winter with a solid senior campaign, joining his grandfather and Charger legend Allen Reed. Junior Evan Lamarre also returns after injuries cut his season short in 2022 and Landon Miller should give Berry’s offense added punch after a breakout freshman campaign.
“Dylan generates a lot of offense for us and teams key on that, so we’ll need to develop more scoring options around him throughout the season. He’s really rounded out his game over the summer and we’ll need a lot of leadership from him this season. Evan was a solid starter last season before he got injured, but he has put in a lot of work over the summer and I’ve liked what I’ve seen in his game so far. Landon has a lot of versatility and he has the potential to really step up big for us this year. This is a good group of kids and they’ve showed up and really put in the work so far in practice. We have a challenging schedule in front of us and we’ll need to take the floor every night with a lot of effort, heart, and grit. This group has a tough mentality and we’ll have to play through a lot of adversity and continue to put in the work,” said Berry.
The Chargers are scheduled to open the season at home on Wednesday night against Christ Covenant. They will get their first road test against Trinity Baptist on Friday and stay on the road for a divisional match-up against Sharon Academy next Monday.
