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Torrid Salem has overcome major adversity

Tuesday, January, 22 By Mike Grenier
Staff writer

Salem High has such a rich basketball tradition that fans aren't surprised the team is 7-3 at the halfway point. But it's safe to say that the Witches have never had a season like this.

Coach Tommy Doyle has his smallest team in five years at the helm. His biggest player, Chris Dunston, tops out at 6-foot-1 and still manages 10.2 rebounds and 7.2 points per game. Other than that, Doyle essentially starts four point guards in seniors Junior Lugo and Chris Maxson, sophomore Bryan Ortiz and freshman Antonio Reyes.

Moreover, two kids he was pretty much counting on this season, Luis Martinez and sophomore Greg Martinez, aren't with the team. Luis Martinez wasn't granted a waiver to return and Greg Martinez was in a serious bicycle accident that nearly took his life (he's still rehabbing).

When Salem opened the season 0-3, with the losses coming to Lynn English, Lynn Classical and Peabody, casual observers could point to the team's obvious lack of size. However, the situation was far more complicated than that.

Peter Doyle, the coach's father and the best fan and friend that any Salem High player could ever have, died of a heart attack at the beginning of the season. The tragedy hit home not just for Doyle, but for his assistant coaches and players.

Kids are often touted for their resiliency in difficult times, but they are not uncaring, unfeeling people.The players missed the presence of Peter Doyle and they were a bit lost without their coach, who did the right thing and stayed away for a few days to tend to family matters.

"It was a downer," said Lugo, who has paced Salem's offense with an 19.1 average. "Coach Doyle was going through a rough situation and he wasn't at practice. The assistant coaches were doing their best, but we were missing the head coach who's been here my entire career. It was a shaky start for us."

Said Maxson, "We had a whole new team and it was harder to get clicking. We felt the loss of coach Doyle at the beginning of the season."

When Tommy Doyle returned to practices and games, he realized that he missed his players as much as they missed him. The team is a second family to him.

"The kids," he said, "keep me busy and that's a good thing." On the court, Salem started to find its identity, a process that's still going on in the midst of the team's seven-game winning streak.

"We didn't want to get to 0-3 in the first place," said Maxson. "It was a big surprise to us. But we're running a four-guard set and that's something completely new to us. We found out we couldn't play the way we did last year (when the Witches had more height). We all didn't have to crash the paint for rebounds last year, but we have to do it this season."

Lugo has emerged as the team's primary scorer | he's consistently around 20 points each game. Maxson often engineers the offense and is chipping in 9.8 points per game. Ortiz is scoring at an 8.6 clip and the freshman Reyes has been a great surprise and is averaging 7.3 points. Meanwhile, senior guard Beau Theriault, who was a regular in the lineup until he was nicked by injuries, is a valuable asset who could ease his way back into a starting role, and Sean Linehan is providing a boost off the bench with his defense and rebounding. And everyone on the team marvels at what Dunston does on the glass against much bigger foes. "We're getting out and pushing the ball," said Maxson. "We're using our athleticism. Our press is working really well. When you look at (Dunston) rebound, I think he gets a lot of (his strength) from football. He's a smart rebounder."

Lugo anticipated he might get more of the offensive load this season, so he prepared for it by increasing his time on the court last summer and fall. It's paying dividends.

"Coach Doyle wanted me to take a few more shots this season and my confidence has grown," said Lugo. "But we're not a one-man team. We're smaller than other teams, so our hearts have to be bigger. We use speed to our advantage and the key has been teamwork."

Lugo joked that Salem "is kind of going like the Patriots" because of its winning streak, yet he's tuned in to Salem's tradition. He and his teammates take this stuff seriously. "We want to win the conference every year," said Lugo. "Look at coach Doyle. He was part of a dynasty when he played here. They won a (state) championship with Rick Brunson (who became an NBA player)."

Doyle is simply glad to be back into a routine with his team. He's still holding himself and the Witches to a high standard.

"The kids have turned a negative into a positive," he said. "We had 17 games left (after losing the first three) and our goal is still to go 17-3. If we can't win the NEC, our goal is to qualify for the state tourney and do the best we can when we get there."