Gilbert varsity basketball Fresh faces, strong work ethic as season begins

WINSTED — As cold winter temperatures set in across the state, high school gymnasiums are heating up.

The Gilbert School Yellowjackets varsity boys basketball team began practice this week, ready to dive into the 2016-17 season with an all-new cast and still a bevy of unanswered questions coming off a one-win campaign last year.

“I know a lot of coaches always say this,” said Gilbert head coach Mark Douglass, “but we’ll get better as the season goes on. With this group, I really mean it. Because of not having the experience, with some of the newer kids, we will get better.”

With only one player who saw significant minutes returning from the squad that went 1-19 a year ago, Douglass has the challenge of essentially building from the ground up — a situation that isn’t all negative.

He said that more than 40 students are trying out for the team this year, including 12 freshmen, which is the most Gilbert has had in “a long time.” Douglass said he attributes this partially to the fact that so many starting spots are up for grabs, and younger kids know they have a chance to earn a starring role.

Only five seniors are currently vying for a place on the team, but of those five, three are first-year players, Douglass said, leaving the Yellowjackets unequivocally young and untested.

“I’m just seeing a better work ethic right now from a lot of these kids,” said Douglass. “They realize last year was kind of a down year as far as wins for us, and they don’t want that to happen again.”

Junior Chad Closson has the most varsity minutes on this year’s squad, having been used heavily off the bench last year, as well as starting a handful of games. Tim Steeves, Brendan Thompson and Juan Sarmiento all played sparsely.

The Berkshire League looks again to be very competitive in the coming season, though Douglass pointed out that several other powerhouse programs are also in rebuilding mode. Northwestern Regional High School lost four starters to graduation, and both Litchfield and Wamogo had star players transfer during the offseason.

“They’re all going to be tough games this year,” Douglass said.

With all the new players, though, Gilbert still doesn’t know a lot about itself as a team. Sarmiento, a forward, dominated junior varsity games as a freshman and is expected to bring a physical, athletic presence to the Yellowjackets as a sophomore.

Another big question mark is the addition of senior Steven Marshall, who starred on the Gilbert-Northwestern football team as a lineman but has no significant organized basketball experience.

“All these kids have to learn to play at the varsity level,” said Douglass.

With a little under three weeks before the season kicks off at Lewis Mills on Dec. 20, Gilbert has four scrimmages scheduled to get players up to that varsity intensity. One thing that Douglass is not worried about, however, is his players’ trust and desire to improve.

If Douglass and the Yellowjackets can channel this drive into a cohesive, day-in, day-out effort, Gilbert could very well surprise some teams this year.