It felt like the Concord High boys’ basketball program turned a corner as the 2018-19 regular season drew to a close. The Crimson Tide won five of its last six games to go 11-7, qualifying for the Division I playoffs for the first time since 2014. Concord earned the No. 8 seed and the team’s first home playoff game since 2001.
Since then, however, the Tide’s path has taken some unexpected twists on its way to this season.
Concord came out ice cold in that home tournament game and lost to Alvirne, 63-57.
The team lost six seniors to graduation, including leading scorer Scott Lampron and four-year starter Tyler Bruns, and then lost another key piece when junior Max Van Fleet left for St. Paul’s School.
The most surprising turn came in late October when coach Dave Chase announced his resignation after three years on Concord’s bench.
That seemed like difficult timing for the program with the 2019-2020 preseason about a month away. But it turned out the twists and timeline worked for Jimmy Thorpe, the 1999 Concord High grad who is the new boys’ basketball coach at his alma mater.
“I was not searching for a coaching job, but this is a great opportunity and just personally the timing worked out well for me,” Thorpe said. “And after interviewing and meeting some of the kids, I knew it was something I wanted to do.”
He was the head coach for the Pembroke Academy girls’ basketball team from 2010-13, taking over for long-time coach Rose Galligan. Thorpe’s first team at PA finished 2-16, but things got better the next two years as the Spartans went 8-11 and 9-10 and reached the D-II playoffs in both seasons.
A self-described late bloomer, Thorpe was in and out of the basketball program while he was a student at Concord High, but eventually played college ball at NHTI and Colby-Sawyer.
His first coaching experience came as an assistant for the NHTI men’s team under Paul Hogan in 2007-08. Thorpe was an assistant for the Pembroke Academy boys’ basketball team in 2009 under Matt Alosa before taking over as the girls’ program.
He took a break from the game in 2013 to spend time with his newborn daughter, but now that she’s in school, the time was right for Thorpe to get back into coaching.
“I had been missing the game. I even stopped playing men’s league, so I had just been missing it and considering ways to come back to it,” Thorpe said.
He acknowledges that the timing does create some challenges, but he’s looking at it from a different angle.
“I see it from an optimistic point of view in the sense that’s it all a clean slate for me and the players, and that can be liberating and refreshing,” Thorpe said. “Now we can just go play.”
The new coach wants his team to play in a liberated, up-tempo style. That’s what he saw during his first open gym with the Concord team, and he liked it right away.
“I’m calling it a 2020 brand of basketball, and what I mean by that is they move quickly and with purpose, they slash and attack the rim, they all touch the ball and they like the 3,” Thorpe said. “And they’re a fun group to watch when they play like that. Sometimes I have trouble keeping up with it, but I want them to play at that pace. It’s natural to them, and it’s entertaining.”
One of the lead entertainers will be 5-foot-10 senior point guard Rylan Canabano, who was a captain for the Tide last year.
“When Rylan has the ball, there’s a sense of stability and comfort that comes over the team,” Thorpe said.
Canabano will be leading a talented backcourt that also features a pair of sophomores: Tyler Clark Toy, “he plays smooth and natural and lets them game come to him,” the coach said, and Ivan Yen, “he has a nose for the ball and just a natural talent, I think he’s going to be a force.”
Thorpe is also excited about Quinton Pincoske, a sweet-shooting guard and the only freshman to make the varsity team.
On the inside, Concord will be looking to seniors Angelo Gray (6-3) and Hamza Abdulrahman (6-0) to lead the way. Thorpe has already seen some leadership from all of his seniors – Canabano, Gray, Abdulrahman, Gage Piwowarczyk, Logan Otto and Michael Leahy.
“All the seniors are great kids and they are all setting the tone in some way, so that’s created a lot of stability for us,” Thorpe said. “And I have to say that all of these guys have been very receptive and adaptable. A couple of weeks ago they didn’t even have a coach, so for me to walk in and have them respond the way they have has been impressive.”
Concord’s D-I schedule doesn’t start until Jan. 3 when Nashua North comes to town, which is a blessing for a team adjusting to a new coach. The Tide will, as usual, play in the Capital Area Holiday Tournament at NHTI, starting on Dec. 28 against Bow.
“That will be a great warm up for the regular season, but we’re also looking at those games and that tournament as something we want to win,” Thorpe said. “They’re not exhibitions to us.”
(Tim O’Sullivan can be reached at 369-3341 or tosullivan@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @timosullivan20)