BROCKTON, Mass. ---- The Massasoit CC men's basketball team opens the 2015-16 campaign hosting Springfield Tech on Saturday at 3 p.m.
The Warriors will be led by head coach Jim Stapleton, who enters his 14th season guiding the men's basketball program. Massasoit finished last season 11-13 overall.
Stapleton will expect big things from returning forward Leland Jackson (Atlanta, Ga.), who averaged over 15 points and seven rebounds per game as a freshman. He posted five 20-plus point performances and six double-doubles. Joining Jackson back from last year's team includes guards Ralph Wilson (Boston/Gateway HS (Fla.)) and John Barbosa (Brockton).
Two players back who played for the Warriors two seasons ago include guards Colin Campbell (Holbrook) and Jashawn Houston (Randolph). Campbell (6.7ppg/5.3reb) is a top notch defender, who should also create matchup problems on the offensive end.
A trio of newcomers will also see plenty of time in the backcourt in freshmen Jaylen Blakely (Brockton) and Paul Bentley (Bloomfield, Conn.) and sophomore transfer Myles Dias (Carver).
Blakely will run the offense and spark the defense at the point guard position. The former Brockton High standout was a Big Three All-Scholastic selection as a senior in 2013.
Bentley, a true freshman, was a Connecticut Class S All-Conference shooting guard at Bloomfield HS. Last season as a senior, Bentley averaged 11 points and five assists per game.
Dias, a transfer from Colby-Sawyer College in New London, N.H. and former Carver HS star should play both point and shooting guard for the Warriors. A 1,000-point scorer at Carver, Dias has one season to play after suiting up for Colby-Sawyer for a season.
Stapleton expects a wide range of post players to see minutes including: Sean Maher (Easton), Danny Longmore (Bloomfield, Conn.), M'Kenzi Ryan (Brockton), Nda Nnoli (Brockton), Amadeus Pires (Brockton) and Pierre Celestin (Brockton).