Nashua South, North get glimpses of the future in boys basketball game

Cody Rocheleau and the rest of the members of the Nashua High School South boys basketball junior varsity and freshmen teams get to practice along side the varsity once a week.

Every Sunday, all three of the Panthers teams practice at the same time at the high school, but after last week's joint session, the South varsity coaches decided to have the freshman join their practice the next day.

Things went so well that, by the end of the week, when South was playing Nashua North on Friday, there was Rocheleau on the bench, and eventually, on the court.

"All three teams practice at the same time in our two gyms on Sunday," South coach Nate Mazerolle said. "We talked at the middle school tournament last Saturday, hey let’s have Cody practice with us and see. He had a great practice. Let’s do it again and he had a great practice. Cody, here’s your uniform. We know how good he can be."

And Rocheleau, who had a basket during South's 66-45 win over North, wasn't the only youngster on the floor for either side.

South sophomore Ivan Nyantenji got a lot of playing time with the Panthers' seniors, scoring six points of his own, while North at times had a pair of freshmen and a pair of sophomores on the floor.

"(Ivan) had a nice game, in the second quarter, he had a nice stretch," Mazerolle said. "For those two to be in this atmosphere and not panic, that bodes well for the future.

"They have some good young talent, too. This rivalry is going to be fun. Maybe the second-best game of the week, that JV game (Thursday). Great crowd, down to the wire and we won by two at the buzzer. Lots of good basketball. It was the best JV game I’ve seen in years between good teams with a lot of talent."

While South (4-3) has nine seniors it can rely on this season, the Titans (1-6) have been forced to play many of those young players in order to fill out the varsity roster. Against South, freshman Curtis Harris and sophomore Yassine Jakib got the start for the Titans, while sophomore Brenden Choate and freshman Nathan Kane both came off the bench to score points for North.

As great as it has been for both teams to get their younger players varsity experience, that doesn't guarantee any success down the road.

"Experience is huge moving forward, but the kids have to develop on their own as well," North coach Steve Lane said. "It’s not just going to happen because they’re freshmen playing at this level, gaining experience. They have to want to get better.

"If they do, I love the group that we have coming up. The JV game was a battle. We had three freshmen play in that as well. It’s going to be fun in the next couple of years if the kids stick together."