HoopWise from New England Basketball Journal

MIAA Coaches on the Prep School Dilemma

Ethan Fuller and Steve Hewitt talk with with Medfield High girls coach Mark Nickerson and longtime Andover boys coach Dave Fazio to discuss the evolving MIAA public school vs. NEPSAC prep dynamic, focusing on player retention, recruiting and program impact rather than specific teams. Nickerson describes losing top players to Nobles despite efforts like the Eastern New England Showcase, which he fears has become a scouting tool for prep programs, and notes limited engagement from Division 1 coaches. Fazio shares similar experiences, including a player reclassifying and ultimately leaving for Brewster, and argues many families believe prep is necessary for Division 1. Both emphasize relationships, community and youth pipelines, while proposing changes such as a summer coaching window, earlier season starts, exemption games, and formats like a Super 8 or statewide tournament to improve exposure and competition.
Topics
01:51 MIAA vs Prep Setup
11:42 Hard Transfer Choices
17:03 Biggest Disadvantages
21:32 MIAA rule changes
32:22 Coach collaboration
46:14 Leveling the Playing Field
51:50 Would a Super 8 tournament work?
53:22 Final Thoughts

Newman School Coach Jackson Johnson

Ethan and Steve welcome Newman School coach Jackson Johnson after Newman’s second straight NEPSAC AAA title and its first National Prep School championship, plus an NEBL title, with 11 college commits (nine Division I) on the roster. Johnson reflects on how connected and resilient the championship group was, the difficulty of turning from the AAA playoffs into the National Prep Tournament, and how more intentional January recovery planning helped avoid late-season fatigue. 
 
Topics
01:23 Coaching and New Dad Life
02:16 Processing a Title Season
03:42 Gauntlet to National Prep
06:50 Managing Fatigue and Prep
11:37 Illinois Fit and Growth
15:38 Building Leaders on Stacked Roster
20:06 Ivy Commits and Unsung Heroes
23:06 Relating to Modern Players
28:00 Program Rise and Recruiting Buzz
33:05 Helping Players Get Recruited
33:36 Coaches as Experts
34:26 Navigating Agents
34:53 How Recruiting Changed
35:59 Building Next Season
36:39 Player Development Focus
37:58 Full Court Press Begins
38:49 Best Ball Handlers
41:46 Best Shot Blockers
45:01 Overrated Stats Debate
52:57 Rebounding and Margins
57:11 Wrap Up and Thanks

AAU Roundup: Early standouts

Ethan Fuller and Steve Hewitt recap their first AAU weekend coverage at the New England Spring Showdown and the NERR Northeast Hoops Festival, discussing how AAU evaluation differs from high school through roles, pace, exposure, intangibles and the relationship between winning and recruiting visibility. They highlight players poised for big spring/summer leaps, plus underclass standouts. The episode ends with producer David Yas hosting a trivia throwdown about the 1986 Boston Celtics.
Topics
01:19 First AAU Weekend Recap
05:44 Why AAU Matters
09:15 Winning And Exposure
10:57 Players To Watch
29:37 Rapid-Fire Standouts
32:14 "Full-Court Press" Trivia
37:31 Trivia Finale and Signoff

Inside Our Best Of New England Rankings

Ethan and Steve explain how they created their new player rankings, aiming for transparency about evaluation and projection. They discuss the difficulty of ranking high school and prep prospects amid variables like role, opportunity, team context, and competition level, noting clearer top tiers but thin margins in the middle of lists. HoopWise released top-50 rankings for 2026 and 2027, will use watch lists for younger classes, and plans semi-regular updates (while 2026 is final). Their approach weighs translatable skills, outlier physical traits, versatility, consistency, winning impact, leadership, and input from college coaches, while acknowledging the transfer portal’s impact on high school recruiting. They cite examples and emphasize rankings differ from awards and that many strong players fall outside the top 50.
 
Topics
01:05 Why Ranking Is Hard
04:52 Rankings Format and Updates
07:23 Steve Evaluation Priorities
12:03 Prospects vs Best Players
14:52 Success Stories and Translation
18:41 Girls Guard Skills and Defense
25:01 Prep vs Public Balancing
29:29 Portal Era and Competition
31:56 Rankings Perspective and Wrap

MIAA Championship Weekend Recap

Ethan Fuller and Steve Hewitt recap MIAA championship weekend at the Tsongas Center, praising the crowds and environment. They highlight Salem’s Division 3 boys title (first since 1995). On the girls side, Bishop Fenwick beat Pittsfield 49-44. Division 2 boys St. Mary’s edged Masco in a back-and-forth finish to extend St. Mary’s 19-year title streak; Medfield dominated St. Mary’s 72-38 in Division 2 girls. Division 1 boys saw 14-seed Bishop Feehan win, while Wachusett repeated in Division 1 girls.
Topics01:14 SGA Weekend Vibes03:29 Rapid-Fire Format03:53 Salem's D3 Title04:24 Clutch Defensive Stop06:18 Salem Legends Call08:24 Fenwick Girls D311:05 St. Marys vs. Masco12:19 The Poster Dunk14:29 Final Possession Drama17:52 Medfield 3-Point Barrage19:07 Medfield Dominance20:45 Records and Returning Stars25:14 Cinderella Run Breakdown26:58 Legendary Run Debate29:04 D1 Questions Answered30:35 D1 Girls Title Game35:27 Weekend Shoutouts and Wrap

2026 NEPSAC Girls Championship Recap

Steve Hewitt and Ethan Fuller recap NEPSAC girls basketball Super Sunday at Nobles with guest Chloe Patel, covering multiple championship games and key takeaways. In Class A, Sacred Heart beat four-time defending champion Loomis Chaffee 53-46 for its first title. In AA, Darrow won its first AA championship in its second season at the level, defeating defending champ Worcester Academy 55-40 behind an early lead and aggressive guard play. They also discuss Hamden Hall’s 55-47 win over top-seed KUA in Class B Small, Berkshire’s dramatic Class B Large overtime win over Lawrence Academy (61-57), and Hoosac’s 39-37 AAA title over New Hampton.
Topics
02:31 Class A Sacred Heart Upset
06:01 Class AA Darrow Breakthrough
10:40 NEPSAC vs. MIAA Takeaways
12:43 Class B Hamden Hall Stunner
16:05 Hamden Hall Repeat
16:32 Berkshire Comeback Classic
18:03 Overtime Heroes and Injury Scare
18:56 Trust Your Teammate
20:36 Lawrence Academy Future
21:56 Berkshire Title Drought Ends
22:18 AAA Rock Fight Finale
23:38 Unsung Stars Step Up
25:50 Changing of the Guard
28:39 Super Sunday Community
30:03 Season Wrap and Next Stops

2026 NEPSAC Boys Championship Recap

Ethan Fuller and Steve Hewitt recap the NEPSAC boys postseason with guest Matt Doherty. They discuss B Small champion Holderness’ 74–52 win over top-seeded Kingswood Oxford and St. Mark’s 70–58 title over Canterbury. Hotchkiss beat Phillips Andover 66–54 after a late spurt. In AA, unbeaten Cushing won 64–55 over Cheshire, while Newman dominated AAA with a 101–68 win over Hoosac, and the hosts note broader postseason and national tournament implications.
 
Topics
02:03 NEPSAC Postseason Overview
02:26 B Small Final Holderness Wins
03:57 Holderness Keys and Standouts
09:14 B Large Final St Marks Rally
10:54 St Marks Run and MVP
15:38 Class A Final Hotchkiss Surge
18:11 Breakout Players to Watch
21:01 Why NEPSAC Pops
23:45 Cushing vs Cheshire Classic
27:32 Undefeated AA Legacy
31:38 Newman AAA Blowout
32:53 Three-Point Barrage
36:55 National Title Mindset
38:36 John Carroll Coaching Tree
39:39 Weekend Wrap

NEPSAC boys quarterfinals: Initial reaction

Steve Hewitt joins Ethan Fuller with takeaways from the quarterfinal round of the NEPSAC boys basketball playoffs on Wednesday, March 4.

NEPSAC girls quarterfinals: Initial reaction

Ethan Fuller joins Steve Hewitt with takeaways from the quarterfinal round of the NEPSAC girls basketball playoffs on Wednesday, March 4.

NEPSAC girls playoffs: Brackets, teams and analysis

This episode is hosted by Ethan Fuller and Steve Hewitt and includes a rapid-fire breakdown of the NEPSAC girls' basketball brackets released on Sunday night. Steve and Ethan examine Class AAA, AA, A, B large and B small.