Since I began playing and watching basketball I have always
been fascinating by the center position. Watching a player 6’10” to 7’0” move
with athleticism and great skill always seemed to defy logic. Football was the
sport I married but growing up basketball was my first love. As a 5’8” sixth
grader playing the center position I would try to emulate the games of my
favorite big men. Playing CYO basketball for Coach Crawford I quickly learned
as the tallest player on the team if you wanted to score you better rebound and
run the floor. I would spend hours on my game after the doctor told me I would
be 6’4”. All that work ended up being for naught when I ended not growing
another inch and I am considering suing that doctor for malpractice. My love
for basketball, the center position and the prospect of not writing about a
game for 8 months led me to East Catholic high school on Thursday night.
I was at a swim meet in West Haven last February waiting in a crowded hallway
until my son Anthony’s event came up. As a parent of a swimmer you get usedto long waits in between races. I looked up from my phone and saw a Bristol
Central Rams lettermen’s jacket in the hallway. This wasn’t just any high
school athlete. As he walked past me ducking his head through the doorway I had
to find out just how tall he was. I went back on my phone and went to Maxpreps. The roster read 7 feet tall
but more to my surprise he was only a freshman. I said to myself I got to see
this kid play. Flash forward to a year later and Donovan Clingan is getting a
lot of attention around the state for the 10-2 Rams. I didn’t want to go to
just any game though, I wanted to double down and see him against a top team in
the state.
The East Catholic Eagles are the defending state champions
and the #1 team in the state. 2020 boasted more of the same with an 11-0 record
going into Tuesdays matchup with #2 ranked Windsor High School. East Catholics
talented roster is led by Yale commit 6’4” Guard/Forward Matt Knowling. The
Eagles fell short for the first time in 42 games by the score of 48-45 in a
hard fought battle. Walking through the parking lot I was told by a fan that
the East Catholic vs Windsor game was sold out during the JV game and they were
turning people away. As much as I would have loved to have seen them come into
the game undefeated I equally enjoy how teams react in the face of adversity.
Tonight I got to kill two birds with one stone, one of the state’s top teams and
most intriguing player.
I walked into East Catholic’s gym and could smell the freshly made popcorn and
squeaking of sneakers on the old gym floor as the JV game was winding down. A traditional small Catholic school gymnasium
with old wooden pull out bleachers that on the visitors doubled as each teams
benches. They had a giant eagle statue perch in the corner above the locker
room. I made my way to the top of the bleachers to catch the end of the JV
game. Never having seen East Catholic play I asked the gentleman next to me
what style of play do the eagles deploy?
He told me “they run their offense with good ball movement, and play a
pressing defense.” As the JV game ended
I was very interested in watching both teams warm up especially Clingan. Now I
am going to make myself sound old but I was astonish on how many kids could
dunk on both teams. I feel like if I knew one kid who could dunk in high school
that was lot but there where at least 6 total out there on the court throwing
them down. The second thing that stood out was Clingan was not the skinny kid I
saw in the hallway a year ago. He clearly worked hard in the offseason. He
moved well and had a good mid-range touch on his shot.
Warm ups continued and I introduced myself to another fan on my left. Gary Warren almost lost his jacket through the cracks of those old rickety stands. He said “I haven’t been to a game in 20 years I was hoping they would change these by now.” Gary was a class of ’67 graduate of East Catholic High School and his son who was with him was as well class of ’97. He said “I am alum, a veteran, and a senior citizen so I told them they owed me 10 dollars to get into the game.”Always intrigued by the history of any school I ask him what it was like here in 1967. He talked about how they had 1,200 students and it only cost 250 dollars to go their (around 16,000 today). He reminisced how South Catholic was their main rival until it closed its doors in 1994. East Catholic has a rich basketball history and the 2020 version is no exception.
The game tipped off, the student section immediately began their chant of “start the busses” confident in their team’s ability to get a “W” tonight. Within seconds of the game starting East Catholic already had reached a milestone. The first bucket of the game came on a Matt Knowling breakaway dunk. The game was stopped because those points were his 1000th of his career at East Catholic. Knowling added two more buckets in the quarter with one coming in spectacular fashion on a backdoor alley-oop dunk. The game continued with Bristol Central keeping it close. You could tell early on the effect the 7 footer had on the middle of a 2-3 zone was taking effect. The Eagles would move the ball well around the perimeter but when faced with the prospect of being swatted by Clingan they passed the ball right back out. Clingan showed flashes of how far his game has come. He was double and triple teamed on almost every play. Despite being smothered by the defense he showed a nice touch around the basket and some solid vision passing out of the double teams the score was tight 18-11 at the end of the first.
The second quarter began with Clingan taking a rest and East Catholic taking advantage. The Eagles went on a quick 7-0 run. My biggest take away from what makes East Catholic so good was their relentless defensive pressure and the ability by every player to hit an open shot. East Catholic outscored Bristol Central in the second quarter 17-4 and the route was on with a 35-15 score at the half. The rest of the game was controlled by the Eagles. Clingan showed some more flashes of great ability finishing the game with 9 points, blocking 4 shots, and grabbing 7 rebounds in 3 quarters of play. As he extends his game the sky is the limit for the sophomore. Knowling, who finished with 21 points is one of the most poised smooth players I have seen at the high school level. There is something about a left hander that always looks smoother than righties. My first basketball game was in the books, so in true Traveling Coach fashion we had to add a food review.
Just like pairing wines with different cuisines, I want to marry a certain foods with specific sport. Baseball has always had hot dogs, football and wings are synonymous, but basketball doesn’t really have a food partner. So in the spirit of traveling coach I decided to play match maker with the game of basketball. After some extensive research I presented the rose to …….Tacos. If you think about it, the game and the food they have many similarities. Tacos like basketball players are a versatile food and come in all different styles. You can get a taco in hard or soft shell with pork, beef, or chicken with a variety of toppings. In basketball you get short and tall players who can play with speed and power. Whether it’s a 3 and D guy, stretch four, dominating big man or a lightning fast point guard they come all different ways. So tacos meet basketball and let’s make some memories.
Lucky Taco became the location of my first taco review. Lucky Taco is a trendy
casual bar/restaurant on Main Street in Manchester, CT. I parked on the street
and walked into the bar side of the restaurant. It was set up like a sport bar.
The half receptacle wood bar had three TV’s above along with a screen offering
a local craft beer selection. The perimeter on the walls offered several two
top tables and at either end of the space there were picnic style tables. The
walls offered dark colors with a few colorful pictures of pop culture icons. I
was greeted quickly by my waitress and handed a menu. I looked at the one side
and laughed to myself as they offered a variety of wing flavors. It was like
seeing your old girlfriend when you’re out with your new one. It was tacos night so I turned the menu over
and saw the wide array of taco choices.
My strategy here was to let the waitress recommend the tacos to me with one of them being a spicy option. The waitress seemed pretty sure in her recommendations. The three were the Michlada, a beef brisket marinated in Mexican lager, Newport chicken breast with bacon, guacamole, and a chipotle mayo, and The Island Jerk Pork with mangos. The food came out quickly like a point guard taking the ball to the cup. Tacos can sometimes be a messy proposition however these three choices came out looking sharp. The bases for all the tacos were a corn tortilla and by the looks of the freshness of it appeared to be made in house. Each was doubled up and despite being softer than the Knicks defense in the paint, held all the ingredients together well. The Newport was solid with the highlight coming from the crispy bacon and the chipotle mayo however the chicken needed a bolder flavor to contrast the salty sweet of the bacon and mayo. The Island Jerk Pork had decent heat to it but not as spicy as advertised. The sweetness of the mango balanced out the flavors. I don’t know if it’s my palate is becoming more immune to hot sauces but the chicken needed more of a kick. The Michlada was the star of the show. The smokey flavored brisket was tender and paired with the honey-chipotle sweat heat made a great combination. The addition of a fresh lime hummus was subtle and added favorably to the texture of your bite. Overall this trio is a three star recruits with Michlada bringing up the level of the other tacos. Just get the ball inside to the big man and he will dominate the paint. I got back in the car and had an hour ride home. I was excited about the prospect of seeing both East Catholic and Bristol Central down the line in the playoffs. So taco joints and basketball gyms have been put on notice Traveling Coach may be coming your way.
