By Michael Letendre

Here’s a look at the Bristol Central boys basketball team for the 2021 season:

Overview: Central is hardly a one trick pony despite having the best center in the state.

There’s a contingent of guards and forwards – a number with several varsity games under their belts – that will continue to contribute heavily to both sides of the ball.

And expect that group to hit shots from all around the three-point line for Central.

“You know what you’re going to get from Donovan” Clingan said Central coach Tim Barrette. “When we make outside shots, it’s really hard to beat us. Every time last year, I think when we made seven three-pointers in a game, we won the game by twenty-plus points. Because the double-team has to come at Donovan, we just have to do a good job in recognizing that double-team.” 

With the graduation of Shane Ouellette and Austin Brown, a big chuck of Central’s three-point marksmanship needs to be replaced – nearly 49-percent of its 3-point makes to be exact.

But Barrette has such shooting weapons within the program again this year. 

Senior Sean Wininger (7.0 points-per-game, 16 made 3s) could be become a double-figure scorer in this offense with the attention Clingan draws every night.

Wininger’s rebounding will also be extremely important as well as his 3-point shooting.

Senior Piotr Nizielski (seven 3s) should provide outside shooting as will junior Damion Glasper (4.3 ppg, 11 3s), and senior D’Ante Ross (3.1 ppg, 11 3s).

“I’m hoping that Sean, Piotr, Damien and D’Ante have a good year shooting the ball,” said Barrette. “Obviously, I would have loved for them to get into the gym a little bit more than they have for the last three months but those four guys are senior (and junior) leaders that should have a good season shooting the ball from the outside.” 

Then there’s Clingan (24.8 points, 17.2 rebounds and 6.4 blocks-per-game) who clearly was Connecticut’s best sophomore last season.

And he’s probably going to be the state’s top junior as well.

Clingan knows double and triple teams are coming so getting those other shooters in rhythm and firing away quickly in an open offense is going to be a big deal for Central. 

And Clingan’s assist numbers should grow in the process as will his overall game. 

“His numbers speak for themselves,” said Barrette of Clingan. “He’s stronger, he’s bigger, and I think you’ll notice he’ll be able to finish a little bit better through contact this year. That’s one thing you’re going to see. Normally, he has three or four guys hanging on him on just about every play. I think he’ll be able to finish a little bit more this year through contact.” 

“And he did a decent job, shooting the ball at over 40-percent from 3-point land last year and we’ll obviously allow him to step out a little bit more but he’s so effective in that paint area whether it be high post or low post as a passer. I think you’ll see those passing skills even more this year.” 

And this Central program has vast amounts of varsity experience.

Pick a name, like junior guard Victor Rosa (2.1 ppg, 4 3s) or Glasper, or Wininger and you have players that have started some huge games over the years for the Rams. 

“It’s funny because Damien and Victor have been starting for me for two years basically,” said Barrette. “I have four guys with forty starts under their belt on this team between Sean, Donovan, Victor and Damien. Those guys have been playing forever. They know what to expect.” 

And then there’s junior forward Carson Rivoira who, at 6-foot-3, is an imposing force on the floor.

He’ll crash the boards, dive on the floor for loose balls, and is a disruptive influence on defense.

For Rivoira, it’s all about defense and doing things that don’t show up on the stat sheet.

Rivoira might have just scored one point a game last season but everything else he does is worth so much more than his offensive contributions. 

“Defensively, I think the biggest X-factor for us this year will be Carson Rivoira,” said Barrette. “He is a little bit of ‘do-it-all’ [mentality]. I think he’ll do a good job whether I put him on a big guy or put him on a guard. His tenacity is something that’s uncoachable and he just has that quality that coaches dream to have in a player.” 

“He’s a bulldog…he does all those little things and I always say, ‘great teams that have great players don’t win unless they have the glue guy’ and Carson is our glue guy.”  

Rounding out the line-up is another group of seniors.

Guard Eli Rodriguez, forward Dominic Amara, guard Roberto Negron-Cruz and senior forward Tre Jones returns to the team and adds another speedy component to the defense. 

Let’s not forget the most important part of Central’s offense.

When those 3-point bombs are off the mark, there’s a long, lengthy frontline that will gobble up any missed shot via offensive rebounds for put-backs. 

“Sometimes, we say our best offensive is a missed shot,” said Barrette. “If I start Sean, Carson, and Donovan at the same time, which is one of the line-ups we’re looking at, I’m going to have three guys 6-foot-3 or bigger. They’re strong kids.” 

Central might not have the fastest feet overall (don’t tell Rosa that) but if opponents have a step on the team, the ball better be flipped into the hoop quickly.

Otherwise, a looming 7-footer will block the ball from behind. 

“I think the team’s speed, minus the two guards, is a little bit slower with some of our line-ups,” said Barrette. “But with that being said, our length generally recovers for that lack of team speed.” 

This team has chemistry as they’ve been playing with each other at the Charles C. Gymnasium for years.

It’s just putting time into the gym again, watching the ball fall through the hoop and finding a rhythm as the season is on the verge of commencing.

“Kids came into practice out of shape like I’ve never seen and that’s not a blame on them,” said Barrette. “That’s a blame from December 1 through January 15 of not being allowed to do anything. I just think…who knows who’s at practice, who knows if your coaching staff is at practice and who knows if you can even have practice [due to the pandemic].  

The practice schedule could be ripped up due to quarantine and COVID scares and consistent time in the gymnasium might be impossible if things are being done remotely. 

But, even with Central’s glut of overwhelming talent, it’s the unknown factors that could stop a possible 12-0 season in its tracks. 

“Is it possible, yeah, I’m never going to say we’re not going to go 12-0,” said Barrette. “I just feel that during this pandemic age, it will be very difficult to be perfect, night in and night out.” 

“But if we play defense the way we should, if we run people off the three-point line and make them score inside over Donovan, things get really difficult for people.” 

Games to watch (online) this season: Central’s two games against New Britain should provide plenty of entertainment (February 23 and March 15 from home). 

But right now, who the opponents put on the floor could change due to the pandemic and no one knows the availability of players on any given day. 

“With the inability to scout other teams, that’s another thing no one’s talked about, which has been a strong suit of ours over the last ten years, the game planning portion” is tough said Barrette. “I just think that at some point , you’re going to lose a game or two because of this pandemic.” 

“I’m not blaming anyone because this is what we’re all dealing with.”  

Frankly, Barrette is excited to read all the opposing box scores on the first night of scholastic basketball to see who is playing for the other teams. 

On opening night this Tuesday against Avon, Barrette expects Jack Hall – a senior with range and ability – to be a “real test” for his charges. 

Barrette also thinks Eastern is going to be much improved from last season and the city series contests between the schools are always close. 

Lewis Mills will also prove to be a challenge because “they all shoot the ball well.” 

The Spartans visit Central on February 26 for their first encounter of the campaign. 

“What we do have are teams that are generally smaller who like to stay outside on the perimeter and my line-up may have some difficulty chasing around these smaller guards,” said Barrette. “I think some nights defensively, it’s going to be tough for us to match up in man-to-man due to fact of all these four-guard line-ups. That’s what a lot of teams in this conference have.”   

But a lot will have to go right for opponents to top Central this year.

If the 3s are falling, opening up the paint even more, Clingan will be going on a dunkfest and that means opponents could be in for a long night. 

“Do I think we should still be near the top of the league? A hundred percent” yes said Barrette. “And if we’re not, it will be a disappointment but to give these kids an experience of playing is so much better than everything else that’s happened to them in the last eleven months. But at the same time, I tell my kids we can only control what we can control, we can only control us staying healthy, and we can only control us practicing hard and doing things right.” 

“If we take care of us, we’ll be in every game. That’s for sure and we have an opportunity to win every game.”