By Michael Letendre

Former Bristol Central boys basketball standout Jayeson VanBeveren certainly has the ability to compete at the next level.

During his senior season, the forward/center put together a great final scholastic campaign and because of that, the student-athlete had some choices to make in terms of furthering his basketball education.

This coming year, VanBeveren is joining an outstanding program at Mitchell College.

VanBeveren, who blossomed at Central under head coach Tim Barrette as a senior, displayed an invaluable inside-outside game and ended up leading the program in several key categories.

And that’s not counting the leadership component he brought to every game.

Barrette was extra tough on VanBeveren all season long and it all paid off in the end.

“I’m tough on Jay,” said Barrette after Central defeated Tolland this past year. “I told the guys in the locker room ‘if you think I yell a lot at you, I yell at Jay more than anyone because I expect the most out of Jay.’”

And the senior delivered just about every night.

VanBeveren could finish at the hoop or hit long bombs from deep, keeping opponents busy over thirty-two minutes of hardwood warfare.

That kind of versatility made him an extremely valuable contributor.

Overall, VanBeveren dropped in a team-leading 12.9 points-per-game and was capable of scoring 20 points when called upon.

He ended up third on the team in three-pointers made with 21 and second on the squad in free throws made (25) behind Carmelo Thompson (29).

He netted 258 points overall and was the only player on the squad to play in all 21 games as Central went 6-15 overall.

The Rams’ schedule was intense last season as the squad took on several heavyweights over both Division I and II.

Opponents ended up zoning in on VanBeveren due to the loss of fellow senior Julius Powell via injury.

VanBeveren helped Central to a .500 record through 10 games before a midseason slump – against some quality opponents – derailed the campaign a bit.

However, VanBeveren never lost his focus, and the outstanding young man was an invaluable role player on Central’s 2021-22 championship team (refer to my book ‘Dream Team’ to read about his contribution to the championship season) the previous season.

He played in 26 of 28 games as a junior and that experience helped him immensely as a senior with Central attempting to make up for 97-percent of its scoring it lost due to the graduation of Donovan Clingan, Damion Glasper, Victor Rosa, Steve Alseph and Carson Rivoira.

In Central’s first victory of the year at Tolland on December 19, VanBeveren notched 14 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and drained two big 3s to help the Rams to a 58-45 victory.

Early in the season, he was averaging 15.0 points and 15.7 rebounds-per-game and helped carry Central through stretches of games.

At Middletown, he collected 21 points and 17 rebounds in a 63-46 loss while collecting 13 point, 11 rounds, five assists and rejecting four shots in the 46-32 win against South Windsor in the consolation game of the BC Holiday Classic to end the month of December.

VanBeveren nabbed 18 points and seven rebounds in Central’s 50-41 come-from-behind win over Plainville on January 3 – hitting 5-of-6 free throws late in the showdown.

He added 14 points and seven rebounds in a tough loss against East Catholic and helped his squad get revenge against Bristol Eastern on February 20.

The senior was outstanding with 16 points, 19 rebounds and four blocks as the Rams won 59-52 – splitting the season series against the Lancers.

And all that outstanding play caught the eye of the scouts at Mitchell College.

Mitchell is an NCAA Division III program out of New London, a member of the GNAC division, and a very good program.

The Mariners went a sterling 23-5 overall in 2022-23 – going a perfect 15-0 at home last season.