Shrewsbury boys hoops team sees bright future
By Ken Powers Community Reporter
Shrewsbury - The Shrewsbury High Colonials boys basketball team entered the week 4-4, its early-season schedule having had an inconsistent win-one-lose-one, lose-two-win-two pattern to it. Colonials Coach Adrian Machado, who'd like to see his team enjoy a long winning streak as much as any coach would, hasn't been surprised by the results.

"We're a very, very young team," Machado said. "Our three senior captains came into this season having averaged about three minutes of playing time per man, per game last season. The whole team is getting experience pretty much all at the same time."

Adding to the complexity of the situation is the fact that while senior captains Pat Russell and Sam Ardis have started and played since the first game of the season, fellow classmate and captain Jon Phillips was slowed by a knee injury and only very recently returned to action.

While Russell and Ardis have produced - Russell poured in a game-high 21 points in a win over Milford, and Ardis has scored in double figures on several occasions - the Colonials have been led offensively by the outside-inside combination of sophomores Colby Reese and Jose Cruz.

Reese, who Machado switched to shooting guard this season after playing point guard last season, is averaging 20 points per game, has scored in double figures in every game, topped by his 27-point performance in a win over Gardner the third game of the season. He scored 26 in a loss to Marlborough and 22 in a win over Quabbin.

"Colby's playing with a lot of confidence right now," Machado said. "He's made the transition to shooting guard very nicely and he is one of those players, despite being a sophomore, that you know is going to be involved in the final outcome when the game is on the line."

The smooth-shooting Reese is complemented in the Shrewsbury attack by the 6-foot-5 Cruz, who dominates play on the interior and has led the Colonials in rebounds and blocked shots in every game, along with scoring in double figures.

"Jose is a tough, tough kid who is a tireless worker," Machado said. "He's always trying to make his game better. He works hard in games and especially at practice."

When Cruz needs advice on how to play in the post, he doesn't need to go far to get it. He is often seen after practice peppering Machado, a standout center during his time at Burncoat High, with questions about what to do in various situations that arise during games.

"He wants to get better," Machado said. "Everything he asks, everything he does is always in an effort to be a better basketball player."

Machado said as coach he needs to work harder to help make Cruz better.

"I have to do a better job of finding ways to get Jose the ball more," Machado said. "Our offense is guardoriented with Colby and Pat and Sam and others, but when you've got a talent like Jose in the middle, who can play with his back to the basket like he can, you've got to get the ball in his hands more."

Juniors on the Colonials roster are John Justiniano, Paul Speicher, Curt Harrington, Iritza Balaparya and Connor Dean. Sophomores include Joe Aulenback, Alex Marshall and Brad Diamantopoulos.