Looking at the Northampton boys’ basketball roster, some Blue Devils fans might do a double take. It overlaps quite a bit with the football roster that just wrapped up its season a few weeks ago.
After they finished earning a state playoff berth on the gridiron this fall, Ben Sledzieski, Trey Rios, Caleb Steiniger, Kelvin Perez and Marty Maslowski quickly swapped their football pads for basketball uniforms. Basketball is a far cry from football, and it can take a while to adjust to the different style of play. But longtime head coach Rey Harp knows firsthand how well those five athletes can adapt.
“We have not only football players, but we have some of the best football players in the school and the area. …They play undersized, physical and aggressive, and they play with passion, emotion,” Harp said. “I watched them play for two years on the football team and said, ‘This is the same guys that are going to be able to bring this type of energy.’ We play with a little bit of football energy – it puts us in trouble sometimes. But it is a group of athletes that have had to play above their size and have a lot of experience covering for each other. Their success in football has carried over with us.”
It can be hard for players to move quickly from that football mindset to basketball. The physicality that is expected from them every day on the football field can get them into foul trouble on the court. On the flip side of the coin, the work they put in to stay in top shape for games carries over well when basketball season rolls around.
“A lot of the cardio helped me from football season to basketball season,” Perez said. “But with fouls and stuff, it’s obviously a lot harder. Going from football, it’s a really heavy contact sport, coming into basketball and everything’s a foul.”
Watching the Blue Devils on the floor, you can see how they play with a ‘football energy,’ – everyone on the team plays a very physical style of basketball. On top of that, those players see the court well, and the players are always passing the ball around to try and find the perfect shot — like a quarterback looking for a receiver. Part of that chemistry is the fact that much of the team has been playing together since they were in elementary school, whether that was on the football field, basketball court or baseball diamond.
“We have a lot of seniors this year and I consider all the seniors and pretty much everyone on this team family,” Steiniger said. “We all play football together, we all play baseball, very athletic, and I think we have a lot of chemistry together.”
Like other schools, Northampton has many students participating in multiple sports throughout the year. Harp has been at the helm of the boys’ basketball program for 19 seasons now, and has seen the benefits of players who come in with experience in other sports. No matter what sports one of his players competes in outside of basketball, he’s focused on making sure they can become the best basketball player they can be.
“We’ve had terrific experience with multi-sport athletes. I think we can get them better if they want to spend their days in the gym and work hard there, we can also get them a lot better if they decide they want to sort of diversify,” Harp said. “We’ve had professional lacrosse players, professional baseball players, we’ve had guys who have been outstanding football players. Our school needs a lot of participation and our guys know how to give us what we need here.”
The Blue Devils are hoping that the large senior class can help boost them to an improved record, as they sit at 3-2 on the season following Tuesday night’s 68-53 loss to Longmeadow. Last year’s group did well, finishing with a winning record and qualifying for both the Western Mass. and MIAA Division 2 state tourneys. This year’s experienced group will look to repeat that success, and maybe even go farther with luck and some football grit.