One season ago was one of growth through losses for the Haddam-Killingworth boys’ basketball team. Thus far this campaign, the Cougars have had to endure additional setbacks through injuries, though the fortunate fact for H-K is that it has a determined group of young men who are next man up and all in towards taking the team towards the postseason.

For the 2021-2022 run, the Cougars started the season 0-13 and finished it on a 3-4 stretch to come to a 3-17 final mark for Head Coach Brett Cavalieri’s initial season. This winter, the Cougars did not repeat that same winless stretch, as they got out to a 1-3 start despite losing senior co-captain Tate Callender to a foot injury in the season opener against East Hampton, after he had missed 10 games last campaign.

Recently, H-K battled hard in a close 49-42 road loss to conference rival Valley Regional on Jan. 3.

Cavalieri commended his Cougars for not hanging their heads despite the loss in the lineup, and also rising to the occasion on the court-evident most in the first triumph of the year against North Branford.

“Losing Tate really hurt a lot, but the guys have done a great job of regrouping,” said Cavalieri. “What the team has done is to band together and realize that nothing will stop them from achieving their goals. The team motto this year is ‘all in.’ North Branford is a team we have tremendous respect for. They adopted the all-in motto and really showed it against North Branford. The guys never once thought that they were going to blow the game. It looks like the game will be a microcosm of our year; a young team that does not give up and will be a tough out.”

Callender still serves as a consummate captain and profession for the Cougars from the sidelines, and joining him as a captain is senior guard Joe Giaccone, an individual that can score from any point in the backcourt with an added sprinkle of being clutch in crunch time.

“Tate is an all-conference level player when he is on the court. He is a terrific player who adds in every state column. He is the type of kid everyone wants to be around,” said Coach Cavalieri. “Joe is a fiery leader and an athletic guard. He does a great job of being the social glue people want to be around. He is absolutely ice in the fourth quarter; you cannot rattle him. He makes big shots and free throws.”

Elsewhere, H-K deploys a strong junior class tandem in forward/center Blake Kamoen and two-guard Ryan Erskine. The Cougars additionally boast sensational sophomores of Andrew Crayton (averaging over 20 points per game currently) and Cody Robinson, plus a freshman class that entails starting point guard Declan Moriarty, and Jamien Evans.

“Blake is a tremendous rebounder and athletic guy. He is a key to us playing well. Ryan is an exceptionally good shooting guard and is a key on the offensive end of the floor,” Cavalieri said. “Andrew is an exceptionally coachable kid and works hard on both ends of the floor. We call Cody Fed Ex because he always delivers. Declan is one of the most determined kids I’ve coached. Jamien is an exceptionally talented scorer. He shoots, he listens, and has done a really good job.”

Cavalieri added that through being new to the program as a new head man last year, he and the Cougars had to learn and apply a process to procure a path to later prominence.

“We had to implement a system last year,” said Cavalieri. “We spent the entire year improving our athleticism in the offseason. We are starting to run the system that was implemented better this year.”

As Cavalieri and the Cougars continue to implement that same system and better it, they would also love to return to state tournament action while helping these student-athletes all reach their personal target towards their futures.

“We want to continue to execute and improve the execution of the system, “ said Cavalieri. “We think we can make states, and every game will be competitive for us. Whatever these kids have in terms of goals for the next phases of their lives, I want to help them move forward towards that goal. I want to see them achieve it and make sure they are getting what they need for it.”

Cavalieri returns for his second season as bench boss for H-K. He is assisted by JV coach Keith Ferguson, assistant varsity coach Dan Shapiro, and freshman coach Pete Ladas.

The H-K roster this season is comprised of seniors in Callender, Giaccone, Orion Inkel, Jason Maziarz, Tyler Perry; juniors Kamoen, Jonah Keithan, Luke Mauri, Benjamin Mercier, Bryce O’Linn; sophomores of Timothy Cavrell, Crayton, Jake McKenzie, Ryan Rafferty, Robinson, Javon Rodriguez, Matthew Shea, Joseph Slane; and finally freshmen with Jack Bailey, Chase Bruno, Evans, Jacob Gordon, Randal Hale, Tetsuya Imai, Chase Insalaco, Moriarty, Ethan Pitts, Spencer Savoy, and Jake Wolfradt.