Prep Profile - Wilbraham & Monson Academy

New England Recruiting Report | Wednesday, November 29th, 2017

As we continue our tour through Class AA of the NEPSAC we now turn our attention to Mike Mannix’s program at Wilbraham & Monson Academy.

The Titans have produced a surplus of successful college players in recent years with the likes of Wenyen Gabriel, Curtis Cobb, and Maodo Lo among a handful of others.

This year’s roster may not have such well-known names, but they have a group of driven players who are bound to make a name for themselves before the year comes to an end.

The Returners

While WMA is undoubtedly young this season, there still a nice nucleus of experience in the backcourt with senior Devonn Allen and the junior tandem of Idan Tretout and Dan Klosk.

Allen is now finally healthy, much improved on the offensive end, and one of the better perimeter defenders in the league. Klosk is an ideal complement as a heady and skilled guard who, according to Mannix, is one of the best shooters to ever wear the red and blue.

Tretout’s first season in the NEPSAC was an impressive one last year and he should be ready to take another step forward as one of the leaders of the team this year. He’s physically ahead of most others in the class of 2019 with good perimeter size and strength alike. His jumper continues to become more of a weapon as do his all-around guard skills.

Another returning junior who has made nice strides in John Packard, a local product who has also built up his body and jump shot in order to be able to contribute at this high level of competition.

The most pleasant surprise of the fall has been Eran Ekinei, a junior who returned from a summer in his native country of Turkey having both grown a couple of inches and added to his game.

The Newcomers

Pierre Josephy is the most notable new name. The 6-foot-10 big man from Haiti adds to an already talented junior class and, while he’s still raw, gives them an interior presence with a high ceiling who should be immediately able to change the game in the paint.

Petey Galgano has also been a noteworthy addition this fall. The post-graduate point guard ran the show for a Trinity Catholic team that won their latest state championship in Connecticut last season and he’s bringing that experience, along with a solid skill set and feel for the game, to the NEPSAC this year.

The Underclassmen

Sophomore big man John Adams has returned to campus a brand new player this year. After making notable strides in his first season in the prep ranks, Adams has continued to build up his body, develop his post game, and extend his face-up shooting range and should be poised to be one of the team’s most consistent frontcourt performers this year.

The addition of fellow sophomore Liam Murphy provides another young player with the tools to have a bright future thanks to his combination of size and budding skill.

Defining Characteristics

This year’s team is a microcosm of what we’ve come to expect from Wilbraham & Monson in recent seasons. They may have an occasional post-graduate or upperclassmen addition, but for the most part, this is a program that is being fed from within.

In other words, the majority of their roster is comprised of players who are spending multiple years, often times three or four, at the school. They are developed in-house, just as we’re seeing from the likes of Klosk, Packard, Adams, and others.

Accordingly, this group remains a young one relative to the rest of AA, but they do have weapons. Aside from the experienced core they have on the perimeter, this group also offers enough size to compete with the best of the league in Josephy, Adams, and Murphy. They have perimeter shooting with Klosk and Tretout. Most important, this is a hard-working and tough group. They went hard and competed in the open gym we watched, have proven the amount of time they’re willing to invest in their game as individuals, and could consequently overachieve, or be ahead of schedule, collectively.

Bottom Line

They probably don’t have the depth of experience to be title contenders in AA, but they’ll be in the post-season hunt and along the way continue to help their individual prospects all take their games to new level.

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