CLAREMONT — As a former sportswriter, Ray Curren understands that the body copy is as important, if not more so, than a snappy lead or witty ending. It’s the basis of any good story.
Of course, it takes time to build any strong foundation. It requires patience and a willingness to adapt. He’s keeping all of that in mind as he rebuilds a Stevens High boys basketball program that hasn’t enjoyed much success in recent winters.
The Cardinals have certainly had a lot of things thrown at them the past two years. They didn’t belong in NHIAA Division II, but that’s where the state association’s school population numbers said they should be. They won only four of 36 games and missed the state tournament both times. Stevens athletic director Doug Beaupre guided the squad the second half of last season after parting with the previous coach. They returned to D-III this year.
Into that situation stepped Curren, a Stevens school counselor the past three years and, once upon a time, a sportswriter for the New Haven Register in Connecticut. The counselor and the coach work in concert now to achieve specific short-term goals.
“I know we can be competitive in D-III,” Curren said on Thursday night after dropping a 65-45 decision at Mascoma in what was the Cards’ first game of the season. “I think the big thing is the mentality, first and foremost. You have to have the mentality, when you show up at the gym, that you can win the game. I don’t know if we have that right now, but that’s where we have to get to.”
The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t done Curren many favors.
It would have been challenging enough with a geographically focused schedule that looked more like last year’s D-II slate. But Stevens couldn’t join its foes on the floor right away, getting bumped from Carr Gymnsium on Jan. 6 when SAU 6 went to remote learning to counter a citywide spike in COVID-19 cases.
In addition to losing to their first two weeks of games, the Cardinals didn’t get together for 25 days, Curren said. The new coach tried to keep his players engaged with daily Google Meets conferences, but that couldn’t make up for not being on the floor together.
“It was tough, because everyone wanted to be out there,” senior forward Brady Moote acknowledged on Friday, after Stevens fell to the Royals at Carr, 70-33. “No one wanted to sit. We did virtual meetings and we tried to go over a lot of stuff there, but it’s a lot different. It’s a whole different game on the computer than it is actually getting out to run stuff.”
Some of that showed in Stevens’ home-and-home set with Mascoma. The Royals, who already had five games under their belts, did a lot of the things Curren hopes the Cards eventually can, but they did them a lot faster.
To counter the frustration that can bubble up from that, Curren sometimes goes into counseling mode. Before Friday’s rematch, the new coach gathered his group in a loose circle and set a goal of 20 turnovers, a modest reduction from the 28 committed the night before. The Cards ultimately turned the ball over 22 times, a modest improvement, but had difficulties elsewhere.
“We’re just trying to learn some actual offenses and just play actual basketball,” Moote said. “Just be a basketball team, not just a bunch of athletes on the basketball court.”
It’s difficult building confidence in the current reality, Curren said. Stevens won’t play a normal D-III slate this winter, it’ll be significantly shorter than a normal season, and there’s always the possibility of COVID-19 getting in the way again. (Indeed, the high school went to remote learning on Monday because of a positive case; Beaupre, in a Facebook message, said it was likely to be a one-day-only situation.) The pandemic prevented Curren from doing any offseason work with the program last summer, too.
Still, where there is challenge, there is also opportunity. With a small roster of just 18 athletes between varsity and JV, there will be plenty of playing time for everyone, Moote noted. Stevens needs to find confidence in achievements such as Friday’s third quarter, when the Cards outscored Mascoma, 19-18, getting 3-pointers from four different players.
“It’s refreshing,” Moote said of Curren. “He knows basketball. And it feels like, each practice, you’re learning something new. It’s just nice. It’s good to be coached.”
Curren enjoys the competitive process, and he likes being a mentor to his players. That’s the lead; he’s busy writing the body copy, and the ending will come along soon enough.
“I told them yesterday, ‘Have fun, man,’ ” Curren said on Thursday. “The score is the score. It should be fun. Why are we here if we’re not having fun?”
Greg Fennell can be reached at gfennell@vnews.com or 603-727-3226.