It was mid-February, and Worcester Academy’s players reached a point in the season where they had enough.
They knew time was ticking.
On Feb. 15, the Hilltoppers lost to Wilbraham & Monson to finish a grueling stretch against some of the region’s best teams. They had lost three of those five games, and they knew they were better. More importantly, they knew they had problems to fix, and not much time to do so with the Class AA playoffs looming in about two weeks.
They took two days off, which gave them a chance to clear their heads. When they returned on Feb. 18, they held a team meeting before practice. Head coach Jamie Sullivan was included, and together they had honest, open conversations about what was on their minds, and what they needed to do to accomplish their goal of winning a championship.
“We came together and we were like, the playoffs are coming up, this can’t go on anymore,” said Payton Kamin. “We figured out the things that we needed to change and figured out what was going to work.”
Worcester Academy figured things out, then got hot at the perfect time. The fifth-seeded Hilltoppers went on the road to beat St. George’s and top-seeded Cushing before taking down No. 2 CATS to win the Class AA championship. The program’s third title in four years was won the hard way, but fighting through difficult challenges defined this season on the Hilltop.
This group, led by incoming point guard Amir Jenkins (Worcester, Mass.), needed time to gel. Injuries to Jake Blackburn (Southborough, Mass.) and Connor Swider (Portsmouth, R.I.) disrupted their rhythm. There were moments of soul-searching. Even Sullivan, who typically leaves film work to his assistants, found himself watching some tape to figure things out. At one point, he stormed into the locker room after a practice to express some feelings.
“I called them out about how pathetic my life is because I care about it more than they do,” Sullivan said. But the team meeting ensued, and they all got on the same page.
“The guys just never gave in.”
Worcester Academy began this season 17-4, which included wins over Phelps and Blair. But Sullivan cautioned the fool’s gold that could come from those results. There were good things happening; the Hilltoppers won close games without Blackburn and Swider, Kamin had emerged as one of the best scorers in the region, and Jenkins made an instant impact in his first season.
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But the toughest part of their schedule was coming in February, and Sullivan knew they were struggling to find their identity, and they weren’t playing team basketball.
“Amateurs think you need to score to be able to be recognized,” Sullivan said. “And it took time for guys to understand that tonight is going to be Amir’s night, tomorrow is going to be Payton’s night, the following is going to be Jake’s night or Ryan (Sullivan)’s night.”
Then came that stretch in February. Losses to St. George’s, New Hampton and Wilbraham sandwiched around wins over Williston Northampton and Phillips Exeter became this team’s reality check moment. Sullivan even leaned on former Worcester Academy star Tre Norman for some advice. After the New Hampton loss, which they viewed as a winnable game, Sullivan got into the film room.
“They were pieces to a puzzle that I needed to solve as to like what was going on,” Sullivan said.
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A few days later, they met as a team. The players weren’t worried about approaching Sullivan. When Kamin was in the process of choosing a prep school, one thing that stood out to him about Sullivan was that he listens to his players and empowers them. “Some coaches have these big heads and it’s like their way is the only way,” Kamin said. “There’s nothing you can do. But Jamie’s not like that.”
Sullivan listened as they laid out issues on their mind. Among the topics was their lack of urgency at the start of games, as they routinely started slow before making furious late comebacks. They also discussed lineup changes, suggesting groups that would fit better together given their personnel.
“I’m a player’s coach, I’m not the dictator,” Sullivan said. “I’m the head of a democracy and I’ve been saying that for years. I take what our guys say, I listen to them, they’re the ones that play the games. We run what they say. When you give them that confidence, it carries.”
The Hilltoppers were reinvigorated, though they went just 3-2 – which included road losses to CATS and Cushing – over the final five games to fall into the No. 5 seed. But they felt like those experiences were beneficial.
“Sometimes you learn more from losing than you do from winning,” Sullivan said. “I think those tough losses, those long bus rides home, I think that they helped us.”
It all clicked in the playoffs. The Hilltoppers figured out their early-game problems, jumping St. George’s in the quarterfinals as they led by as many as 21 before weathering the Dragons’ comeback to hold on. Another fast start led to a semifinal upset of Cushing.
The championship game was a microcosm of their season as they overcame ups and downs against CATS. Worcester gave up a 13-0 run in the second half, but led by big plays from Jenkins and Cam Hailey (Dorchester, Mass.), it figured out a way.
“We just had this will to win,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan’s player empowerment made the difference in the final minutes. The coach knew CATS star Jaylen Harrell was capable of beating them, and he called a timeout to suggest throwing a changeup.
“I asked the guys, ‘Do you want to try the 1-3-1 (defense)?’” Sullivan said. “I always leave it up to them.”
The team agreed to go for it, and it worked. The zone defense was a wrinkle that bothered CATS’ ball-handlers, and Worcester forced three turnovers, including two in the final minute, that helped them clinch the title.
“That was the X-factor in the game,” Sullivan said.
Hailey sank clutch free throws in the final minutes to secure the championship, and it was Jenkins at the top of the zone defense that provided the difference. All season, Jenkins’ energy, leadership and dominant two-way play carried the Hilltoppers, but like everything else, it took time.
The two-time state champion from Worcester North was one of the most exciting additions in NEPSAC this season, but he needed time to strengthen his relationship and trust with Sullivan – on and off the court – as he spent countless hours in his office in an effort to get acclimated to the school and grow as a player and person. It took time for Sullivan to get Jenkins to believe in his jump shot. Jenkins, bred by hard work instilled from his family, saw it all come together on the court this winter.
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“It was a culmination of many things,” Sullivan said. “Phone calls, hugs, I love you, I got your back is what it was. For a young kid like him to come in and trust, trust me, trust the process, trust the school, that was huge. …
“He’s a winner. I don’t know any other way to say it. … He didn’t care how much he scored. He cares about us winning. It was like peanut butter and jelly going on a sandwich. He was the peanut butter, we were already the jelly. That’s all we care about, is winning at Worcester Academy.”
It’s become expected at the Hilltop. For Sullivan, there was a unique satisfaction with this championship triumph in several ways. It was a full-circle moment for Sullivan, who coached Hailey’s dad, Steve, to a NEPSAC championship in 2002, bringing the two eras together. Ed Reilly, who left his post as Worcester Academy’s Athletic Director last year and joined Sullivan’s staff as an assistant and an important piece of their game-planning and scouting, added an emotional touch. Sullivan was fulfilled seeing four seniors, Blackburn, Sullivan (Auburn, Mass.), Michael Ellerbrook (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and Dylan Cote (Boylston, Mass.) – each overlooked in some capacity in their recruiting – end their careers with three championships.
Sullivan was also gratified in how his group silenced the naysayers. He said his program was laid to pasture last season while they suffered several injuries that derailed their season, including star guard Kayvaun Mulready missing 19 games. But the Hilltoppers stayed believing, and ultimately emerged champions again.
“A lot of people thought Worcester Academy basketball was dead,” Sullivan said. “No one talked about Worcester Academy. We had our ups and downs during the course of the year, but to stay the course, and to do it in the fashion you do it, you beat three teams, two on the road that you lost to the last third of the season, just made it all the more sweet.”
