Trio from class of ’96 reunite to lead CHS boys’ hoop program

CHS boys’ varsity basketball coach Mike Devoll has a wealth of talent and expertise in his assistant coaching ranks this year, but he also has a couple of former classmates to lean on who were stars in their own right while playing for the Bulldogs in the mid 1990s.

(L-R) Head coach Mike Devoll, assistant coaches Eileen Morneau, Jarod Cowens, Brett Franklin and Chris Feeney and player Colby Gavigan at last week’s game against Foxboro (Mike Barucci photo)

Canton natives Jarod Cowens and Eileen Morneau both grew up playing basketball with Devoll, and all three hail from the Canton High class of 1996. Cowens was a standout center for the Bulldogs and Devoll was a team captain, while Morneau was a 1,000-point scorer at forward and center for the girls’ team.

“Anyone who doesn’t know who Eileen is or what she brings to the table, I just point to the banner containing those 1,000-point scorers and that says it all,” Devoll said of Morneau.

As for Cowens, Devoll said he has known him since they were classmates in the fifth grade. “We grew up in Canton playing basketball together,” he said. “Jarod is a great motivator. He knows what I want and what I am looking for and how to run things.”

At the beginning of last year, Morneau started coming to the home games and both would talk about strategies. Devoll said it was amazing how much the two of them were “on the same page,” adding that Morneau “has a great basketball mind.”

Devoll, whose team is off to a 3-3 start this season, said it also helps that he has two members on his staff who have played power forward or center in the past and who know all about and can appreciate Canton High basketball.

Morneau said she returned to CHS because she wants to give something back to the program in which she learned so much about basketball. She also enjoys working for a program in which “all assistants chime in and share strategies.”

“The players respect Coach Devoll as a great teacher,” she said.

Another former graduate helping the program this season is Chris Feeney, who played for Devoll in 2004 — his first year as varsity coach. Feeney has experience at both the forward and center positions.

Other assistant coaches include Randy Collins, who heads up the junior varsity team; Brett Franklin, who coaches the freshman team; Sean Osgood, a volunteer assistant who played varsity ball at Woburn High; and Josh Forgue, who played soccer under Coach Devoll at Old Rochester High School and also played varsity basketball. Both Osgood and Forgue work in Canton.

Having all of these talented assistants gives Devoll a number of different options for practices as well as games. He typically has four assistants helping him on the bench during games and one assistant scouting the opposition.

Devoll, who is currently the principal at Old Rochester, firmly believes in lesson plans and uses the gym scoreboard to record drills and performances. Each practice is very organized, complete with playbooks, video, and demonstrations of proper technique by Cowens, Morneau, and the other assistant coaches.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Jan 13 2011. Filed under Features, High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.