[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
It was a special season for the Needham High School varsity boys basketball team in 2016-2017. A 16-4 regular season resulted in the No. 3 overall seed in the MIAA South Sectionals, and from there, the Rockets took off, winning four in a row (two on the road), which included a road upset of No. 2 BC High in the South Semifinals (69-66), and No. 1 Mansfield (65-56) in the South Finals at Taunton High School.
After attaining the South Sectional crown, the Rockets fell to eventual state champion Cambridge in the state semifinals (50-45). Despite the loss, 2016-2017 was an incredibly successful season for the Rockets, and much of that success can be accredited to star junior guard Thomas Shaughnessy.
On March 22, Shaughnessy was named to the 2016-2017 MIAA Boys Basketball All-State Boys Team after averaging 23 points, four assists, three rebounds, and two steals on a nightly basis. Shaughnessy was also awarded the prestigious honor of Massachusetts High School Offensive Player of the Year.
The OPY award is very well deserved for Shaughnessy, as the junior star was the bread and butter of Needham’s offense throughout the regular season’s entirety and into the postseason. People will always try to point to specifics and say things like “if they didn’t have that guy, then they wouldn’t have made it that far,” but with Needham, Shaughnessy was just one of the many phenomenal players to lead the Rockets to promise in 2016-2017 along with senior Matthew Shaker, senior Matthew McKay, and junior forward Will Cooper, just to name a few.
With his junior season now behind him, Shaughnessy’s next goal is obviously to get back to the state tournament and make another deep run in 2017-2018. With Cooper, Michael Klemm, and Brandon Monheimer all returning as well as Shaughnessy, the Rockets certainly have the core pieces in place to make a lot of noise within and outside of the Bay State Conference next season.
Congratulations to Thomas Shaughnessy, head coach Paul Liner, and the rest of the Rockets on an incredible season and all of your prestigious awards. Well deserved.
