MANCHESTER, NH – The Little Green of Manchester Central varsity basketball team begins its 2018-’19 campaign on Tuesday night with a new coach who knows the school well.
Central alumnus Sudi Lett is set to begin his tenure leading the Little Green as they seek their first state championship in three years.
Lett came within two baskets of bringing Campbell to a Division III championship last season, a final result in a three-season stretch that saw Campbell recognized as a perennial Division III contender.
“It’s a lot different (here),” said Lett. “The kids in Litchfield, I had three years to mold them into what I wanted, but now it’s starting from scratch again.”
Unlike Campbell, where three-sport stars were fairly common, Central’s squad has more players focusing specifically on basketball. During off-season preparations, Lett has been pleased with his new team’s work ethic on the court and in the classroom.
Individual player development is a staple of his coaching philosophy, something he has spent many years fine-tuning through his work coaching a community basketball clinic he helped grow known as Bishop Elite.
“From what I’ve been hearing, we’re not the favorites,” said Lett. “You always want to undersell and over-deliver. It’s my first year, so I want to have a wait-and-see approach.”
That hard work is going to be key as the program enters the season with an underclassman-heavy lineup that could transform Central into a cinderella come March.
Lett says individual player development is a staple of his coaching philosophy, something he has spent many years fine-tuning through his work with a community basketball clinic he helped grow known as Bishop Elite.
Although it’s too soon to tell what might happen, Lett has confidence in his boys.
The cool thing that I’ll be able to tell my players is that this is the first day, we have to be focused on every day, because it goes fast. One day you’re playing against Trinity, and the next you’re rushing over here to try and get a Final Four preview in, so it’ goes fast. It’s only three months, and if you get to the championship, you only play twenty-two games, and our goal is to play twenty-two games – and win the twenty-second,” Lett said.
“I’m excited – it should be a lot of fun,” he said. “I’m ready to get going.”
Central begins that quest with a 7:30 p.m. game against Trinity.