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Youngstown connection helps fuel unbeaten John Carroll
By STEVE WILAJ
Doug Caputo’s a smart kid.
Coming into this season, the 2013 Cardinal Mooney graduate realized his John Carroll team — which lost just two players from its 20-win squad a year ago and features nine upperclassmen, including himself and fellow Mooney grad Ryan Farragher — could be a special one.
“I knew we had a good chance to achieve a lot,” said Caputo, a 6-foot-8 junior starting forward for the Division III Blue Streaks.
But this? A 21-0 start to the season (14-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference) and a No. 3 national ranking? Well ...
“We weren’t really expecting this to begin the season,” Caputo admitted. “But it feels great to achieve as much as we have so far and we just have to keep it going.”
In 19 games this season, Caputo is averaging 10.7 points and 7.5 rebounds in 20.9 minutes per contest. He runs with the first group of John Carroll’s dynamic 10-man rotation, which uses a five-in, five-out technique as it averages 94.4 points.
Junior guard Farragher, who graduated from Mooney in 2012, is part of the second group and is averaging 9.9 points in 16 minutes while playing in every game this season. A third local player is also part of the Blue Streaks: 2013 Ursuline grad Preston Williams, a sophomore guard who is “waiting in line” this season as the upperclassmen dominate the D-III level.
“We put a lot of work in in the offseason because we knew we were gonna have a good team this season,” Farragher said. “To see that hard work pay off, it’s really rewarding.”
Most recently, John Carroll won by 19 points at Capital University on Saturday as Farragher scored 14 points in 14 minutes and Caputo had four points in 26 minutes. The Blue Streaks have four regular-season games remaining to capture a perfect regular season.
“A lot of people have been saying ‘You guys have to lose some time,’” Williams said. “But we’re just trying to stay away from that mindset. We know everybody’s gonna give us their best, so we’re just trying to focus on each game.”
The three local products have played on the same team before. Obviously, Caputo and Farragher competed together for three seasons at Mooney, but the trio played for the same AAU team prior to the 2012 high school basketball season.
Farragher, who was also a second-team All-Ohio defensive back at Mooney, joined John Carroll in 2012. He played in 24 games as a freshman, but missed the entire 2013-14 season after injuring his knee and undergoing surgery.
“The surgery was pretty bad,” Farragher said. “I didn’t tear my ACL or anything, but my kneecap kept dislocating. So I had to get reconstructive knee surgery, which kind of realigned my knees so they didn’t pop out anymore.”
He returned healthy last season and played in all 27 games, averaging 8.3 points. His top game this season came on Jan. 16 when the Blue Streaks routed Mount Union as he scored 22 points on 9 of 12 shooting.
“Just to be able to come back and get back on the court — that’s all I really wanted to do,” Farragher said. “Then to be able to play well, that’s even more exciting.”
Farragher was also a top reason Caputo chose to attend John Carroll.
“In high school, me and him were best friends — still are,” Caputo said. “So to get an opportunity to play with your best friend for another three years is a blessing.”
Added Farragher: “We’ve always had a good bond playing since Mooney. So it’s been great to be able to go to the next level together.”
Caputo played in all 29 games as a freshman and averaged 6.5 points before starting last season. He averaged 10.2 points and 7.3 rebounds and was named second-team All-OAC. So far this season, he has scored 10-plus points 11 times and has grabbed 10 or more rebounds five times.
“My role isn’t to drop 20 points a night, but if it happens it happens,” Caputo said. “I just go out and play my game. But with a bunch of great players around me that play well, it opens up a lot for me.”
Like Farragher lured Caputo to John Carroll, Caputo helped Williams end up a Blue Streak.
Upon graduating from Ursuline, Williams attended Capital for one year and ran track. But he wanted to get back into basketball, so he contacted long-time friend Caputo, who got him a tryout with head coach Mike Moran prior to last season.
“Coach saw my game and liked it, so I ended up transferring,” said Williams, who appeared in 12 games a year ago and has played in 13 games this season, averaging 1.6 points and 3.1 minutes. “Last year was my first season and this year is about progressing a little bit more.”
The Blue Streaks host Baldwin Wallace (12-9, 7-7) tonight at 7 p.m. They also play at No. 8 Marietta (19-2) on Saturday at 3 p.m., before traveling to No. 23 Mount Union (15-5) on Feb. 17.
It’s a tough path to a perfect season. But Caputo — who (to an extent) saw the Blue Streaks’ success coming prior to the campaign — knows how John Carroll has to approach its final games.
“We just have to go day by day,” he said. “I guess you can say that our main goal right now is to win the next four games and end the regular season undefeated. But it’s about the long run, and we want to win a conference championship and go strong into the NCAA Tournament.”