Mr. Ice--Not Nice--Guy
CATHOLICMEMORIAL
West Roxbury, Mass.
PEOPLE HAVE toldBill Hanson, the fiery coach of Catholic Memorial in West Roxbury, Mass., thathe reminds them of Bobby Knight, and not just because both win. "I'm kindof high-spirited," Hanson says, "but I'm working on channeling it in apositive direction."
Hanson, 57, saysthis with a twinkle in his eye. With 503 wins, and having won 16 state titlesin the last 21 years, most recently in 2005, Hanson won't be changing his styleanytime soon. When he curses a blue streak after a player messes up, he doesn'tapologize. "The American vernacular contains these words," he says witha shrug. "It's part of life."
Ted Donato, whoplayed forward for the Boston Bruins for nine seasons and is now coach atHarvard, is one of the 26 NHL draft picks Hanson has coached. He credits Hansonwith being ahead of other high school coaches in using video, creating powerplays and forechecking systems, and says Hanson's practices are more fast-pacedthan any Donato experienced in college or the NHL. Sometimes Hanson can pushthe limits: In '88 he threw one of his players up against the glass after thekid rolled his eyes at a criticism. In '96 he challenged one of his stars to afight in the locker room after he'd mouthed off during the postgame handshakes.Years later, at weddings and christenings, they laugh about it. "I'm oldschool," says Hanson, who is also CM's guidance counselor. "We're aprivate Catholic school. We educate the entire kid. If I had to go around beingpolitically correct, they'd see my backside real fast."
None of hisplayers want that. "I've grown up a ton in my three years playing forhim," says Mike Keenan, a senior on this year's team, which was 4--0through Sunday. "He cares about everything: what you wear, how you standduring the national anthem. If he tells you to skate around a circle inpractice, you'd better not cut corners."
PROS FROM THE PROGRAM
TED DONATO (below), class of 1987, is one of severalHanson graduates to go on to the NHL.
Chris Nilan, class of '76
This enforcer, one of nine NHL players to spend morethan 3,000 minutes in the penalty box, holds the record for most penalties in agame, with 10. He played for 13 seasons and won a Stanley Cup with Montreal in1986.
Paul Stanton '85
The college All-America defenseman at Wisconsin wonStanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and '92.
Jim Carey '92
Carey won the Vezina Trophy with the WashingtonCapitals in 1995--96, going 35-24-9 with a 2.26 goals-against average.
Chris O'Sullivan '92
In 1995 the defenseman led BU to a national title. Heplayed parts of five seasons with three NHL teams.
Jim Fahey '98
The defenseman has skated for the San Jose Sharks andthe New Jersey Devils--for whose AHL affiliate in Lowell, Mass., he currentlyplays.
Daily Coverage
For more high school news and rankings from RISE andDave Krider's Primetime Performer of the Week, go to SI.com/highschool.
THE LIST
ARMY STRONG
USC boosters no doubt liked what they saw from futureTrojans linebacker Chris Galippo (right) at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl onSaturday. Galippo (Anaheim's Servite High) had 11 tackles for the West in its24--7 win and took home the game's MVP award. Other winners: LSU and Tennessee,which each received two player commitments on game day. The Vols nabbed DE BenMartin (La Salle in Cincinnati) and LB Chris Donald (Huntingdon [Tenn.] High),while the Tigers reeled in DTs Joseph Barksdale (Cass Tech [Detroit]) andLuther Davis (West Monroe [La.] High).
SONIC BOOM
The Bellevue (Wash.) Wolverines have two players whosenames should ring a bell with hoops fans: Luke Sikma and Alex Schrempf. Theyare the sons of Jack Sikma and Detlef Schrempf, former Seattle SuperSonicsplayers who now work for the NBA team as assistant coaches. Luke, a senior, isthe leading scorer (15.3 points) for the 6--2 Wolverines, and Alex, asophomore, is averaging 10.7 points.
BIGGER IS BETTER
The 7'1", 250-pound Kosta Koufos (left) was theclear victor over 6'9", 235-pound Dallas Lauderdale in a battle of Ohio bigmen. Koufos had 25 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks, leading GlenOak(Canton) to a 56--45 win over Solon; Lauderdale had 10 points and fiverebounds. The seniors have both committed to Ohio State.
POWER MOVE
Vinny Saponari of Culver (Ind.) Prep scored apower-play goal in overtime to give the U.S. under-17 hockey team a 3--2 winover Sweden in the title game of the Toys for Tots Four Nations Cup in AnnArbor, Mich. Saponari scored a team-high four goals in the tournament.
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BARRY CHIN/THE BOSTON GLOBE (HANSON)
MASTER CLASS Hanson, instiller of both skills and values, won his 500th game last month.
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SHELLY CASTELLANO/THN/ICON SMI (DONATO)
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JOHN GREEN/CAL SPORT MEDIA (GALIPPO)
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AJ MAST/ICON SMI (KOUFOS)