PORTSMOUTH — From 1988 to 2013, the Portsmouth Serious Summer Basketball League at South Playground was the place to be — for players, fans, even officials.
“It was a sanctioned league, so you could play in the league if you were playing at a Division I college,” said Mike Eliasberg, who served as league commissioner for its 25-year run. “Once you had those guys, that attracted other guys, and that intrigued other players. It also attracted officials. Good officials want to officiate good players.”
Just some of those players who ran up and down the outside courts in downtown Portsmouth in those early years included Bryan Edwards (Boston College, James Madison University), Scott Drapeau (University of New Hampshire), and local standouts such as Oyster River’s Keith Friel (Notre Dame, the University of Virginia) and Winnacunnet’s Chris Coates (Keene State), as well as Duncan Robinson, now of the Miami Heat.
“I’d argue that Drapeau from his peak, 1994 to 1996 was as good anyone down there,” Eliasberg said. “(Friel) played between his sophomore and junior year at Oyster River and was serviceable; after his junior year he definitely was a top-10 player, and right before he went to Notre Dame, he was as good as anyone.”
Robinson grew up in New Castle, and played at Phillips Exeter Academy and Division III Williams College before transferring to the University of Michigan. He just completed his sixth season in the NBA, all with Miami.
“I played in this league back in the day, but probably my best memories are just as a spectator,” Robinson said. “Just a young kid coming to watch the older guys play (was great).”
For Eliasberg’s money, the best team ever in the league’s first 25 years was Merchant Motors, which was made up mostly of the New Hampshire College men’s team that was coming off its Division II Final Four appearance in 1990.
“By far, that was the best team that’s ever played in the league,” Eliasberg said.
League makes a comeback; summer season starts
Chris Petzy, a 1,000-point scorer at Exeter High School who played collegiately at St. Joseph’s College in Standish, Maine, reached out to Eliasberg last October. Petsky, along with Harry Rafferty, asked Eliasberg what he thought about starting the league back up this summer..
Eliasberg gave Petzy some advice and a checklist of what had to be done to get the ball rolling.
“(Petzy) found a title sponsor (The Groomsmith barbershop in Portsmouth), he found individual sponsors, and I told him he probably could get five teams, and he got eight,” Eliasberg said. “He also got a lot of good local (high school) players from the past five years.”
Two locals with Division I college experience on summer rosters
Josh Morissette, who led Exeter High School to the 2019 Division I championship before transferring to Phillips Exeter Academy, played one year at Division I Wofford College before transferring to Saint Anselm College last summer. Brady Cummins, who plays for Colgate University, joins Morissette as two players in the league with Division I college experience.
“If Josh Morissette thinks (the league is a positive), you can’t tell me he doesn’t have 50 numbers of good players … that he’s going to reach out to and recruit to play in the league next year,” Eliasberg said.
Morissette started all 30 games for Saint Anselm last season and averaged 17.9 points a game, second on the team.
“The league is special,” said Morissette, whose team, Jumpin’ Jay’s beat Coastal Fitness, 77-69, on Saturday. “The tradition of it runs deep, and I just hope that we can continue that on. The people in this league are also so special. When you look at the rosters, it’s people from all over. Maine, New Hampshire, or Massachusetts.
“People want to come play in the league,” Morissette continued. “Either it’s a college basketball player, someone who played in college, or a high school player, the games are competitive, and people want to win. I’m so grateful for whoever helped put back this league. It’s going to be something people should want to come and watch.”
Cummins, who led the York High School boys basketball team to the Class A state championship game in 2020, was a starter for Colgate University, averaging 7.3 points a game, including a career-high 19 points in the Patriot League championship win over Lehigh. Colgate lost to Baylor in the first round of this year’s NCAA Tournament.
Cummins is playing on Coastal Fitness with a few of his former York teammates, including Will MacDonald, who plays for Roger Williams University.
“I think it’s great the league is back for current and former college players in the area to be able to compete against each other throughout the summer,” Cummins said. “It’s also special because it gives me a chance to play with my hometown friends, which I haven’t played in games with since high school. This all adds more excitement to the summer.”
Petzy says summer league’s return sparks excitement in Portsmouth
Petzy wanted to bring the league back because it was a big part of the Portsmouth and Seacoast community for such a long time.
“The league was a unique, competitive experience for me growing up, so I wanted to pass that on to the next generation of talent around here,” he said. “I think a lot of folks had nostalgia, honestly. It’s cool to bring in some of the fresh blood, and bring these really talented players who are in the Seacoast area together to play in a league like this.
“It’s just been amazing just to see all of the different guys coming back,” Petzy continued. “College, post-college, guys who have played in the league back in the day; familiar faces.”
Who is playing in summer league?
There are many talented players with Seacoast ties who joined one of the eight teams.
Some of those include Ty Vitko (Dover High School, Endicott College), Arie Breakfield (Spaulding, Southern New Hampshire University), Alex Taveres (Portsmouth, UNH), Kingsley Breen (Dover, Great Bay Community College, Saint Michael’s), Joey Glynn (Portsmouth, UMass Lowell, Rollins College), Brett Marelli (Winnacunnet, WPI), Sam Androettola (Winnacunnet, Carnegie Mellon), Jacob Gibbons (Exeter, Assumption), Ryan Grijalva (Exeter, Emmanuel) and many more.
“Just seeing the community and camaraderie of people coming together playing basketball,” Duncan Robinson said, describing what he enjoys most about the league. “Being on the outdoor court is the best, I am happy the league is back.”
Petzy was excited to have Robinson there for the league’s relaunch, signing autographs and taking pictures with local fans and kids.
“It’s cool to see him show up and get excited about it just like us,” Petzy said.
Two reasons why league relaunch will be successful
Marelli, who played in 26 games and started nine this past year, his junior season at WPI, said there are two reasons why people can expect the best caliber of play of the league this summer.
“One being the history of the league and hearing stories about the great players and teams that competed years ago,” Marelli said. “The second being the players playing in the league. Everyone involved did a great job of getting some of the great players along the Seacoast. When you’re playing against the best, it makes it that much more serious and competitive. For me, I’m excited to play with my friends every week and compete, but also just having a great time with everyone.”
When are games played? What’s format?
Games will be played on Sundays (with games at 4:30, 5:30, 6:30 and 7:30 p.m.), as well as Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. at South Playground in Portsmouth. Playoffs are single-elimination, and the championship is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 30.
Games are two 20-minute halves, with a running clock outside of timeouts, free throws and the final four minutes of each half. There is a 7-point “Elam” ending to decide the winner of games. For instance, if Team A is winning 50-45 after the second half, the target is seven points more than the leading team’s score, so the first to 57 points would be the winner.
Seacoast Media Group staff writer Brandon Brown contributed to this report.