2012 New England Champs
COACHES: Jeff Ruskin, Anthony Goins, Jonathan Coulombe
Contact Head Varsity Coach Jeff Ruskin at
jruskin@salisburyschool.org or at 860-435-5765.
ABOUT THE TEAM:
Varsity Roster and Statistics on MaxPreps
Our Tradition
Over the years, Salisbury School has produced one of the finest basketball teams in New England, qualifying for year-end tournament play 19 times in the last 22 years, including five trips to the championship game. The 2010-11 season saw Salisbury move up to Class A basketball and the Knights reached the championship game of the NEPSAC boys tournament. In March of 2012, Salisbury captured the New England Class A final with a 72-60 win over Choate Rosemary Hall for the first basketball championship in the school's history.
Our Schedule
Now a memebr of the newly formed NEPSAC Class A, Salisbury plays a challenging schedule that includes traditional prep school opponents and games against the Williams College JV, the Army JV, and the Navy JV. The team has also traveled to many in-season tournaments, including the Doc Hurley Classic (Hartford, CT), the National Prep School Invitational (University of Rhode Island), the Thomas Blackburn Tournament (Worcester, MA), the Hall of Fame Classic (Springfield, MA), and the Sun Youth Holiday Classic (Montreal, CAN). Last year, the Knights played in the Hoop Mountain Prep School Showcase and returned to Loomis-Chaffee School (Windsor, CT) where they won their fourth consecutive Bob Southall Holiday Tournament.
Our Players
Numerous Salisbury players have continued their careers in the collegiate ranks. Recently, eleven Knights have gone on to play Division I basketball, including Jason Pancoe'09 and Zaid Hearst'11, starting guards at Army and Quinnipiac, respectively. Lachlan Magee'10 was the leading scorer at Endicott College this past season as a sophomore.
Salisbury hoopsters have also played at Oklahoma, Tulane, LaSalle, Massachusetts, Utah, Bucknell, and George Washngton. Other Crimson Knights have represented schools such as Middlebury, Trinity, Bates, St. Lawrence, Rhodes, Wesleyan, Merrimack, St. Thomas Aquinas, Palm Beach Atlantic, Endicott,and Hobart. Demetrius Porter '08 (Connecticut College) was named New England Small College Athletic Conference "Rookie of the Year" for the 2008-09 season. In addition, three former Knights -- Rock Battistoni, Jameel Heywood and Terence Skyrm -- have played professionally overseas.
Five members of the 2011-12 Salisbury team were recognized by the New England Boys Basketball Coaches Association for their outstanding play. Bucknell-bound Ryan Frazier'12 and Chris McCullough'14 were selected to the All-NEPSAC Class A first team, while Samuel Dingba'13 was selected to the second team. Brandon Hedley'12 and Myles Jones'12 received honorable mention.
Our Coaches
Jeff Ruskin, the 2011 New England Class A Coach-of-the-Year, is entering his seventh year as Salisbury's head coach after successful stints at four other schools. His career record is 280-130 (.683) and, in 15 years as a varsity head coach, his teams have reached the 20-win plateau on eight occasions. Ruskin took over the reins on the Hilltop prior to the 2006-07 season and led Salisbury back into the NEPSAC Class B Tournament after a three year absence. In his six years at the helm, the Knights are 118-41 (.742) and have qualified for post-season play every year. Twice his Knights have put together back-to-back 20-win seasons, the only times that has been accomplished at Salisbury. Ruskin's 2010-11 squad was the winningest Salisbury School team ever, posting a 25-3 record and his 2011-12 squad won the first New England basketball championship in the School's 111-year history, finishing the season with a 22-4 mark.
Ruskin began his coaching career in 1972 at North Ridgeville (OH) Lake Ridge Academy. He then moved to Saddle River (NJ) Day School, where his teams won three Tri-State League championships (1976-78) and three New Jersey Independent School Conference titles (1975-77). In 1979, Ruskin led Midland Park (NJ) HS to the Bergen-Passaic League freshmen championship and his 1982 Emerson (NJ) HS squad won the school's first Bergen County Scholastic League’s Olympic Division title.
A graduate of Bradley University, Ruskin has coached at the renowned Hoop Group Eastern Elite and Five-Star basketball camps and gives lectures about the college recruiting process at Hoop Mountain Basketball Showcase events. Ruskin also was a guest coach at the innaugural West Coast Exposure Camp in September, 2011.
Anthony Goins, a graduate of St. John's University, is in his first year as assistant coach. At St. John's, he participated as a practice player with the Red Storm. While in college he helped run numerous national sporting events such as the Jordan Brand Classic High School All-American game, Jordan Celebrity Golf Tournament (Hoop Tee), and Burger King 3 on 3 Tournament. Goins also worked in the sports marketing department at NBC Television and Foot Locker. In addition to coaching basketball on the Hilltop, he is a member of the varsity football staff and works as an instructor in the Learning Center.