Coaches: Jeff Ruskin, Tyler Whitley

ABOUT THE TEAM:

Our Tradition

Over the years, Salisbury School has produced one of the finest Class B basketball teams in New England, qualifying for  year-end tournament play 17 times in the last 20 years, including three trips to the championship game.  After a three year absence, the Crimson Knights returned to the NEPSAC Tournament in 2007 and again in 2008, when they were seeded fourth.  A loss in the semi-finals of the 2009 Western New England Basketball League Tournament ended Salisbury's season.  Their 20-7 record gave the Knights back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in school history.  This year's team earned Salisbury's fourth consecutive invitation to the post-season playoffs.

Our Schedule

Salisbury plays a challenging schedule that includes traditional prep school opponents and games against college junior varsity teams from Williams College,  Army, and Navy, in addition to national AAU power The New York Gauchos.  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).  In December, the Knights will play in the Hoop Mountain Prep School Showcase.  During the holidays this year, the team returns to Loomis-Chaffee School (Windsor, CT) hoping to win its third consecutive Bob Southall Christmas Classic championship. 

Our Players

Numerous Salisbury players have continued their careers in the collegiate ranks.  Ten Knights have gone on to play Division I basketball, including Mitchell McDonald '07  and Jason Pancoe'09, both of whom will be suiting up at Army this year.  Previous Knights have played at Oklahoma, Tulane, LaSalle, Massachusetts, Utah, Bucknell, and  George Washngton.  Other Salisbury hoopsters have played at schools such as Middlebury, Trinity, Bates, St. Lawrence, Rhodes, Wesleyan, Merrimack, St. Thomas Aquinas, Palm Beach Atlantic, 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 have played professionally overseas.

This year, Zaid Hearst'11 was named to the All-Western New England Conference first team and Wil Tye'10 made the All-WNEC second unit.  Lachlan Magee'10 earned All-WNEC honorable mention.

Our Coaches

Jeff Ruskin is in his fifth year as Salisbury's head coach after successful stints at four other schools.  His career record is 233-123 (.654).  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.  Under his leadership, the Knights are 71-34 (.676), qualifying for post-season play every year.  During the 2008-09 campaign, the Knights were 20-7 (.741) and became the first team in school history to record back-to-back 20-win seasons.  In 13 years as a varsity head coach, Ruskin's teams have reached the 20-win plateau on six occasions.

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 Bergen County Scholastic League’s Olympic Division title, the first in the school’s history.  

A graduate of Bradley University, Ruskin has coached at the renowned Hoop Group Eastern Elite and Five-Star basketball camps, and has spoken at various clinics in the northeast.

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 , and the Burger King 3 on 3 Tournament. Goins also worked in the sports marketing department at NBC Television and Foot Locker. 

For the past two years, Goins has been a volunteer coach with the Bayside (NY) Raiders football organization. He coached the 15-16 year old team and also helped his players gain admission into prep schools throughout New England. Goins attended Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake, VA where he was a three sport athlete, starring in basketball, football, and track. While in high school, he attended the famous Five-Star basketball camp. In addition to coaching basketball on the Hilltop, he will be on the varsity football staff and working as an instructor in the Learning Center.

Below is the link to MaxPreps National Basketball Rankings.  Click on it to view the team roster and individual and team statistics.

Varsity Roster and Statistics on MaxPreps