Gary Larrabee

Fifteen and zero.

What’s not to like about the undefeated Danvers High boys basketball team after Friday night’s 77-39 laugher of a win at Swampscott?

Vinny Clifford had his second straight game hitting five three pointers, finishing with 21 points, the same scored by Devan Harris, and Devonn Allen added 11 with six assists.

Now comes the daunting home stretch of the Falcons’ regular season before securing their likely No. 1 seed in the Division 2 North  tournament.

• Monday night’s non-league game at Rockland (likely to be snowed out based on current weather forecasts). The game could be rescheduled one final time to Tuesday February 17 or Thursday February 19, the last day before the tourney pairings are announced
• Tuesday hosting Gloucester…should be a blowout, as was the case when the teams met in Gloucester earlier in the season
• Thursday at Marblehead…a stern test after Danvers barely got by the Headers in Danvers back on January 7, 46-43
• Saturday and Sunday the Woburn Invitational, pairings and starting times yet to be announced, although it is believed Danvers gets Bishop Feehan and Woburn hosts  Malden Catholic Saturday, the losers to meet Sunday, followed by the winners
• Wednesday the 18th at Lynn English, the winner of the NEC Large, once again, and a serious contender to win Division 1 North

So where do the Falcons, a mind-boggling 93-19 in five years under coach John Walsh, stand?

In great shape, with a few qualifiers. Clifford, Harris and Allken are operating in high gear, in top form. Pivot Peter Merry continues to be a monster force on defense, but hopefully his offensive potential will be reached again, a la the Lynn Classical masterpiece (36 points; see earlier blog). Rashad Francois has been deftly moved to the sixth man’s role by Walsh, with Mike Nestor currently the fifth starter and Tre Crittendon the backup point guard off the bench.

Here’s hoping Nestor breaks through shortly as a starter and shows the potential Walsh and the coaching staff sees in him. If he doesn’t break through, here’s hoping Andrew Dunn gets a chance in Nestor’s role.

Bottom line: The Falcons have been incredible, winning close games and coasting in the routs. It is unlikely they can win out and finish an unprecedented 21-0. I’d be happy if they match the two-loss regular season of the 2012-13 Division 3 state champs.But I hope they prove me wrong. It’s just that the two Woburn games will be mighty tough to win, as will the game at Lynn English, which should attract a full house and a zillion Division 1 and 2 coaches scouting the two teams for the tournament.

May they simply give it their best effort and let the chips fall where they may leading into the tournament. They will be terrific tests for the tourney, win or lose.

As a career sportswriter-historian-journalist, I have had the privilege to observe-root for (quietly or otherwise)-admire-write about some of the greatest names in American sports annals.

Let’s start with Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski, followed by Pedro Martinez and David Ortiz; additionally Bobby Orr, Bill Russell, John Havlicek, Larry Bird. All amazing in their own right.

I include in this blog only stars of team sports. I will get to golfers and tennis players another time. I admire those professionals because they achieve on their own. The deliver or they starve — or at least don’t thrive.

But when you discuss team sports, especially around these parts, we’ve had some great ones. And after reading dispatches from sportswriters from all corners of this country, I have come to an obvious conclusion. None of them, including Bill Russell, winner of 11 titles in 13 years (though I did refer to him in glowing terms in a recent blog) measure up to Tom “Terrific” Brady when it comes to clutch performances on the biggest stage — the NFL, regular season, playoffs and, most significantly,  Super Bowl.

No Boston professional athlete has carried the weight of a team’s fortunes like the northern Californian from the University of Michigan. He got the opportunity of a lifetime after being a sixth round draft choice (No. 199) and getting a chance to play when Drew Bledsoe got hurt; an unproven quantity who carried the Patriots to Super Bowl victories in 2001, 2003 and 2004, kept them a contender annually and carried them to the promised land an astounding fourth time last Sunday in Super Bowl LIX with a quarterback show for the ages. Thirteen-for-15 in the fourth quarter; 8-for-8 on the Pats’ final scoring drive against allegedly one of the great defenses in recent NFL times.

Simply put, no Boston athlete has delivered so often and so successfully (9 AFC title games, 4-2 in Super Bowls), with an immeasurable burden of pressure on his shoulders than the fearless Brady. And to deliver in such phenomenal fashion against the Seahawks, in the middle of Deflategate, with all kinds of history-making in the offing…….nothing short of astounding,

We can’t talk in these terms without the miraculous — nothing short of miraculous — defensive play Malcolm Butler made on the goal line. And no teammate has given the rookie from West Alabama more credit than Brady himself.

At 37, with three Super Bowl MVPs, four Super Bowl titles, NFL passing and winning records galore, a gorgeous wife and family, a dream home in Bro9kline abutting The Country Club (has he been invited to join yet???) and Hollywood looks to boot, Brady has no intention of retiring to his favorite rocking chair. He’s got more Super Bowls to win. My “bro-love” will continue.

My oh my. We are blessed beyond all of which we are worthy.

The Perfect Storm continues to rage for the streaking Danvers High boys basketball team under the brilliant direction of coach John Walsh. The numbers tell the whole story. Entering Friday night’s Northeastern Conference matchup at Swampscott, the Falcons are:

• 14-0 on the season, a shoo-in to win the NEC Small division for a fourth straight time until they move up to the NEC Large Division next winter
• 92-19 during Walsh’s five-year tenure as head coach, his first stint as the man in charge, following a five-year stretch as varsity assistant to his cousin, Steve Harrington, the head coach at Watertown High School.
• 65-8 in the past 3 1/2 regular seasons
• seeking their fourth straight 20-win campaign
• seeking to match their best start in the Walsh Era, which was 18-0 in the 2012-2013 season
• seeking to  maintain or improve upon their No. 3 ranking in the Boston Globe Top 20; their No. 1 ranking in the Boston Herald’s Division 2 North rankings; their No. 5 ranking in the ESPN/Boston Top 25 statewide ranking, trailing only four Division 1 teams
• seeking to win a fourth straight mythical NEC overall title
• seeking to improve upon their 14-1 tournament record and their first Division 2 state title after winning successive Division 3 state titles in 2012 and 2013

Walsh, who turned 35 on January 31, deflects any credit directed his way and sends it immediately to his players.  “They make all the plays. They score the points. They play the tough defense, make the steals and rebounds,” says Walsh, a former Malden Catholic standout who averaged close to 17 points a game his junior and senior seasons for the Lancers.

Yet, anyone who has followed Danvers High boys basketball over the last 10 to 20 years will declare that Walsh is the best coach in the NEC, and not simply because he’s had the best record the last four seasons. He’s the best coach because he knows how to handle the players he is dealt. He knows how to adapt within the parameters of his coaching philosophy, which places a top priority on defense. Salem’s Tom Doyle and Marblehead’s Mike Giardi are highly regarded as well, but Walsh has taken the job performance to a new level.

Year one his team won 13 games, 12 more than the same group had won the year previous, and led the team to two tournament victories for the first time in memory.

Years 2 and 3 he coached the Falcons to Division 3 state titles. Year four, with his one returning veteran, Vinny Clifford, sitting on the bench all year because of a summer basketball injury, the Falcons went 20-3, considered one of the most outstanding coaching jobs done in these parts in decades.

Now, with three returning starters, a vastly improved sophomore Devonn Allen starring at point guard and Clifford back in the groove as a deadly outside shooter and vital all-around forward alongside big forward Devan Harris and 6-10 pivot Peter Merry, Walsh has his boys beating all challengers.

“I try and make the game as easy as I can for our players,” says Walsh, who was a three-year football starter at Malden Catholic at wide receiver and cornerback. “I also try and find different ways for the kids to learn about the game.”

Walsh has had a basketball in his hands “as far back as I can remember,” he says. “My father was a football coach and my uncle Paul Walsh was a basketball captain at Northeastern. So coaching and basketball came together pretty naturally.”

He had no coaching experience when he asked his cousin if he might have a position for him to get his feet wet. Harrington saw something in his relative, so he started him at the varsity level as his assistant. He’d find out soon enough if John had what it takes.

Then, after his fifth year working under his cousin, Walsh got an interview with Danvers High athletic director John Sullivan for the vacant head coaching job with one of the losingest programs on the North Shore. Walsh was hired and it’s been one incredible story now in its fifth year of unprecedented success.

It’s been a perfect storm because Walsh showed in short order that he was the right coach for a group of players with untapped potential; a group that required the right kind of coach to bring out the best in them.

“I always thought there were different ways that the game could be played, based on the group of players you had to work with; a group that changed most every year, though I’ve been fortunate to have had two different groups of players who succeeded each two years at a time — my second- and third-year teams that won the state titles and last year’s group and this year’s group, pretty much the same with a couple variations.

“Great kids to work with; very coachable and dedicated.”

Walsh, a graduate of UMass-Dartmouth after he had played one year at Rivier College in New Hampshire, admits to being analytical as a player and coach.

“There is so much that figures into coaching a winning team. These kids have made it easy for me the last five years because they’ve listened and applied what we coaches have offered them,” Walsh said, “whether it be in practices, scrimmages or games.

“It took a while to get our program implemented from the youth level up to the varsity, but the kids picked up on it faster than I could have hoped. They bought into our system quickly. The next thing we knew we were playing in TD Garden and winning twice and doing the same at the state finals in Worcester. Nothing is more gratifying than seeing your players reach those levels of success.”

Walsh and his staff constantly try and find ways to adjust in game situations based on what the opponent is doing. “The better you adjust, the better chances you have to win,” he explained.

He also noted that player leadership plays a major role in the team success, and no one has exemplified that more than Eric Martin, Walsh’s starting point guard his first three seasons.

“Say what you want about me, but Eric Martin has been the key to where this program has gone since I arrived in Danvers,” Walsh said. “Eric, like many of his teammates and other kids who’ve played for me since, was fun to coach and knew how to play the game to make his teammates better. He thought of his teammates first, himself second on the floor.”

That’s certainly true about the multi-talented Martin, an NEC MVP in both baskets and soccer his senior season. But Martin’s emergence and that of his fellow players and those who followed most likely would not have happened without the ideal man at the helm.

John Walsh was that man. His and the team’s mission to make more DHS hoop history resumes Friday night at Swampscott.

The Danvers High buoys basketball team may finally be capturing the mojo it will need to finish the regular season strong and make an impact in the post-season.

Hosting a supposedly respectable 7-7 Malden squad from the Greater Boston League Wednesday night in the DHS field house, the now 14-0 Falcons ran roughshod over the visitors while posting a 79-40 blowout victory.

And they did it playing arguably their best game of there season, unquestionably with their finest first half of the year. Displaying the  the formidable strengths they will need to defeat upcoming foes Rockland, Woburn, Marblehead and Lynn English, the Falcons played a near-perfect first two quarters, resulting in a 48-10 intermission advantage.

Yes, Malden played far below its potential, but it looked from here as if the Falcons made the Golden Tornado play horribly at both ends.

The Danvers offense was in high gear from the start, ignited by the unstoppable inside-outside punch from Devan Harris (20 points) and Vinny Clifford (15 points on 5-for-10 three-point shooting, 2-for-2 in the first 2 minutes). It was 12-2 midway through the first quarter and it only got better for the Falcons after that.

It was 22-7 after one. By halftime the Falcons’ suffocating defense had led to 13 Malden turnovers to Danvers’ one. The Falcons looked good in every phase of the game. In his new sixth man role, Rashad Francois hit consecutive threes in the first half and finished with 10 points.

It appears coach John Walsh has installed junior Mike Nestor, who has been the first sub off the bench, into the starting lineup to try and jumpstart his two-way potential. Tre Crittendon continues as the first guard reserve, usually replacing starting point guard Devonn Allen.

After a 14-0 start, second-best in school history to the 18-0 start of the 2012-2013 repeat Division 3 state championship squad, the Falcons play at Swampscott Friday then at non-league foe Rockland Monday before hosting Gloucester Tuesday and playing at Marblehead Thursday.

The Woburn Invitational follows February 14 and 15 (versus Woburn Saturday, then versus either Bishop Feehan or Malden Catholic Sunday), with the regular season concluding Wednesday the 18th at Lynn English. Several tough tests expected from this group, including Rockland and Marblehead.

After a typical slow start, the undefeated Danvers High boys basketball team righted itself quickly and steamrolled past Winthrop, 88-50, Monday night in the DHS field house.

Rashad Francois snapped out of a brief shooting slump, hit three three-pointers and led the 13-0 Falcons with 15 points, showing flashes of his offensive brilliance the locals will need if they are to continue their winning ways and make a deep run in the post-season. Devan Harris added 14, Sean Rooney 11 off the bench, Vinny Clifford 11 and Peter Merry 10.

After trailing 9-6 early, the Falcons went on a monstrous tear, finishing the first half with a 48-21 lead.

Falcon fans got a couple brief scares when Francois came down hard  diving for a loose ball, was slow to get up, but walked to the bench unattended and appeared to be alright, though sporting a slight limp. At 62-21, it was time for Rashad to skip the rest of the action.

Point guard Devonn Allen made a couple of his patented twisting drives to the basket, but came down hard on the floor on both occasions, but got up unscathed.

The Falcons are right back at it tonight at home against the Greater Boston League’s Malden Tornadoes (7-7). Two easy ones follow, at Swampscott Friday and hosting Gloucester Tuesday, with a toughie at non-league foe Rockland Monday night at 7, the game that had been postponed from January 2 after a Rockland student had been killed in an automobile accident.

After these three there challenges mount: at Marblehead, recent winner over Salem, on February 12, then the Woburn Invitation February 14 (versus current 9-05 Woburn), then the following day against either 9-5 Malden Catholic (Danvers coach John Walsh’s alma mater, where he starred) or 12-2 Bishop Feehan.

The Falcons then conclude the regular season February 18 at Lynn English, the Northeastern Conference Large champ-to-be (Danvers is the likely NEC Small champ for the fourth straight year and needs a strong finish to repeat as the NEC mythical overall champ for the fourth straight year).

I am old enough to have seen the unparalleled excellence of Bill Russell on television and in the flesh in Boston Garden for much of his illustrious career while leading the Boston Celtics to eight NBA titles in a row and 11 in his 13-year career, ending with back-to-back NBA Finals wins over the favored Los Angeles Lakers, both series clinched in L.A.

I covered Larry Bird for The Salem Evening News for most of his amazing career with the Celtics and John Havlicek in his post-Russell years, which earned the Bouncing Buckeye from Ohio State two additional NBA titles in 1974 and 1976. I even covered the graceful Bobby Orr when he sparked the Bruins to their second Stanley Cup in three years in 1972.

Every other modern Boston sports legend I’ve watched from a distance, including Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski and Ray Bourque.

They all, except for Russell, must now take a backseat to one Thomas Edward Patrick Brady, quarterback extraordinaire,  owner of four Super Bowl championships and three Super Bowl MVP awards.

You can find his astonishing records, regular season, post-season and Super Bowl, elsewhere. But I was compelled to make the declaration that Brady and Russell are without peer as Boston sporting heroes. They both have had wonderful supporting casts, but Brady’s accomplishments probably are superior to Russell’s because Big Bill had so many more all-star and Hall of Fame performers playing alongside him; far more than Brady.

Moreover, Brady, now 37, has, as of last night’s heart-stopping 28-24 victory over the classless Seahawks, matched Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw as the only QBs in NFL history with four Super Bowl wins.

Even with his impressive supporting cast, Brady’s singular  performances in the playoffs, especially the Super Bowl, place him on a lofty pedestal. Thiry-four, forty-five and now twenty-eight points scored in the three playoff games this month and last. Eye-popping, particularly in throwing four touchdowns to four different receivers (a first) against Seattle.

Let’s just hope we’ve got a few more years to continue marvelling at Brady’s phenomenal career. Sounds like Tom wants to play into his forties. Sounds great to me.

The Football gods were more angry at the Seattle Seahawks last night than they were at the Patriots. How else to explain the bizarre finish of one of the most amazing games — possibly the No. 1 amazing game of all time — in Super Bowl history?

The Brady-Beleichick Dynasty continues. Six Super Bowls. Four victories, each by four points or less’ two losses by four points or less. All six games decided in the closing seconds.

For all the glorious plays pulled off by the Beautiful Brady (records setter all over the place) and the most astonishing interception by free agent rookie (the pride of West Alabama—there is such a school???) Malcolm Butler, consider a few other aspects of this epic:

• A few key drops by Seattle receivers and a few poorly thrown passes by Russell Wilson, especially the lethal one on the Patriots’ goal line.
• Several fantastic catches by Patriots receivers Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, Shane Vereen, Danny Amendola and Brandon Lafell. One drop here or there and there is no Super Bowl Championship No. 4.
• The All-World performance from Brady — I know, I’m repeating myself — with 37 completions in 50 attempts against one of the great defenses of all time (allegedly), fourth quarter perfection resulting in two touchdown drives and the first comeback from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit in Super Bowl history.
• The exceptional pass protection provided Brady when it mattered most.
• Some great defensive team sequences in the fourth quarter that gave Brady and company the chance to stage the historic comeback in the first place, the Seahawks’ final-minute drive notwithstanding.
• How sweet is it that those classless Seahawk players named Baldwin, Lynch and Sherman, among others, felt miserable afterwards? Though Sherman saved some grace by congratulating Brady at game’s conclusion.
• A good man, Pete Carroll, or probably I should say his offensive coordinator, screwed up so badly their names will go down in Super Bowl infamy for their final play call.

Let the celebration continue.

After a forced week’s layoff because Tuesday;’s big game at Lynn English was snowed out until February 18, the Danvers High boys basketball team played more like its pre-season reputation last night, routing Saugus, 86-41 in the DHS field house.

In moving to 12-0 as a three-game week looms, the Falcons had no intention of taking any prisoners against the Sachems, who in their previous meeting at Saugus had played Danvers to a halftime draw before our heroes pulled away.

On this occasion Danvers rocked to a 13-0 lead and — presto — the game was over for all intents and purposes; the Falcons getting off to a terrific start, something they hadn’t done all that often so far this season.

Vinny Clifford led four Falcons in double figures with 15 points and three 3s, while sophomore point guard Devonn Allen added 14, Devan Harris 11 and Peter Merry 10.

Equally important, the first two players off the Danvers bench had their best outings of the year, Mike Nestor and Tre Crittendon showing the kind of all-around play coach John Walsh will need from them if the Falcons are to attain great heights as the regular season continues and tournament time approaches.

So it’s now the Falcons host weak Winthrop Tuesday and Greater Boston rep Malden (a .500 squad and dangerous) Wednesday before a Friday night rematch at Swampscott. This should be a 3-0 week for the Falcons — though there are no guarantees at this stage of the campaign —  as they wrap up the NEC season the following week hosting Gloucester Tuesday the 10th and visiting Marblehead Thursday the 12th, all with 7:30 starts. A fourth straight NEC Small Division title is locked up, but the mythical NEC overall title is still up for grabs, though Danvers is once again in the driver’s seat.

The Falcons then will get three terrific preps before the tournament, playing in the Woburn Invitational February 14 and 15 (Woburn is strong this year in the always formidable Middlesex League), after which they wrap up the regular season at Lynn English as noted earlier.

Let the games continue.

His first eight games as the starting point guard for the Danvers High Falcons had drawn mixed reviews. A few games with double figure scoring, a few games with a good batch of assists, a few games with a three-point field goal here and there and most games displaying overall a reliably steady defense.

But if there were any doubts as to whether the 6-foot, 165-pound Allen belonged on the starting five and as a “must” member of the first five come crunch time, all doubt was erased during the Falcons’ heart-stopping 39-37 home court victory over Salem.

All Allen did in the pulsating final quarter was score the Falcons’ final six points on three dynamic drives to the basket beginning from the top of the key, the first a runner off the glass, the other two all-the-way-to-the-glass efforts.

The last basket came with 2:46 remaining for a 39-35 lead. Little did he know at the time that Danvers would not score another point the rest of the way, missing five foul shots over that same time frame, while Salem could only score two points, on a driving layup with 2:30 remaining.

Equally huge for the Falcons were two rebounds Allen hauled in off missed teammate free throws with 19.9 seconds left and again with 11.1 seconds left. Those rebounds, in which he beat to the ball the Salem players who had inside position on the lineup, proved vital in killing time off the clock and forcing Salem to take a long three, which was partially blocked by Vinny Clifford, in the final few seconds.

“Devonn’s made big plays for us all year, many of which got unnoticed or quickly forgotten because they occur while we’re playing defense,” says coach John Walsh.  “But he’s also made big passes, big shots at the offensive end, though none bigger than those five plass he made in pressure time against Salem.”

Allen, no “silly sophomore” he, simply recognized the situation against Salem and waited for the opportunities, then took matters into his own hands.

“If you remember,” Allen said of the frantic fourth quarter with Salem, “Devon (Harris, 16 points) had been carrying us on offense and I felt someone should give him a hand. I got there chane so I decided to go for the basket if I saw the openings. I got a couple, then Devan fouled out and I got another chance to go to the basket.”

Then on the two critical offensive rebounds off missed foul shots in the closing seconds? “Quick footwork and reaction,” he says.

Allen, who went to the Great Oak and Riverside schools before reaching the middle school and high school, has been playing hoops since third grade, when he started in the Hot Shots program in town. It also didn’t hurt his development that his parents both were good players in their own right, his father even making the varsity at Memphis University.

Devonn, the first guard off the bench last winter,  also knows his baseball. He started in center field and third base for the 16-6 varsity baseball team last spring as a freshman.

But basketball is his chief concern at the moment. Pressurized basketball with the team 11-0 heading into tonight’s home game with Saugus, a team that gave the Falcons fits at Saugus for a half.

“These are pressure times, but we were all through it last year, so I think we’re handling it alright,” says Allen.”We can play better; and will have to to keep going like this.”

Allen, only a sophomore, remember, has made significant strides since last season with his ball handling, passing, shooting and defending, but he knows he has a long way to go. “It’s all about working hard every day and trying to improve every day, especially in the games,” Allen says.

“We know what we’re capable of. We just have to keep playing and hopefully raise our games individually and as a team. Because every game is going to get tougher from here. We have to be ready.”

The story has become legend by now among the Danvers High boys basketball community.

Devan Harris’s mom, an executive with Proctor & Gamble, is transferred from corporate headquarters in Cincinnati to Boston to work at Gillette. The Harris family settles in Hingham.

During the summer between his sophomore and junior years, Devan becomes a teammate with Danvers High’s Vinny Clifford and Peter Merry playing for the Boston Warriors AAU team. Not entirely happy with the Hingham High basketball program, Devan is asked by his summer teammates to consider coming to Danvers and playing with them. Devan asks mom. Mom says yes. They’ll move to the North Shore, to Danvers.

The rest is history, or, should we say, Harris continues to make history in this, his second and senior season as the most potent power forward in the Northeastern Conference and among the best at his position in Eastern Massachusetts.

The result? Harris was the Salem News Player of the Year in 2014 when he led the Falcons to a 20-3 record, to their third straight NEC Small Division title, to the mythical NEC overall title and a berth in the Division 2 North tournament final, where they fell to New Mission.

That was a completely new DHS squad a year ago, since the lone returning starter from the Division 3 state champion team from the prior year, the aforementioned Clifford, sat out the entire campaign following ACL surgery.

Harris enjoyed a spectacular debut season, averaging 18.9 points and nine rebounds during the regular season and 23.7 points and 14.5 rebounds in the tournament. His All-NEC and co-MVP recognition came as no surprise.

The 6-4, 255-pound Harris, fingered by every opposing coach as the player his defense must stop, or at least hold down, as the new season got under way, has been all but unstoppable in the Falcons first 11 games.

He has averaged 18.5 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, been held under double figurers only twice and has scored 35, 27 (twice) and 25 in his top four offensive outings. Devan, with his inside power game and uncanny offensive rebounding ability, is the perfect complement to the 6-10 Merry in the pivot and the 6-3 Clifford at small forward, the latter the team’s — and arguably the NEC’s — top three-point shooter who can also penetrate to the basket when the opportunity presents itself.

The Falcons might have been no better than a .500 team last year if Harris had not arrived on the scene. They surely would not be undefeated after 11 games this season without his impressive all-around game.

“It’s just great we got him to come to Danvers,” says Clifford. “He’s a great player and a great teammate.”

“Devan’s a fantastic player whose true value can’t be fully measured, he’s so important to our success,” adds coach John Walsh.

“I’m just glad my mother agreed to move up here and allow me the chance to play for Danvers,” declares Harris, whose fiery determination is infectious among his teammates.

This blogger calls Harris a reincarnation of Charles Barkley, the all-time NBA great whom Harris resembles both in stature and with his wondrous moves inside the paint, spinning one way or the other and slithering between multiple defenders when he sees daylight to the basket. At the same time, Harris runs the floor like a gazelle, is an exceptional defender and has become a reliable three-point shooter to go along with the “trey” abilities of Clifford and guards Devonn Allen and Rashad Francois.

Harris, who started at offensive left tackle for the football team this past fall, also has an uncanny nose for the loose ball, whether it’s bouncing off the rim or falling to there floor. He has a rebounding reach and sturdy positioning which is the envy of most NEC frontcourt players.

“I just try and anticipate where the ball will go if it’s a miss,” says Harris. “And if the ball is loose on the floor, I tend to dive for it like a football fumble. That’s my style.”

And a beautiful style it is; a style never before seen by DHS boys hoop fans, at least spanning the last 55 years.

And, coincidence of coincidences, if you’re a “name” person like me, he’s only one of two Devonn/Devans on the team. What are the odds of that? If coach John Walsh, the architect of Danvers’ unprecedented five-year run of 89 wins and 19 losses is smart, he’s been calling out those guys by last name in practice and in games this season.

Harris is grateful for the Falcons’ amazing success, his talented teammates who start and come in off the bench, and in particular for the “other” Devonn. As a sophomore and the only non-senior starter, the burden he’s carried as the No. 1 point guard successor to the graduated Mark McCarthy, has been substantial.

Harris calls Allen’s effective play a critical element in the teams’ ability to be 11-0, including a two-point win over Salem, a three-pointer liver Marblehead and a six-pointer over Somerville.

“Devonn’s emergence as our point guard has been amazing,” Harris said. “He got some good experience last year (as the first guard off the bench). But to make such a big jump this year and to come up with so many big plays at both ends of the court, like those big plays that saved us against Salem (39-37), has been amazing; just what we needed.”

As for dealing with the high expectations and game-to-game pressure, Harris says the team simply “tries not to think about it. We try and focus in on the game at hand and nothing more. It’s worked okay so far. We’d also rather be a team that has high hopes and has to deal with pressure than a team that’s just .500.”

It’s no secret what the team’s goals are from here. “Keep winning, win the Conference and try and get to Worcester (for the state final),” Harris says in stating the obvious.

No matter where the season goes from here, a lion’s share of the credit for the Falcons’ phenomenal success last season and this must go to Devan Harris.