Sean Boylan, left, returned this season for his second stint...

Sean Boylan, left, returned this season for his second stint coaching Northport. The Tigers, led by seniors Jake Orman, Owen Boylan, Sean Cogan and Patrick Gimpel with additional guidance from assistant coach Tom Atkinson, are 12-6 overall, 7-3 in Suffolk III and have qualified for the Suffolk Class AAA playoffs. Credit: Joe Oliveri

Sean Boylan stepped down in 2012 after three seasons coaching the Northport varsity boys basketball team in order to take an assistant principal job in the district. That lasted all of one school year.

“What happened was I loved the experience,” Boylan said, “but I truly missed the coaching.”

So the Northport native and resident went back to being a social worker in the district and took over the JV in 2013. Then the varsity job opened up for this season.

“I took it very quickly and have been loving the experience working with this group of guys,” Boylan said.

Indeed season No. 1 of stint No. 2 has been rewarding. The Tigers are 12-6 overall and 7-3 in Suffolk III and playoff-bound in Class AAA, and this group of guys includes 6-4 senior guard/forward Owen Boylan.

Sean Boylan is getting another chance to coach his son, something he had done with the JV and non-school teams.

“It’s a dream come true to have this opportunity to coach Owen, to help him become the best player that he can be,” Boylan said. “ . . . I really value the time that we have together.

“But in the same sense, it’s not just Owen . . . I would do anything for any of these kids.”

Owen, a D-II and D-III recruit, is averaging a team-leading 21.1 points.

“It’s been a great experience,” he said about playing for his dad. “I’ve played for him for AAU and CYO for many years. It hasn’t been too much of an adjustment. But it’s been a fun year, and we’re just looking to keep getting some wins.”

The elder Boylan, who played forward for St. Dominic and Merrimack College, coached several of these players before at various levels.

“He has our best interest at heart,” senior forward Patrick Gimpel said. “He just wants to see us all succeed and not forget any of these memories.”

They have created some good ones, led by the seniors. Forwards Sean Cogan and Jake Orman are the other two.

“I think we put a lot of work in (during) the offseason, and that helped a lot,” Cogan said. “ . . . So after all the time together, I think we were able to find a little bit of team chemistry.”

There’s a third Boylan in Northport’s basketball mix. Owen’s sister, Maeve, is a sophomore guard on the girls JV.

“Our house,” Sean Boylan said, “we’re just loving hoops right now.”

Vieux does it all

Nick Vieux's all-around prowess has been a signature in St. Anthony's victories. Credit: James Escher

One of the engineers behind St. Anthony’s 16-2 start is senior guard Nick Vieux.

Vieux is the Friars’ fifth-leading scorer at 7.1 points per game, but his all-around prowess has been a signature in victories.

The reigning NSCHSAA Defensive Player of the Year, the 5-9 Vieux is relentless with a team-leading 2.3 steals per game, 4.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists. And a 2.8 assist to turnover ratio.

“Nick just stuffs the stat sheet,” St. Anthony’s coach Sal Lagano said. “I’ll tell you, wherever he decides — if he decides to play (in college) — some coach is going to be very happy. He is going to be severely missed.

“He takes the other team’s best player. He plays great help defense. He rebounds for a small guy. He’s steady. He limits his turnovers. As a coach, we take him for granted sometimes.”

Vieux is looking to continue his basketball career collegiately at the Division III level, according to Lagano.

The Friars are in search of their first NSCHSAA title since 2020.

“I love these guys,” Vieux said. “They’re like my family. I’m with these guys every day, so it’s great.”

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