Former HockomockSports Player of the Year Jake Layman is heading overseas for his next professional basketball venture as he signed with Seahorses Mikawa of the Japan Professional Basketball League.
Layman starred at King Philip a decade ago, racking up a slew of accolades including Hockomock League MVP after averaging 26.5 points per game, 16 rebounds, and 5.8 blocks his senior year. After a terrific career at the University of Maryland, he was selected with the 47th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. The pick was traded to Portland, where he played in 141 games for the Trail Blazers over the course of three seasons.
In 2019, he signed a three-year, $11.5 million contract in a sign-and-trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves. A toe injury derailed a strong start to his first year in the North Star State, averaging 11.3 points and 3.2 rebounds a game coming off the bench in November but didn’t return to play again until February for three games before the NBA season moved to The Bubble and the Timberwolves’ season came to a close. He played in 79 games over the course of the next two seasons, playing a total of 243 NBA games over six seasons.
The Boston Celtics invited Layman to camp before the 2022-2023 season, and he appeared in a pair of preseason games but was waived on October 15th. He was set to sign with Baxi Manresa of the Liga ACB shortly after but another injury prevented him from joining the Spanish club.
Below is a statement from Layman released by the Seahorses Mikawa.
“I am absolutely ecstatic to announce my signing with the Seahorses Mikawa of the Japanese Basketball League. I couldn’t be more thrilled to join such a world-class organization that has shown an incredible desire to have me on board. The team’s strong vision and commitment to excellence align perfectly with my goals as a player.
One of the major factors in my decision was the opportunity to reunite with Coach Ryan Richman, whom I’ve known for over 10 years. Our relationship dates back to my time at the University of Maryland, where Coach Richman played a pivotal role in my development as a player. To have the chance to work with him again at a professional level is truly special, and I’m confident our connection will greatly benefit the Seahorses Mikawa.
Additionally, I’m eager to immerse myself in the vibrant basketball culture of Japan and embrace the passion of the Seahorses Mikawa’ fans. I look forward to this new chapter in my basketball career and am committed to making the most of every moment with the Seahorse Mikawa Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout my journey, and I can’t wait to get started.”
Below are the official 2023 Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars, selected by the coaches in the league.
Hockomock League MVP
Sean O’Leary, Franklin
Hockomock League All Stars
Jaiden Outland, Attleboro
Matt Chafin, Canton
Alex Penders, Foxboro
Justin Allen, Franklin
Ben Harvey, Franklin
Sean O’Leary, Franklin
Will Laplante, King Philip
Trevor Foley, Mansfield
Chris Hill, Mansfield
Eddie McCoy, Mansfield
Andrew Rivera, Milford
Cole Craffey, Oliver Ames
Matt Baur, Sharon
Jacob McLoughlin, Sharon
Nate Katznelson, Sharon
Jayden Costa-Haywood, Stoughton
Troy Santos, Taunton
Below are the official 2023 Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars and honorable mentions, selected by the coaches in the league. Below are the official Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars and honorable mentions, selected by the coaches in the league. Below are the official Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars and honorable mentions, selected by the coaches in the league. Below are the official Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars and honorable mentions, selected by the coaches in the league. Below are the official Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars and honorable mentions, selected by the coaches in the league. Below are the official Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars and honorable mentions, selected by the coaches in the league. Below are the official Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars and honorable mentions, selected by the coaches in the league. Below are the official Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars and honorable mentions, selected by the coaches in the league. Below are the official Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars and honorable mentions, selected by the coaches in the league. Below are the official Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars and honorable mentions, selected by the coaches in the league. Below are the official Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars and honorable mentions, selected by the coaches in the league. Below are the official Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars and honorable mentions, selected by the coaches in the league. Below are the official Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars and honorable mentions, selected by the coaches in the league.
Mansfield senior JT Veiking takes a shot in the second half against Malden Catholic at the Tsgonas Center. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)
LOWELL, Mass. — Down a pair of starters and matched up against Malden Catholic, the top seed and defending state champions, Mansfield had little room for error in the Division 2 State Championship game.
The Hornets’ impressive season, highlighted by a memorable postseason run, came to a close with a 72-54 loss to the Lancers on the hardwood inside the Tsongas Center on the campus of UMass Lowell.
Although the Hornets were down just nine at the halftime break, Malden Catholic’s relentless effort on the offensive glass paired with some uncharacteristic Mansfield turnovers saw the deficit balloon up to 19 by the end of the third quarter.
“That’s a really, really good Malden Catholic team and we were going to have to play perfect to win,” said Mansfield head coach Mike Vaughan. “We had to try and find a way to play at our tempo and then live in the moment. They came out playing physically and our passes, and we were throwing passes we haven’t thrown since December. They were jumping passing lanes, and even if they were just deflecting it, it just disrupts the offense and your flow.
“The rest of the first quarter we weren’t cutting, we weren’t moving…guys were standing there, with pale faces, blank stares. I’ve been here before, I’ve seen it and I knew it was going to be an uphill battle.”
Malden Catholic’s Nick Martinez drained a three to open the game and was difficult to slow down the rest of the way as he finished with a game-high 28 points and seven rebounds. Mansfield senior JT Veiking scored a team-high 17 points and had nine boards while junior Eddie McCoy chipped in with 14 points.
The Lancers were prepared for Mansfield’s pass-heavy offense and jumped into the passing lanes for a couple of turnovers-turned-transition buckets and a 16-10 lead after eight minutes.
In an effort to disrupt Malden Catholic’s offense, the Hornets deployed a rare zone defense to start the second. It worked as the Lancers managed just one field goal in the first three minutes of the quarter — after three offensive rebounds — but Mansfield’s offense never quite could get in gear and managed just one bucket of their own.
Malden Catholic’s lead reached 12 after a turnover led to a three from Martinez. The Hornets clawed back into it as sophomore Nate Creedon drove to the rim for two, Veiking hit a floater and then finished off a traditional three-point play to get within 26-20 with 1:27 left in the half, but a quick 5-0 surge, including a bucket off another offensive rebound, saw the Lancers carry a 31-22 lead into halftime.
“We were down nine, we held them to 31 points and we gave up nine offensive rebounds and had seven turnovers, and that was the difference,” Vaughan said. “The talk at halftime was…if we could find a way…rebounding is somewhat effort, somewhat a knack for the ball, but it’s also skill. And we were playing a skilled team, of course they were going to rebound well.
“I think our guys were a little shell-shocked by the moment at the start. At the end of the day, when you start getting punched in the face, you have to look in the mirror. I think it took us a minute to absorb it but by that point, we dug ourselves a hole and you can’t dig a hole against [Malden Catholic].”
Mansfield gave Malden Catholic a little bit of its own medicine when senior Chris Hill collected an offensive rebound for a putback for the opening basket of the third quarter but it didn’t take long for the Lancers to get back on the offensive glass in the form of a three-point play from Ben Howard (11 points, nine rebounds). Bo Moody tacked on a three and Howard had another three-point play off an offensive rebound as the Lancers began to distance themselves.
The Hornets lost starting point guard Davon Sanders in the first game of the tournament, and starting forward Trevor Foley — who led the Hornets in scoring during the regular season and is widely regarded as one of the best defenders in the league — has been out for the past three games.
“[Malden Catholic] is talented, they have three legit players,” Vaughan said, “When you do stuff against them, and they can execute and find a kid open in the corner because they are that good, what are you going to do? And unfortunately, we weren’t perfect.
“As much as I don’t want to blame the fact we were down two guys — they are down a starter too — but our system and the way we play, our depth matters to us. When we don’t have that depth, we aren’t able to rotate guys through and continue to be fresh and continue to move.”
Hill had three straight for the Hornets, Veiking splashed in a triple off a pass from McCoy, and Caden Colby (eight points) finished the quarter with a great hustle play, fighting for an offensive rebound and putback at the buzzer but the Lancers’ lead was 53-34 going into the fourth.
“If you look at where we were at in December and where we are now, it’s like a different team,” Vaughan said. “We didn’t have an identity. We were good defensively but we looked like a hot mess on most possessions offensively. We cleaned that up and that takes a commitment from the guys, they had to trust each other. I thought the guys did an awesome job all year. Just the growth we had in one season was just amazing.”
Mansfield boys basketball finishes the season at 25-3.
Mansfield junior Eddie McCoy has been selected as the HockomockSports.com Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, for March 7 through March 13. McCoy is the 22nd player chosen as Player of the Week for the 2022-23 school year and 10th in the winter season.
McCoy has been instrumental in the shorthanded Hornets making a run to the Div. 2 state title game. He scored 20-plus points in each of the last three rounds, including a career-high in the Sweet Sixteen against Salem, helping No. 2 Mansfield overcome injuries to a pair of starters and still reach the championship game.
“Eddie’s been showing little glimpses all year but he’s taking over games and doing it in the flow [of the offense],” said Mansfield head coach Mike Vaughan. “He’s not forcing action, he’s not trying to do it all, he’s allowing his teammates to contribute. He’s stepped in and made big plays over and over the last couple of weeks.”
In the Sweet Sixteen against Salem, McCoy caught fire, scoring a career-high 31 points, almost half of Mansfield’s total of 64, while picking up seven steals, four rebounds, and a pair of assists. McCoy added 22 points, on four three-pointers, against Marblehead in the quarterfinal, another big win for the Hornets. In the semifinal against Nahoba, McCoy powered the Mansfield offense again. He scored 28 points, grabbed four rebounds, and had three steals to propel the Hornets to a 20-point win. McCoy’s scoring push has helped Mansfield win by at least 20 in each playoff game.
The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision.
Eddie McCoy
Eddie McCoy The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Eddie McCoy The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Eddie McCoy The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Eddie McCoy The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Eddie McCoy The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Eddie McCoy The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Eddie McCoy The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Eddie McCoy The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision.
Mansfield junior Eddie McCoy (28 points) splits a pair of Nashoba players for a layup in the second half. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)
WORCESTER, Mass. — The stage keeps getting bigger and the Mansfield boys basketball team keeps delivering.
Junior Eddie McCoy poured in a game-high 28 points as he continued a terrific postseason run and the Hornets put together another defensive masterpiece to pass their latest test with flying colors, a convincing 65-45 win over #6 Nashoba in the state semifinals.
The win sets up #2 Mansfield with its biggest and final test of the season: a date with top-seeded Malden Catholic in the Division 2 State Championship.
“It speaks volumes about where we are at,” said Mansfield head coach Mike Vaughan. “We were saying at the end of the game, this is just how Mansfield does things. For years we’ve used that ‘next up’ mentality, and we have guys playing close to 30 minutes trying to fill the voids with two guys out. Defensively we were awesome all night and offensively we found our opportunities to be effective, took care of the basketball, and did everything I thought we needed to do to win the game. We kind of just kept grinding throughout games.”
McCoy has been a star for far in the playoffs and wasted little time providing a spark on the offensive end for the Hornets. He knocked down an early triple and scored nine points in the opening quarter as the Hornets built a 17-8 lead. He added seven more in the second quarter while senior JT Veiking (16 points, six rebounds, four blocks) had eight points by halftime to help secure a 29-22 lead at the break.
“Not having Trevor [Foley] and Davon [Sanders] hurts us but I’m proud of this group for how we’ve handled losing them and how we’ve kept going,” McCoy said. “I think with Trevor being out, I feel like I’ve had to step up and be more of ‘the guy’ kind of role. I’m feeling confident out there.
“Now we have one more.”
The Hornets only forced five turnovers in the first half but played tough on-ball defense and held the Wolves to under 28% shooting from the field, including just two points off nine offensive rebounds.
“I thought defensively we were the one team that could match up with them,” Vaughan said. “We don’t get a lot of credit for our size because we play a lot of perimeter basketball but JT is 6’7, Chris is 6’5, and Eddie is 6’3 or 6’4. I thought all of our matchups worked and I thought if we could rebound the ball, which they were really good at, and we did that really well early. We got better at that in the third quarter and that helped us get that separation.”
Mansfield really created separation in the third quarter as it limited the Wolves to just 10 points — holding Nashoba to just two offensive boards while coming up with three forced turnovers.
Meanwhile, the Hornets’ offense just continued to break down Nashoba’s defense, both its man-to-man and 3-2 zone. Multiple passes, constant movement off the ball, backdoor cuts, and effective shooting — all key traits to Mansfield’s offense — kept Nashoba guessing.
Senior Chris Hill (10 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals) asserted himself right away, taking the first three shots of the half (after just two in the first half) and making back-to-back layups. Nashoba answered with two buckets of its own, but over the final four minutes of the quarter. Mansfield outscored the Wolves 16-6 to create its largest lead of the game.
Veiking had a traditional three-point play to start the run, and McCoy had consecutive strong takes to the rim before sinking a pair of free throws. Junior Brandon Jackman hooked up with Hill (who had eight of his 10 points in the quarter) and then Hill set up Veiking for a triple. A late layup from Hill capped the run and Mansfield staked a 49-32 lead going into the fourth.
“When we came out of the locker room, you make eye contact with a senior [Hill] that’s played with you so long…sometimes you don’t have to say anything, they just know,” Vaughan said of Hill’s big third period. “We needed a second or a third guy, we knew they’d try to take some stuff away with Eddie and that’s when Chris asserted himself which I thought were three critical possessions coming out of the half.”
McCoy hit three free throws in the first couple of minutes of the fourth and Caden Colby (five points, three rebounds) added two of his own from the line. McCoy read a Nashoba pass perfectly, picked it off, and went in for the layup as Mansfield’s lead inflated to 56-38 with just under five minutes to go.
“Newton North coach Paul Connolly once said to me about the playoffs that you need a couple of things: you need to get lucky, have talent, and then you need a guy that comes out and plays at a different level,” Vaughan said. “Eddie’s been showing little glimpses all year but he’s taking over games and doing it in the flow. He’s not forcing action, he’s not trying to do it all, he’s allowing his teammates to contribute. He’s stepped in and made big plays over and over the last couple of weeks.”
Nashoba had five straight points to get the deficit down to 16 points (56-40) but that would be the closest they’d get the rest of the way. Sophomore Nate Creedon had success at the line to keep the Hornets ahead, Veiking tacked on one final bucket, and freshman Gabe McIntyre capped the scoring with a free throw.
Mansfield boys basketball (25-2) will finish its season against the top-seeded Lancers of Malden Catholic (22-2), who is looking for its second straight state title. The game is currently scheduled for Friday at 5:30 at the Tsongas Center in Lowell.
Mansfield senior Caden Colby takes a three-point shot in the second half against Marblehead. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)
MANSFIELD, Mass. – The beat goes on for the well-oiled machine that is the Mansfield boys basketball team.
Despite being down two starters, the second-seeded Hornets dominated from start to finish in a 77-50 win over #10 Marblehead in a Division 2 Elite 8 contest.
In front of a jam-packed rambunctious crowd inside Albertini Gymnasium, the Hornets exploded out of the gate with 24 points in the first quarter and defensively, they never let the visiting Magicians get their act in order.
With the win, Mansfield advances to the Division 2 Final Four.
With junior point guard Davon Sanders (9.1 points per game) and junior defensive standout Trevor Foley (11.6 ppg) sidelined with injuries, the shorthanded Hornets didn’t miss a beat.
“I think it’s the personality of the guys on the team,” said Mansfield head coach Mike Vaughan. “They understand that the style is more important than the individual pieces. When guys buy into that, that we are the sum of the team as opposed to individuals, it’s about the sum of all of us.”
Sophomore Nate Creedon started in just his second career game at point guard while sophomore Riley Sigman entered the rotation. Both players saw limited minutes during the regular season but made an immediate impact in this one with Creedon (five points, seven assists) dishing out three assists in the opening quarter and Sigman adding a field goal in the Hornets’ big first quarter.
“We’re throwing a back cut to Riley [Sigman] in a playoff game, he was a JV player two weeks ago, a practice player for us,” Vaughan said, “That’s how much they trust the system and one another and what they are capable of. Talk about the play of Nate and Riley…if they got off the bench two weeks ago it was in a 30-point game and now they’re playing meaningful minutes in the rotation and making meaningful plays. And it’s not all stuff you see in the stat book, they both played steady and weren’t afraid of the moment.”
Junior Eddie McCoy, fresh off a career-high 31-point performance in Mansfield’s win over Salem in the previous round, set the tone early offensively as he dropped 11 of his game-high 22 points in the first quarter. It started back and forth, but Mansfield closed on a 12-2 run to create separation that the Magicians couldn’t make disappear.
McCoy had the first four points – a pair of free throws and then a strong baseline take off a feed from Creedon. Sigman converted a backdoor cut, junior Brandon Jackman came off the bench to convert in close, senior JT Veiking (21 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three blocks) scored off a feed from Creedon, and then Jackman linked up with Veiking for two more and Mansfield had an early 24-9 lead.
Mansfield quickly pushed the lead to 20 points less than two minutes into the quarter off a putback from Veiking and a three-pointer from McCoy. The final six minutes played out a bit more even as the Hornets went a little cold from distance but senior Chris Hill (eight points, 13 rebounds, five assists, two steals) found classmate Caden Colby (10 points, four assists) in the corner for a triple and a 39-20 lead at the half.
“JT played a little different in more of what we needed him to do, Caden stepped up and took on a top-level scorer and was able to keep him in check, really helped us and made them work for everything they got,” Vaughan said. “Guys that were playing 20 minutes before, they were playing 26, 27 minutes tonight and in this environment, physically and mentally, is draining. I thought everything from the environment, the community showing out, the pregame, everything was just first class. We were locked in from the start. We’ve been here before and the kids proved we belong here, and I was really proud of that.”
Mansfield’s offense picked back up in the third, outsourcing the visitors by double digits, 22-12. Creedon sandwiched a three and a field goal around a triple from McCoy, Veiking added a triple of his own, and a minute later, McCoy had another triple as the Hornets’ lead grew to 55-26 just three minutes into the third.
“It was a clinic,” Vaughan said. “I thought we were locked in yesterday [at practice]. You never know how young men will respond to a situation. We didn’t have a week to prepare for [Foley’s injury], we had one practice. The kids showed up today, they were locked in on offense, they were locked in on defense, and they really put on a clinic.”
A traditional three-point play from Colby started the fourth quarter and Mansfield’s lead — in an Elite 8 game in the state tournament – hit 30 points. The Hornets held the Magicians to 12 or fewer points in the first three quarters while Colby helped keep crafty Marblehead guard Tyrone Countrymon to 15 points (nine through three quarters).
“I think we were overwhelming on both ends of the floor for them tonight,” Vaughan said. “The defensive end, I think you can watch us on film and if you don’t get to play us, you don’t know how good we are defensively. The players are prepared to really navigate the game, and they can force guys into shots and into things out of character. We’re not trying to pitch a shutout, we just try to minimize opportunities. We can’t get away with some things in our league but out of the league, we can make it difficult for teams to score.”
Sophomore Sean McCoy dished out a pair of assists in the fourth quarter, senior Michael Creedon added to the scoring column with a strong take, and freshman Gabe McIntyre drained a three to get the Hornets to their final score.
Mansfield boys basketball (24-2) will take on Nashoba in the Final Four with a spot in the state championship on the line. The date, time, and location for the game is still to be announced.
