Nick Amenta, sophomore guard for the St. Mary’s High School boys basketball team, is off to a strong start in his varsity career.
Nick Amenta has seen the very best of St. Mary’s High School basketball. His sister, Cassi, was an All-Star player for the Lady Spartans when they won the state championship two years ago. Cassi is now playing basketball for Merrimack College.
As a freshman on the junior varsity last year, Amenta saw coach Kevin Moran’s St. Mary’s boys team bring home a state championship from the TD Garden in March.
Amenta, a sophomore who is 6-feet-1 and still growing, hopes to add his name to the list of state champions at the school. He certainly looks to be a big part of the program’s future after a sterling 14-point performance in the opening game of the Boverini Tournament.
Amenta swished four three-pointers as St. Mary’s pulled away from Lynn Tech in the second half of a 56-44 victory. St. Mary’s outscored the Tigers, 22-4, in the telltale third quarter.
A starter for the JV team last season, Amenta is one of the varsity’s top reserves at the guard position. He possesses a nice outside shooting touch and has improved all of his skills since last season.
“Coach Moran is a great coach and if you listen to him, you’ll get better,” said Amenta. “I also worked on my shooting a lot this summer. I played basketball every day until it got dark.”
Amenta said watching his sister play basketball in high school and college has helped him refine his game.
“She’s a great basketball player and she helped me out a lot,” said Amenta. “Whenever I struggled with my game, she let me know how to get through it. We live next to the Lynn Woods court, so we used to go down there all the time and play one on one.”
Asked whether he can become as big a star and as clutch a performer as sister Cassi was – especially so during the Lady Spartans’ run in the 2011 State Tournament – Nick chose to focus on the team’s outlook.
“If we come together as a team and spread the ball around, I think we have a chance to be very successful,” said Amenta. “I’m glad we have the seniors and captains we do on this team. We’re like a family.”
Just like Cassi, Nick is a team player.