Woumn continues to impress

BOSTON – Coming into this year’s state tournament, everyone knew Ryan Woumn was a nice guard.Sure, he was the most valuable player of the Northeastern Conference-Large. And sure, he was the catalyst not only for English’s high-powered offense, but its stifling defense, too.But did anyone know he was this good? Doubtful. Other than himself, maybe, and his coach, and his teammates.There can be no doubt today, however, that Ryan Woumn, a junior who grew up on the East Lynn Pop Warner fields and youth basketball courts, is, indeed, in the elite of Massachusetts point guards.Sunday, when English took the floor against Central Catholic, he had the arduous task of guarding all-star guard Billy Marsden. He did.And Tuesday night, his job was to contain shifty point guard Henry Vargas of Brockton. He did that, too.So in the course of two days, Woumn went up against “the guard” twice ? and outplayed “the guard” twice.”Hmmm. I don’t know what to say about that,” mused Woumn. “They’re two different players. That Vargas ? he’s quick. He makes one move and he’s by you. He’s awfully difficult to guard.”Woumn scored 39 points in English’s 90-83 Decathlon at the Garden Tuesday in the Division 1 state boys basketball semifinal, while Vargas managed 20. Both were clutch. But in the end, Woumn had just a little more.Well, a lot more, actually.”He’s the very definition of stepping up your game,” said English coach Buzzy Barton. “He’s just taken us on his back this whole tournament.”Woumn had plenty of help. Jeremy Subervi, perhaps the most unheralded player on the team, had a huge 12 points, six of them in the overtime session that Woumn forced by hitting two clutch free throws with nine seconds left in regulation.”He just went to the basket aggressively,” Barton said of Subervi. “He’s our best three-point shooter, but he went to the hoop.”But it all began and ended with Woumn, who was always there to make the big play when the Dogs needed one. And he freely admitted that he and the Bulldogs felt a decided lack of respect coming into the tournament.”Everyone doubted us,” he said. “(All the newspaper blogs) said we couldn’t do it. They said Lynn English lost in the first round last year, and they were flukes and all that.”Everyone doubted us ? but us.”As effective as he was on offense, he was just as effective on the other end. Neither he nor the rest of his team took a play off the whole game.”Offense may win games,” Subervi said, “but defense wins championships. That’s our game. Defense ? defense ? defense.”That, said scout and assistant Steve Brown, and coaching.”This coaching staff prepared the kids perfectly for this game,” said Brown, a longtime assistant, supporter, referee, and all-around hoop aficionado. “And (assistant) Justin Fucile scouted them perfectly.””This team never quit,” said Barton. “We were down late against Cambridge (in the first game of the tournament), and that set the tone.”