BEVERLY — When the Division 2 North champion Beverly boys basketball team takes the court Wednesday night at TD Garden against South champion Whitman-Hanson in the semifinals of the state Division 2 championship, the Panthers will be looking to extend their record-setting season and punch their ticket to their first-ever state championship final.
The Panthers have already raised the basketball bar in Beverly, setting a program mark for single-season wins (21 and counting) and winning the Northeastern Conference North title. The top-seeded Panthers made their first trip in school history to the sectional finals and won their first sectional championship in school history, defeating No. 3 Belmont 76-69 Saturday at Tsongas Center.
At the epicenter of the Panthers’ road to relevance is third-year head coach Matt Karakoudas, a Lynn resident and Peabody native who has instilled his blue-collar, lunch-bucket mentality in his players, resulting in a winning formula of toughness, grit and a never-say die attitude that Karakoudas says is now paying off in a big way.
“It took three years to get on track in Beverly,” said Karakoudas. “When I took the job, I was told that Beverly is not a basketball town and that while it was a great school and a great coaching job, Beverly would never challenge for a state title like I did in high school. The goal was to make Beverly a basketball city, and judging by the respect I see we are getting both in the community and beyond, I would say we have achieved that goal.”
Karakoudas, a Marblehead Municipal Light Department power lineman, grew up in Peabody and learned the game playing in the Peabody YMCA League. He attended Higgins Middle School, then moved on to St. Mary’s, where he played football and basketball, leading the Spartans’ basketball team to back-to-back state Division 4 championships in 2001 and 2002. A two-time Catholic Conference League All-Conference honoree, he was the league’s MVP his senior year in 2002 and a Globe and Herald All-Scholastic when the point guard averaged more than 20 points a game and posted 12 triple-doubles.
After graduating in 2002, Karakoudas played four years at Salem State. He said the highlight of his collegiate career was playing in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III tournament as a freshman in 2003 where the Vikings lost to eventual champion Williams.
“Winning back-to-back high school championships was so rare then, so that was an incredible accomplishment,” said Karakoudas. “That’s something you will have the rest of your life, but getting to the Sweet 16 was incredible. That league (NESCAC) is the equivalent of a mini-D1 league as there are so many great players who could have played D1.”
Prior to taking the Beverly job, Karakoudas spent four years at Pope John, leading the Tigers to a sectional final and two semifinals.
“When we made the finals, that was the best year in Pope John basketball, but I had heard the rumors and had a feeling the school was in trouble and going to close,” said Karakoudas. “I wanted to continue my coaching career and not be stuck, so the timing at Beverly was perfect.”
Karakoudas said his approach to taking what he perceived to be soft physical ethics and transforming it into a winning formula was simple.
“I brought the way I played the game, which was pretty basic, just a hard-nosed, in-your-face, gritty attitude and style of play with everyone in 110 percent for every minute of every practice and every game,” he said. “It was a matter of instilling mental and physical toughness in the players, which I didn’t see when I arrived. I think that we are one of the toughest teams mentally and physically in the tournament and that’s been key in getting to where we are now.
“Nobody really thought we could beat Belmont and many people thought we wouldn’t make it out of the first round even though we were the No. 1 seed. We played with a chip on our shoulder, but we have simply outworked everyone.”
Karakoudas said he has drawn inspiration from knowing what it means to win a state title.
“I was lucky to play for and win two state titles at the Garden and I know those feelings have always stuck with me and always will,” he said. “I want to get my team to that same point when the only reason you have to stop playing is because there aren’t any more games. We want to be one of the four teams who end the year happy. It’s such a special experience to play where the Celtics play and it’s something you will never forget.”