Author: Layla Penn

Layla Penn

Two days after the varsity roster was locked in, the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School boys’ basketball team met in the War Memorial Gym. It was media day, so the players posed, dribbled balls, and flashed smiles for the camera.

Teammates hung around, hyping each other up and offering tips on how to pose. The photos captured more than just their faces; they captured the start of a new season, the promise of fresh talent, and the foundation of what could become the program’s next great chapter.
“Once you put on this uniform, you become part of the legacy right away,” said head coach Geo Rodriguez, 42.

The CRLS boys’ team went 16-6 last season. This season, the team has eight seniors on the roster, and two of those players have been on varsity since their freshman year.

The program is built on the tradition and legacy of Cambridge basketball, emphasizing accountability, effort and pace on the court, Rodriguez said. Off the court, he said, the expectations are just as high, with the staff focused on developing players into responsible young men.

Looking ahead to the season poses an opportunity to reflect on the rich history of the basketball program. The boys’ team won back-to-back state championships in 2016 and 2017 and is seeking another title.

Hall of Fame precedent

CRLS has had many notable players, none more so than Basketball Hall of Fame member Patrick Ewing, whose teams won multiple state championships. He starred at Georgetown, became NBA rookie of the year in 1986 and the 10th player in NBA history to record 22,000 points and 10,000 rebounds. Ewing’s coach was Mike Jarvis, who played at the Rindge Technical School before the merger of Rindge and Latin, and had a long and successful collegiate coaching career.

Other talented alumni Rodriguez mentioned include Jeffery White Jr. (Class of ’24), a sophomore forward at Lasell University, and Paris Moses (Class of ‘25), who is attending Suffield Academy in Connecticut for a postgraduate year to play basketball.

The team has new faces this season, including on the coaching staff. Devon Velez, 34, said that he took the assistant coaching role to help his players grow and mature, something that he experienced during his own high school basketball career. “The most important thing is for them to be able to mature and go on to bigger and better things in life,” Velez said.

Sophomore Kabir Varanasi, an addition to the varsity roster, said he is nervous about playing in front of a larger crowd but has goals for stepping into his new role.

“I want to be the best that I can be out on the court,” Varanasi said.

Senior captain Imam Firmin, a varsity veteran, has used the nerves to lock into the game and play better.

“It’s always good to be nervous, because that means you’re ready,” Firmin said. “Personally, I like to use my nerves for my own benefit.”

Senior captain Morris Lichtenstein said tryouts helped players get conditioned and reconnect. The 2026 Prep Hoops – a network that provides exposure to high school athletes – listed Lichtenstein on its watch list of “players with major potential.”

“It’s a rich history program,” Rodriguez said. “We’re all grateful and proud to be part of it.”

The team kicks off its season with a home opener against rival Brockton on Friday, Dec. 12, at 7 p.m.

This story is part of a partnership between Cambridge Day and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

Layla Penn

Players, coaches, family and friends gathered recently in the Putnam Avenue Upper School gymnasium to celebrate an addition to the Cambridge Basketball Lab: a new shooting machine.

Jai’Lyse Gomes-Keel, a Cambridge Rindge and Latin School freshman, gripped a pair of abnormally large scissors and snipped through a red ribbon at last week’s ceremony, a symbolic moment that marked an upgrade to the basketball program’s training facilities and a new sense of hope for the program.
The machine can automatically rebound and return balls to players, track shooting and simulate game-speed passing, features that the lab didn’t have. The upgrade will allow players to get extra reps per session and improve individual skill work without requiring multiple staff members.

The shooting machine – which cost several thousand dollars, according to lab founder Matthew Meyersohn – was funded by the Kito Jackson Scholarship Fund, Cambridge Community Foundation, The Foundation To Be Named Later, and donations in memory of Kathleen Hintlian and Kelly Boshar.

The new machine, a Dr. Dish CT+, features a hoop surrounded by netting that guides the balls into a central chute to be rebounded back to the next player. Its screen displays shots made, attempts and other features.

The Cambridge Basketball Lab, which Meyersohn founded in 2023, is a co-ed basketball mentorship and skill development program offered to athletes in elementary school through high school. Some 488 student athletes, led by volunteer coach mentors, are enrolled in the program. It is supported by the Cambridge Recreation Department, which helps cover staffing costs, and the Cambridge Public schools, which donates gym space.

Lichtenstein said that the program has helped her prepare for high school basketball as well as giving her hopes of playing in college.

After the speeches, the gym split into small teams for a shooting competition. Teams included representatives from the Cambridge Recreation Department, Town Hall and Cambridge Public Schools, all of which helped make the purchase of the shooting machine a reality.

After last Wednesday’s ceremony, staff and city officials spoke about what the upgrade will mean for local athletes.

“It’s a great feeling to be here,” said Matthew Nelson, 45, operations director in the city manager’s office. “I was here a few years ago when they were at the high school, and one thing I was amazed about was to have this many basketballs and this many young people in a gym, and everyone is doing the workouts and they’re actually here to learn and do the drills and get better.”

Cayla Lichtenstein and Monzer Mhiuldin, both 14, said they expect the new technology will shape their training. “It feels great because I’ve been coming here since 2023, and the technology just keeps improving, and I can just keep getting better,” Mhiuldin said.

Each team had an adult leader and three lab players, while the rest of the athletes sat behind the team they supported. The teams rotated through timed shooting rounds. The losing team, they were warned, would finish with push-ups. Nelson, Cambridge Recreation Director Adam Corbeil, and Dave Murphy, superintendent of the Cambridge public schools and former CRLS principal, each served as team captains. Murphy’s team, including Morris Lichtenstein, CRLS senior Nada Elfathy, and Gomes-Keel, won the competition.

As the event wrapped up and players warmed up for their regular practice, supporters reflected on what the new machine means for the program. “It’s a blessing,” Corbeil, 47, said. Corbeil said he worked in Cambridge for decades and has watched the coaches and mentors grow up in similar programs, leading to the current program.

The staff at the lab were overjoyed with the new addition and the turnout at the event. “It was a fantastic feeling for all of us as coach mentors, and everyone that has been a part of the program to be able to provide this to our youth,” Meyersohn said.

This story is part of a partnership between Cambridge Day and the Boston University Department of Journalism.