By Kim J. Harmon

The popular Rising Star Summer Basketball League opened its third season this week at Treadwell Park.

Organized and facilitated by John Quinn (coach of the Newtown High School boys’ basketball team) and sponsored by the Newtown Parks and Recreation Department, the RSBL will feature five teams battling through the rest of the summer for a shot at a league title.

Games will be held Mondays and Wednesdays at Treadwell. All teams will qualify for the playoffs, which will be held towards the end of August.

Last week, the RSBL officially opened its third season with a Summer Basketball Clinic, led by coach Quinn. During the clinic, coach Quinn went over basic defensive drills (stance, balance, positioning and movements) as well as passing and shooting drills. About 30 players attended the clinic and had a chance to meet with four of their coaches.

Ryan Walker, Dan Murphy, Mark DeFeo and Colin Armstrong – all members of the NHS basketball team – will lead their respective teams this summer. Each team will number about 12 players, giving each team the flexibility it needs in the event that players leave on summer vacation or for other athletic commitments.

Several players – most notably, Andrew Fiscella, who had a solid freshman campaign – have spent time in the RSBL and went on to begin successful careers at Newtown High School.

In fact, it was Fiscella who scored 31 points - nine of those in the fourth quarter - to lead his team, St. John’s, to a 50-47 win over Boston College in the 2000 championship game of the RSBL.

Dave Anderson led Boston College in that game with 22 points.

In first year of the league, it was also the St. John’s team (with different players)_that won the league title.

Can the name be a good luck charm?

We’ll have to wait and see, won’t we?