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Athlete of the Week: Eric Alperin ’15

_Point guard Eric Alperin ’15 controls the pace of Andover Boys Basketball. A two-year Senior, Alperin has proven to be a significant asset to the team the past two seasons. An unquestioned leader and well-rounded player, Alperin not only scores skilfully, but also delivers the ball to his teammates all over the court. Alperin has hit ten three-pointers in his last three games. Over the same stretch of time, he has averaged 14 points and five assists per game. _

**What game have you been most proud of, both individually and team wise?**

A lot of my stronger individual performances don’t equate to the team winning the game, which is frustrating. It only matters if we win though. I played pretty efficiently against Avon, and we won. I think that I missed one shot that game. I shot the ball well against Tabor, so that was a good performance. As a team, we played so much better than we had been. A lot of the time this year, we have been off and on rhythm wise. There are some games that I have been in rhythm and others when I have not. I need to be more consistent and play with a better throughout the entire game, not just bits and pieces of it.

**What are your biggest strengths, not only as a player, but as a leader?**

As a point guard, I’m starting to do a better job of managing not only what I have to do, but manage everybody on the team. I have struggled with that this year at times, but I’m starting to get better at it. Being a leader, a lot of it is not how good I am [on the court], it’s more about the intangibles. Am I going to talk the most when no one else wants to talk? Communication is huge. I’m improving in that area. Being engaged in the game for the entire 48 minutes and not just being in it some of the time. My goal is to be engaged throughout the whole game.

**Being an impact player, what steps have you taken to be even better this year than last?**

Well, it all starts with my workouts at six in the morning. I go through basketball workouts before school a lot of days. Last year, we had a different team. We had a lot of guys who could score the ball. I would fill in wherever they needed me. I’ve really spent a lot of time in the gym working on my game. I’ve gotten a lot stronger and have done better at picking my spots: knowing when I can go and take over and when I can’t. Last year I struggled with timing. Sometimes, I would take ill-advised shots or become selfish. I didn’t always make the right plays for the team. Now I’m doing a better job at navigating between when to take the pedal off and let it come to me.

**What are your goals for the team as a whole?**

Our goal has always been to make the playoffs. If we make the playoffs, we feel that anything can happen. My personal goal for the team is to win a championship. I think that we can do that, and that it should never be waved off as something that we can’t accomplish. We have improved so much in the last three games. We are on the right track. We just need to start winning close games. That starts with me making the right amount of plays and making the right adjustments to close games.