Longtime Somerset Berkley boys basketball head coach Bob Slater knew how special a player Joe Nugent was going to be growing up.
From his stint at Somerset Berkley to his hay days at Talbor Academy, Nugent had his fingerprints all over the hardwood court.
Now the 6-6 Berkley native is taking his game to another level.
“We saw growth his first year he played (here),” Slater said. “He started on freshmen team moved up to JVs and by years end, he was became our sixth man.”
Now, Nugent has upped his game since committing to NCAA Division I College of the Holy Cross basketball program in 2022.
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In his first season for Crusaders, Nugent averaged 6.2 points per game and shot 40% from beyond the arc. As a sophomore this winter, he has doubled his average to 12.3 points per game — second on the team — and is shooting 44% from distance. Nugent had a season-high 27 points earlier this season against Rhode Island.
“You could definitely see he benefitted by playing at a prep school,” Slater said.
Nugent played for Somerset Berkley for three years before moving on to Tabor Academy in Marion.
His final season for the Raiders, he was among the top scorers in the South Coast Conference in 2020-21. Nugent finished that year averaging 23.6 points per game while grabbing nearly 10 boards per game.
He was deadly from beyond the 3-point stripe with 37 3-pointers. Nugent, who was a South Coast Conference all-star, had 18 blocks and 21 assists in 10 games for SBR in a shorten COVID season.
Nugent played a big role in the Seawolves overall improvement in his two-year stint. He led the team in scoring (22.3) and rebounds (8.7). He was named to the All-Independent School League all-star team.
Nugent comes from a family loaded with athletic talent.
His dad, Michael Nugent, played basketball at Merrimack College. Nugent’s mom, Raffaella (Paparo) Nugent, helped lead the Apponequet softball team to a state championship during her senior year in 1992. She then went on to capture a college national championship while playing for Merrimack College.
His younger sister Gabriella Nugent, who currently plays softball at Talbor, recently committed to Holy Cross this past fall.
Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette sports editor Steven Sanchez can be reached at ssanchez@heraldnews.com. You can follow him on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @Chezsports.
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