RallyNorth.net

Peabody's Mello proves a consummate teammate

Tuesday, January, 29 By Mike Grenier
Staff writer

Danny Mello's favorite sport at Peabody High is baseball. Everybody knows it, including Tanners basketball coach Chris Mastrangelo.

So when the 5-foot-9 point guard tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in a hoop game against Waltham last winter, it was a devastating blow. Mello was out for the second half of the basketball season and lost his entire baseball season.

Mastrangelo wouldn't have been surprised or disappointed if Mello had put basketball away for good following the injury. "Nobody would have blamed him," said Mastrangelo. "He's a very good baseball player."

But Mello is an even better leader and teammate. He had surgery at Beverly Hospital last Feb. 17 and while he rehabbed in private, he wasn't about to brood at home. He showed up at every basketball practice and game for the remainder of the year and did the same thing throughout the baseball season.

It killed him not to play, but he had responsibilities he felt he had to live up to.

Mello was a captain-elect for basketball this season and wanted to see it through to the end. He volunteered to coach Peabody's summer league team and followed his doctor's orders so that he could be ready this winter.

As much as he loves baseball, it could wait.

"I had a lot of time to think about it," said Mello. "Everyone knows baseball is my sport, but I've also played basketball my whole life and wasn't going to quit. With medicine the way it is nowadays, I wasn't worried about my knee.

"Even when I was hurt, I felt I was still part of the team and I wanted to stay involved. Coach Mastrangelo depends on the captains to organize the summer league team and I figured if they didn't have a coach, it would be a good time for me to do it."

It would be nice to report that Mello is averaging 18 points and eight assists per game this season, but he's not that kind of player and Peabody isn't that kind of team. The 7-7 Tanners have to scrap and claw for everything and, in that context, Mello has been a huge plus.

He's averaging 8<1/2> points, three assists and two steals. He had a career high 30 points, including the key points in overtime, in a big win over Saugus, and had another strong game against Revere, scoring 18.

Mello is everything that Mastrangelo could have asked for | and more.

"His role is getting us under control at both ends of the floor," Mastrangelo said of Mello, who ranks in the top 10 percent of his class academically. "He's a really good on-the-ball defender. He's had to defend the other team's toughest guards, like Junior Lugo of Salem and Mike Clayton of Beverly. He's gotten big baskets for us and, overall, he's a very intelligent player.

"But you know what? Danny would be valuable to us even if he didn't score a single point. He didn't have to come back, but he took his captaincy very seriously."

Mello is loving the atmosphere of Peabody's first season in the Northeastern Conference. He cites games against Beverly, Lynn Classical and Salem as examples where the player/crowd intensity really stood out. "We're into it (as players) and I think the crowds are way better (than most Greater Boston League games)," said Mello.

With the Tanners on the proverbial bubble, the goal now is to help the team qualify for the state tournament.

"The coaches have said that we've made the state tourney for seven straight years," said Mello. "We don't want to break that streak."