6Senior Diesenroth is a two-sport athlete; both a cross-country standout and a two-year starter for the basketball team.

In terms of basketball, Disenroth, who towers at 6’2″, has no trouble shooting the three-ball. In his junior year, he averaged five points and five rebounds.

After losing in the first round of the playoffs to Wellesley, Diesenroth was determined that he would make his next year shine. He started lifting weights and got a professional trainer.

I trained with my coach 3 times a week and put up a thousand shots a day,” Diesenroth said. “After a few weeks, I saw lots of progress in my game and my strength.”

A few months after he started training, Diesenroth got invited to join a select AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) team.

This team had some of the most skilled players in the state. There were multiple Division 1 players and a very experienced coach who had been a part of a few historic college teams.   

“We traveled all over New England and we got invited to play in a few tournaments in Georgia and Kansas,” Diesenroth recalled.

Diesenroth was a third-team all-star during his eight-tournament season, averaging 10 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. 

“I had one tournament where I was unstoppable. No one could guard me and I couldn’t miss,” he beamed.

His father, Josh Diesenroth, was just as proud.

“I have never seen anything like it, it was definitely the best performance of his life,” he said.

Recently, the younger Diesenroth was the MVP for his bracket. He scored a game-high of 27 and 15 rebounds. He gained lots of college interest from Division 3 teams all over the state and an offer to play for Hilbert Men’s Basketball in New York. 

“I was very blessed for this opportunity that Coach Degrandpre had given me, but I wasn’t satisfied,” said Deisenroth.  

In mid-November, the Hopkinton varsity team had begun. 

“This year, we only lost two players due to graduating. Our team has lots of chemistry since most of us have been playing with each other since we first picked up a ball,” Deisenroth described. “Most of us have played for and trained with highly skilled coaches, our team doesn’t have a drop-off in skill. We have a very deep roster.”

Coach Gaudette, Assistant Coach for the Hillers said, “This year is going to be special, with Deisnroth and Chatten [co-captainleading the way.”

“Being in the TVL-Large conference we had 20 games scheduled. We started off the season hot, beating the rainy TVL champs in Norwood 3-1,” Gaudette said. “The Hillers got into a tough part of the season playing some of the best Division 1 teams in non-league. They quickly fell to 4-4, losing 3 games by a total of 10 points. They were all hard-fought games. There was no skill or size gap between the teams. It went down to who was hitting shots. We the coaches weren’t disappointed in the team: we knew the team we saw was going to be great.”

Through hard work and lots of 8 AM practices, the Hillers got even better. They went on to become one of the best teams in the TVL-Large, losing in overtime in the championship game by 1 point. The team finished the season 14-6 and got a bid in the Division 1 state tournament. 

“We went into the tournament at the 36th seed, so the team knew we were going to play a team very similar to us. We as a coaching staff had an idea of a few teams that were probably going to play, Brookline being one,” Gaudette said. 

“I worked hard all on and off-season and this season was a grind, but it definitely paid off,” said Deisenroth.

A few weeks after the season, Deisenroth became the interest of colleges from all over New England. 

Yet he had a particular one in mind . . . after sharing lots of thought with his family and friends, he committed to play basketball at Endicott University, as he had a great impression of Coach Bettencourt. Go Gulls!