Tough love and a last-second free throw: How Nantucket coach Willis Ferreira won 400 games

SOUTH YARMOUTH - 02/07/23 - Nantucket head coach Willis Ferreira poses with his team for photos after earning his 400th career win. Merrily Cassidy/Cape Cod Times.

SOUTH YARMOUTH — For the sixth straight time, the Nantucket High School boys basketball team defeated Dennis, on Tuesday night with a 49-48 victory. That marks the Whalers' third consecutive season of sweeping the Dolphins.

As impressive as those numbers are, the biggest milestone was a different one. The dramatic victory, which was sealed with a late free throw from senior Karlson Wellington, scored Nantucket coach Willis Ferreira his 400th career victory as a basketball coach with the Whalers.

“You can’t win that many games without first of all being there long,” Ferreira said. “I’ve had great assistant coaches, and I’ve had great players along the way. Do I think I’m a good coach? I think I’m OK. I don’t think I’m the best, but I still have a lot of work to do still. The milestones come with just longevity.”

D-Y coach Donta Phillips (left) and Nantucket coach Willis Ferreira share a laugh on the sidelines during a short break in the final minutes of Tuesday’s game.

Ferreira is in his 11th season as the boys head coach, and before that, he coached the Nantucket girls for 19 years. That stretch started in 1993.

“Just going to the gym every day for 30 years and doing what I love,” Ferreira said. “I still love game day. When the season is over or I retire, I can look back at those things and say, ‘Hey, maybe I was OK.’ I just want to give back to the community I grew up in.”

As Ferreira was talking to D-Y coach Donta Phillips after the game, he turned around and there were his players, coaches, and family huddled up waiting for him. As they announced his milestone, they all gathered around him with smiles and laughs, jumping up and down in celebration. 

“For one, he’s always got a scrappy team. They play well on defense and they’re aggressive all the time,” Phillips said. “They get up and down the court, so we always have to be alert and ready when you play those guys. Congratulations to him for 400 wins. You have to be around, and winning, to get there.”

Wellington has played for Ferreira all four years of his varsity career.

Nantucket coach Willis Ferreira (left) talks with player Jayquan Francis in fourth quarter action on Tuesday in South Yarmouth. Merrily Cassidy/Cape Cod Times.

“He always pushes us in practice. He makes sure we’re working hard every single practice. He yells at us, disciplines us, but makes sure we’re doing the right thing all the time. He’s just a good coach,” Wellington said. 

Junior Jayquan Francis has played for Ferreira for the past three years.

“My freshman year, he was pretty hard on me,” Francis said. "This year, it’s not too difficult. He’s easy on you, and he will tell you when you're wrong or right. He mostly tells you when you’re wrong because it's tough love so you can get better, but that’s what I like. I need tough love so I can get better and fix my mistakes. He’s a great coach for that.” 

Ferreira’s career moment did not come easy against a familiar foe.

The Whalers led 21-9 in the second quarter following an 11-5 run. Following a timeout by D-Y, the Dolphins went on a 14-8 run and Nantucket only led 29-23 at halftime. 

“Defensively today I thought we were good in the first half. When it was 21-9, I thought we were rolling and sharing the ball, but they (D-Y) made a little run,” Ferreira said. “Guys started to do too much. Now, we’re going into double and triple teams. Give D-Y credit. They gave us everything that we could handle tonight and then some.”

D-Y coach Donta Phillips (left) and Nantucket coach Willis Ferreira react to one of the final plays during Tuesday’s game in South Yarmouth. Merrily Cassidy/Cape Cod Times.

After the third quarter, the game was tied 39-39.

“We kept turning the ball over because we try to move the ball so fast that we’re not thinking ahead. The other team took advantage of that and came back in the game,” Francis said. 

In the final period, the two teams battled back and forth for the entirety of the final frame. With five seconds left, Wellington was fouled with the game tied at 48 apiece. He made the first to give the Whalers a 49-48 lead. 

“We do free throws under pressure in practice. It felt kind of normal to me to take a breath, and hit the shot,” Wellington said. 

Wellington missed the second, and D-Y rebounded the ball with 3.6 seconds remaining with a chance to delay the historic milestone.

The Dolphins inbounded the ball to Wyatt Stevens, who dribbled the ball near half-court and passed the ball to his right. Trey McPherson caught the ball behind the 3-point point, but the shot, which was contested by Francis, rimmed out as the final horn sounded.

“We’ve lost four games by one (point), twice by two, and once by four. It's good to be on this end of it. We’ve been in this situation and haven’t always come out on top,” Ferreira said. 

Although this was a big night for Ferreira, he had other things on his mind for this game. 

“I was just worried about trying to get win number eight. We’ve been at .500 all year, or a game below .500. We missed way too many foul shots and turned the ball over way too many times, but we found a way today. We had just enough time on the clock where they had a tough shot at the end,” Ferriera said. 

D-Y’s Jermaine “JJ” Forskin (left) and Harrison Aristhomene block a fourth quarter pass by Nantucket’s Jack Halik on Tuesday in South Yarmouth. Merrily Cassidy/Cape Cod Times.

The Whalers are 8-7 on the season and stood at No. 19 in the latest MIAA Division 4 power ratings. The top 32 teams automatically make it, while teams ranked No. 33 and below have to have a record of .500 or better to qualify for a play-in game. 

“I think it all starts with practice. We all need to just work harder and push each other in practice and trust each other and we will be good for the playoffs,” Wellington said. 

The Whalers have five games remaining on the regular-season schedule.

“You can’t do it without players that buy into what you try to sell. If you don’t sell it right, they ain’t going to buy it. It’s been hard, but it's been rewarding at the same time,” Ferreira said.