Caden Sullivan and Teagan Swint will pause friendship for D1 basketball state championship
WORCESTER – Basketball binds Franklin's Caden Sullivan and Newton North's Teagan Swint.
The seniors will lead their teams chasing the Division 1 state championship at 6 p.m. Sunday at Tsongas Center in Lowell. They're facing off for the first time in their high school careers on the biggest stage after forming a friendship on the same court.
Both Sullivan and Swint played for the Middlesex Magic AAU program throughout their high school careers. They practiced together in the same gym for more than 100 hours and connected even more on road trips, in hotel rooms and over meals.
"The team we played on is super close, we still text each other," Swint said.
Swint told Sullivan about a year ago that he's always about basketball.
"I love it because we have the same thing where it’s just basketball, basketball, basketball and he’s a competitor who wants to win," Sullivan said. "I see it in him. Every day he’s getting in the gym before school, getting in the gym after school. I love that mentality. He’s an awesome basketball player, awesome kid. We have the same look on it. We want to be the best we can be and push ourselves to be better than what we are now."
MVPs and teammates
They're both great. Swint was named the Bay State Carey MVP and nominated for the McDonald's All-America game. He will play at Johns Hopkins next season and is the No. 36-ranked recruit (No. 2 among public school players) in Massachusetts according to the New England Recruiting report.
The 6-foot-4 guard can play any position at the high school level. He rebounds well for his size, particularly on his own misses on top of being a deadeye shooter and dangerous attacking the rim.
"Teagan's a winner," Middlesex Magic Director Michael Crotty said. "He's been that guy for them for a couple of years. He's a double-double machine."
Sullivan, meanwhile, seized his lone opportunity with the reigns of Franklin's program. He blossomed into the Panthers' leader and best player this season averaging nearly 23 points per game. The 6-foot-2 guard was named the Hockomock MVP and scored his 1,000th point in the Round of 16 after setting Franklin's single season-scoring record (which he adds to with every basket). Sullivan can always get to the rim despite his size but also makes defenses pay with a dangerous outside shot and timely passing.
"Caden’s just that guy. You realize right away that his instincts are second to none," Crotty said. "He just continued to work at his game when maybe the outside world thought keep playing that golf game that he’s so good at. He just continued to improve his skill, and his athleticism is really high. He’s fast, he’s quick, he’s strong. When you’ pair all that together you get a guy that’s incredibly difficult to stop, defensively with all of those attributes, he brings a toughness and a willpower and a determination to win that throws it over the edge. He's been amazing to watch."
Both players are wired in the same way. If something doesn't go their way, neither player puts their head down, pouts or yells at the referees or their teammates.
"Both Caden and Teagan have a quiet resilience," Crotty said. "They just dig deeper."
'No friends on the court'
Despite both programs' runaway success during their tenures with multiple Final Four appearances and a state final berth for each, Sullivan and Swint have never played against each other in a high school game. Instead of marveling and Swint's transition 3s from NBA range, Sullivan will need to figure out a way to stop them.
"I'm used to having him on my team hitting these transition 3s," Sullivan said. "It’s going to be pretty hard. We’re gonna have to live with some of the shots he hits, because I know he’s going to hit a few because he’s a great shooter and can get to the rim. It’s hard to contain him, but we’re going to do the best we can and try to get the job done."
Swint will try to treat Sullivan like any other opponent, despite their history and friendship.
"There's no friends on the court," Swint said. "We know he's super good. We're gonna need to take him away and figure out a way to slow him down."
The 32 minutes of the state final will pause their friendship. Either way, it's the last game both of their high school careers. One will celebrate with a trophy. The other will likely wipe tears with a jersey he's wearing for the final time.
"We’re both going to want to win in the biggest game in the state, biggest game of the year," Sullivan said. "Those 32 minutes we’re going to be competitors, probably not going to be friends on the court, but before and after the game no matter how it goes I'm going to make sure I talk to him and tell him to, keep working hard and keep doing his thing. I wish the best for him no matter where he goes. Basketball brings relationships that will last forever."
Contact Kyle Grabowski at kgrabowski@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @kylegrbwsk.
This article originally appeared on The Milford Daily News: Caden Sullivan & Teagan Swint will pause friendship for a state title
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