BETHEL – His father, Bill, was a star at Thornton Academy. His cousin, T.J. Caouette, became a legend at Winthrop High School and went on to play Division I at Villanova. So it’s been apparent for some time that Sean Caddigan was destined for a special career at Telstar Regional High School.
In fact, Caddigan’s reputation preceded him to the point where Kinsey Durgin, who became the school’s all-time leading scorer when Caddigan was a freshman, knew he would soon be relegated to second place as soon as he set the mark.
“Right when Kinsey broke the record, I guess he was talking to our coach then, Alec Newell, and I guess he said. Well, the record’s only going to stand for three years,'” Caddigan said.
Indeed, Caddigan, now a senior, eclipsed Durgin’s 1,109 career points Wednesday night. Needing just 10 for the record, he scored 27 points in a win over Monmouth. It was a milestone he’s been shooting for as a three-year starter for the Rebels.
“My cousin almost scored 2,000 points, so that’s definitely been a goal of mine,” said Caddigan who, like his cousin, is a pretty good golfer, too, having helped the Rebels win back-to-back state titles. “And my dad scored 900-something so I was like, I’ve got to beat him.’
He won’t catch his cousin, who is now working in finance in Washington, D.C., but Caddigan remembers going to the Augusta Civic Center as a youngster to catch Caouette as he dominated during tournament time.
“He was a big guy, but he could shoot,” said Caddigan, who made a few ACC memories of his own last year with a 30-point performance against Traip. “He’s definitely been a big inspiration.”
Caddigan can shoot, too. And it isn’t just because of his pedigree.
“He’s studied the game,” said his father, Bill, who coached Sean through middle school and is now in his first year coaching him at the varsity level. “He’s worked on footwork as well as release.”
“He’s a pretty self-motivated young man,” he added. “I admire his work ethic.”
Caddigan has put that work ethic to good use in the classroom, as a member of the National Honor Society, and on the court, where he has had to hone his game to combat the increasing attention he’s getting from opposing defenses.
While he doesn’t share his cousin’s size (Caouette was 6-foot-7 at Winthrop, Caddigan barely reaches 6-feet), he’s made a concerted effort to play bigger and go into the low post more. Because he’s a marked man, he’s had to work harder to get open, but, on the flip side, he’s also finding more open teammates.
“I’ve seen two box-and-ones. Anytime I get the ball, they’d send two guys at me,” he said. “I’ve had to move a lot more off the ball and just try to create more shots instead of just getting an open look.”
As one of only two seniors on a team that doesn’t have much depth, Caddigan has had to take on added scoring and leadership burdens this year. He’s gone to the bench for a rest only once this season, “and that was for about 20 seconds,” he said. He admitted he’s starting to wear down physically.
“It’s been a long season,” Caddigan said. “I’ve just been getting over a cold, so (Wednesday night’s game against Monmouth) was pretty tough.”
The Rebels have survived a rough early schedule and are at .500 (3-3) heading into the dog days of the season. If Caddigan gets his second win, they could be pointing at a return to Augusta.
“We have to win all of the games we should win,” he said. “We can’t slip up anywhere.”
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