Groton - Charles Silvan comes by his reputation as a hard marker honestly. He played basketball at St. Bernard in the 80s and saw many of the greats, when the Saints weren’t merely a blueblood in the region, but a perennial state championship contender.

So when Silvan, the coach at Fitch, starts gushing about one of his players, know that the compliments have been well earned.

Silvan on Fitch senior Zander Timmerman: “A throwback. Something you would have seen in the 80s. The consummate glue guy. Nothing that would jump off the stat sheet. But at the end of the game, he's got six or seven points, a big three, four or five steals, always in the right place on defense. And he's an effort guy. He's a kid in practice who wins all the sprints. He lifts the kids up with energy every night he walks in.”

And to think Timmerman wasn’t even convinced he’d play all that much this season, upon learning that promising sophomore Xavier Goode transferred to Fitch from New London. An early season injury that sidelined Goode allowed Timmerman the opportunity.

“Our practices are very competitive. I don't really have to be a big scorer because we got guys who can do that,” Timmerman said. “So in practice, I just go hard to come up with the little things that are important for when we win.”

The Falcons had a four-game win streak snapped at St. Bernard on Monday night. They get their next chance to find space next to conference contenders Friday night at New London (7 p.m., theday.com).

“I feel like for the past couple of years, we've been the team that's always been slept on,” Timmerman said. “I feel like in the upcoming weeks we'll be the number one team to look out for.”

GameDay’s full video feature on Timmerman can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW-2BoVGZZ8&t=129s

Major ‘mid-major’ scheduling

Several factors determine the CIAC’s basketball playoff divisions, including a numerical designation for each of the state’s conferences. The ECC’s classification coincides with what would be considered a “mid-major” in college basketball.

Many ECC schools have scheduled like high majors this season.

The St. Bernard boys have already played No. 1 East Catholic, No. 3 Windsor and No. 7 Ridgefield, not to mention Malden (Ma.) Catholic, which defeated the Saints last year.

“It’s the only way to get better,” St. Bernard coach Mark Jones said.

New London has played Windsor, Bloomfield and Classical (R.I.) among others. The Fitch girls have played No. 2 Hamden and No. 9 E.O. Smith. Defending Class MM champion New London has played E.O. Smith and traveled out of state to play Boston Cathedral.

News and notes

The first notable in-season transfer came recently when freshman Lily Davis transferred from New London to Waterford. Davis’ impact was immediate, scoring 13 points in Waterford’s first win of the season versus Griswold. Davis later scored 11 in a loss to Branford and had eight points and three blocks in a loss to Bacon Academy. … Brady Hulland scored 35 points for RHAM during its win over Bacon Academy last week. Hulland’s father, Eric, is a New London police officer. … Assistant coach Jada Lucas coached the New London girls past NFA on Tuesday night. Lucas pinch hit for head coach Tammy Millsaps (personal matter). … Upcoming on GameDay: Fitch at New London on Friday and the Wheeler boys at Waterford on Tuesday the 16th. GameDay will have

m.dimauro@theday.com