Dylan Caruso eyeing breakout sophomore season for Mansfield

The raw appeal of a player like Mansfield sophomore forward Dylan Caruso is easy to spot.

“Everybody wants to have a 6’9″ kid that can play,” Lions head coach Terry Writer said.

Mansfield’s lucky enough to say they’ll have one not just this year, but for the next two seasons after this one. Caruso is poised to break out this year after he averaged 12 points per game as a freshman – and three blocks per game.

“My coach tells me to be offensively minded,” Caruso says. “I kind of get into a thing where I don’t want to be too much of the scoring. I tend to pass too much. he tells me to post up and score so that’s what I’m trying to work on.”

“It allows you to have someone you can go to inside to rebound, block shots, and just clog up the middle,” Writer says. “It lets our guards be a little more active and not have to worry about giving up the lay-ups. And it’s someone you can go to inside when you need a basket.”

Dylan has a lot of God given talent, but a lot of his skills come from playing one on one with his older brother Jacob, who graduated from Mansfield in 2015. Jacob was 6’6″ and gave Dylan a ruthless target to defend.

“He’s been there and done that,” Caruso said. “He played in big games. He’s pretty much a second coach for me.”

His first coach is thrilled to have him for nearly three more full seasons.

“I think he’ll be a dominant player because he’s an already dominant player,” Writer projects. “As he gets stronger he’ll become a really well rounded player.”

If Dylan’s talent matches his potential, he and his teammates have some high goals for his remaining time at Mansfield.

“I just want us to go win state as many years as I can in high school,” Caruso said.

After a sectional appearance last year, who knows how far Caruso and these Lions can go this year?