After some summer turbulence, the Cranston East boys’ basketball team has found the person to get it back on track.

Isaiah McDaniel, 2004 graduate of East and assistant football coach since 2006, was hired as the boys’ basketball head coach in July. Cranston Athletic Director Vincent Varrecchione said there were numerous candidates for the open position, but McDaniel fit the bill with his strong “ties to the school and the community.”

“The biggest reason we went with Isaiah was, observing him, the respect he has from these kids in the school and the way he interacts with kids,” Varrecchione said. “He’s such a great role model for these kids, you can just tell from the way he interacts with these kids.”

McDaniel said he was “elated” to learn he would be returning to his old stomping grounds. He starred on the basketball team during his career at East, which included back-to-back state championships from 2002-04.

The winning pedigree that McDaniel carries with him should get East in contention for a deep postseason run.

“It’s an honor, it really is,” McDaniel, who teaches at East, said. “Just the sense of pride I have in the program, in the school, in the community. It’s just an honor to come back and rebuild something that once was a great program in the state of Rhode Island.”

The ’Bolts will have extra motivation this winter after tragedy struck a couple months ago. The team was informed of the untimely passing of head coach John Smith at the age of 42. Smith coached East through for the past four seasons, but his contract was not renewed for this year.

The players had a close relationship with Smith, and McDaniel said they have already started planning a way to celebrate his memory in 2016-17.

“I don’t know what they want to do, but I was asked if they could wear some type of patch on their uniform,” McDaniel said. “They want to do something. A fundraiser where they donate the money to charity, or a patch on the uniform.

“It’s a sad thing, he was close with a lot of the kids. He had a good relationship with a lot of them, but those are things you have to embrace. Those are the things you have to look at, the positives. They really do have a sense of love for him.”

Varrecchione said that one of Smith’s best qualities was that there was never any “ego involved,” and it showed through his team on the court, too. East quietly caught fire towards the end of the season to squeak into the postseason with a 6-10 record.

That team will return some of its best players, too. Two of East’s top scorers, Aireus Raspberry and Sam Hanley, will be on the roster in the winter. They combined to average over 20 points a game. Hanley, entering his senior season, will be relied on for more leadership, too, while sophomore Raspberry is a signal of the youth movement to come for the ’Bolts.

Part of that youth movement includes juniors Joseph Hernandez and Janzel Liberata. Hernandez pestered defenses last season, while Liberata could lock in from beyond the arc at will.

Combining the incumbent squad with some promising junior varsity talent, and his existing relationship with some through football, McDaniel will bring his unique style to a team with potential to make a run.

“Really just bringing a hard-hat mentality to practice every day and making the kids understand every night will be a battle on the basketball court,” McDaniel said of the mentality he will bring to the program. “You’re going to get a team on the basketball court that will play 30 minutes with you. You have to be ready. There won’t be any letups. You have to get better every day in practice and good things will happen for you.”