Ten Best: St. Agnes at Brooklyn Center
Brooklyn Center 60, St. Agnes 51 MVP: Deshawn Pickford, Brooklyn Center It had to be Deshawn! With fellow senior Davonta Prince sitting out with a groin injury and illness, Pickford stepped up for the Centaurs. He scored 16 points, 12…
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Continue ReadingBrooklyn Center 60, St. Agnes 51
MVP: Deshawn Pickford, Brooklyn Center
It had to be Deshawn! With fellow senior Davonta Prince sitting out with a groin injury and illness, Pickford stepped up for the Centaurs. He scored 16 points, 12 of which were in the first half. When coach McCollister was frustrated with the rest of his team’s attitudes early, Pickford put his head down and carried BC to a halftime lead. He also threw his body in harm’s way, drawing several charges and rebounding with energy.
Best rebounder: Adreone Sprinkles, Brooklyn Center
Adreone led all rebounders with 10, giving himself a double-double with 10 points as well. He’s good in the paint as an undersized forward, and you have to like his future role with BC as he’s just a sophomore.
Most clutch player: Lu’Cye Patterson, Brooklyn Center
Patterson didn’t have a good game from the field; he shot 0-for-9. But at the end of the contest when Agnes was pressing him hard and fouling, Patterson kept composure, didn’t turn the ball over and converted at the free throw line. His late makes (7) at the charity stripe were essential to BC maintaining their lead.
Best quote: look at the empty banners hanging in the gym
In coach McCollister’s post-game talk, he reminded his team that BC doesn’t exactly have the tradition of a powerhouse hoops program. “Do you see the banner out there? It’s empty! We aren’t DeLaSalle,” he said. In a win that wasn’t always pretty, McCollister kept the Centaurs focused on the larger picture: a rebuilding effort and a culture change.
Closest comeback moment: Darius Lopez and-one
The second half comeback being mounted by St. Agnes was a very real possibility when senior guard Darius Lopez converted a tough lay-up and drew a foul. The extra free throw brought the score to 53-50 with 1:17 left, leaving just one basket between the teams. Unfortunately for the Aggies, BC then began to pull away and seal the win.
Best shooter: Deshawn Pickford, BC
Deshawn’s 3-ball looks great, with a sharp release and a high arc, and he was accurate: 3-for-4 on Friday from the 3-point line. He could definitely fit in as a nice piece for a D3 college program somewhere.
Best coaching decision: St. Agnes putting emphasis on the paint
Coach Hopkins made it very clear to his team that Agnes was lacking in the paint. He scribbled on the hoop on his whiteboard and declared “THIS is where we need to focus.” Agnes came out from the break (down 33-21) and outscored BC 30-27 in the second half. They ended up outscoring BC 36-30 at the rim, but the halftime deficit proved to be too damaging to recover. Regardless, you could tell that Hopkins’ crew responded to his statement.
Best aspect of the environment: 6th graders looking up to the big kids
I love to see the youth coming and cheering on the varsity. Friday’s game had a halftime scrimmage for the 6th grade MPLS Fab team, and coach McCollister let the crew into the locker room after the game. You could tell that the youngsters were soaking it all in, and hopefully they were envisioning themselves as varsity players one day.
Top thing to watch moving forward: Can Brooklyn Center keep building?
BC loses two key pieces in Pickford and Prince this spring. They have a good freshman in Patterson and other underclassmen like Sprinkles and Rudwan Tahir, but there are plenty of other spots that need to be filled. There were a few freshmen on the varsity roster who I didn’t see on the floor, so maybe there’s some more youth there.