NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Brooks School is known much more for academics than athletics. Academically, it’s in a class with few peers among the NEPSAC schools, and it has a campus that’s right up there with the best of them in the very nice suburbs well north of Boston. The basketball program has had some notable players in recent years, including former Connecticut and Missouri forward Alex Oriakhi, and while they don’t have an individual talent on quite that level in 2013-14, they will be a team to keep an eye on.
Brooks will field a young team this season, but figures to be competitive if their younger and more talented players grow up. They have made the NEPSAC Class B semifinals three years in a row and hope to take at least a step further this time around.
The player who will make this team go is Ikenna Ndugba (6’0″ So. PG, Boston (MA)). The talented floor leader sat out Tuesday’s workout due to an ankle injury, but worked out on the side and also kept an eye on the play on the court. While he was at it, he was supporting his teammates and guiding them the way a point guard needs to lead his team. That was a big positive, and they will need him to be a leader despite being one of the younger players on the team at age 15.
Like Ndugba, Lavar Harewood (6’2″ Jr. SG, Brooklyn (NY)) played with the Expressions Elite travel program during the off-season. However, he’s been under the radar a bit from being banged up a lot over the last year. The well-built guard started slowly on Tuesday, but eventually started to hit shots from deep and made a couple of nice passes. The big area for improvement is his dribble, as he tends to go high with it and that lessens his effectiveness driving.
Behind Ndugba and to a lesser extent Harewood is Ethan Gabert-Doyon (5’10” Fr. PG-SG, Montreal (Que.)), who is also the cross country team’s top runner. An aggressive guard, he drove often and looks like he has some playmaker in him as he made some passes on the go. While he can hit from long range, his release looked much better off the catch than off the dribble, as in the latter case he appears to turn his body slightly.
Kyle Neyman (Fr. PG, North Andover (MA)) will also figure into the mix as he looks like a heady guard whose body has a ways to go. Two more guards who sat out Tuesday’s workout with knee injuries are Francisco Zeno (5’11” Sr. PG, New York (NY)) and Dontae Christian (6’0″ Jr. PG, New York (NY)). Christian started some games last season and should be in the rotation again this season.
Tamenang Choh (6’3″ So. SF, Lowell (MA)) will also figure into the perimeter rotation. His body has a ways to go, but he’s athletic and has a little length. He got hurt early in Tuesday’s workout. Ceasar Adim (6’3″ So. SF, Boston (MA)) may have more potential, as he needs to improve his ball skills but got better as the workout went on and is athletic. Also a starter for the soccer team, he’ll need to upgrade the ball skills, but could be the classic complementary player who helps from knowing how to play off others. In particular, he did a nice job one time of getting back on defense to thwart a transition attempt.
The frontcourt has some promise, including the team’s most intriguing prospect in Charlie Crockett (6’8″ Jr. PF, Norwood (MA)). Possessing a solid post body, he’s been well under the radar to this point and looks like someone who hasn’t been coached much, as he tries to go a little too fast with his post moves. But there’s a lot to like, as he has a great motor, uses his body well to battle inside and get rebounds, and he’s aggressive enough to try to score anytime he gets it on the low block. In addition, he hit a few mid-range jumpers facing the basket and got up and down the floor well. As if that’s not enough, he might not be done growing yet as he wears a size 20 shoe.
Aser Ghebremichael (6’7″ Jr. SF-PF, Somerville (MA)) is a baby physically who hit a few mid-range jumpers on the day and showed his mettle by valiantly trying to defend the more physically mature Crockett on the post at times. He’s more of an upside player, especially as he has shown some good improvement in recent months. Nate Leeson (6’4″ Sr. PF, Marblehead (MA)), who will row crew in college, will battle inside and complement others while on the floor.
Brooks will play their usual Independent School League-laden schedule, with an additional appearance in the Hoop Dreams Magazine Prep Classic against the MacDuffie School and a tournament at Kingswood Oxford.
Tuesday’s open gym wasn’t a showcase of the entire team due to injuries. Head coach John McVeigh expects them to be healthy when the season starts, and from there the big question will be leadership with just two seniors. That’s where Ndugba, who has played on some big stages already in his young career, comes in, as he’s the point guard and has to show the leadership capabilities his time on Tuesday suggest he has. If that happens, they might take the step they haven’t quite been able to the past three seasons.
