Eagles’ Returning Depth Helps Defeat PCA

Ron Bailey, Publisher

Hoops program a means to a larger end says coach.

January 23, 2007 – National Christian Academy (Fort Washington, MD) is annually one of the most talented teams in the Washington, D.C. area. Having graduated a slew of student-athletes who went on to play in college, recruiters from across the country frequently visit its campus.

Foes will have more to worry about now then they did in December, as Coach Trevor Brown’s already impressive roster recently received a boost with the return of junior forward Wilbur O’Neal and senior center Anthony McClain, to a frontline standing 6’9”, 6’6”, and 6’5”.

In National’s 63-51 victory over the also talented Progressive Christian Academy (Fort Washington, MD) Conquerors (their second of the season, click here for coverage of the first), that increased frontcourt depth played a key role (O’Neal supplied 7 points, 8 rebounds and McClain furnished 2 points, 4 blocks).

6'9" Gus Gilchrist (left) is seen here protecting the basket during foul shots with NCA's 7'0" Anthony McClain. Gus had to deal with not only McClain, but also three players above 6'5".

Progressive was led by senior center/forward Gus Gilchrist (15 points), a future Virginia Tech Hokie. All season long, Gilchrist has proven himself one of the best post players in the D.C. area.

To combat Gilchrist, Brown planned to fully take advantage of his options, by sending multiple players to defend Gus directly, and having other players provide defensive help as well. Though Gilchrist scored decently – many points coming from the foul line – he was unable to dominate the game.

“That was the plan, we have a lot of talent on this team” said Brown, when asked about his strategy of rotating multiple players on Gilchrist. A main cog in the plan was O’Neal, a strong, intense, 6’6” player that enjoys physical play.

After finding themselves down 33-25 at the half – in large degree due to National’s defensive focus - Progressive was able reduce their deficit to 41-40 by the third quarter’s end.

Progressive, coached by Van Whitfield, benefited from the backcourt play of junior Jasper Williams (9 points) and sophomore Vince Murphy (6 points), along with Gilchrest: The perimeter tandem created and took advantage of National turnovers/quick shots, like Murphy’s fast break layup fed by Williams at the 2:10 mark illustrated, while Gilchrest was able to get to the free throw line several times.

With a one point lead to start the fourth quarter, National outscored Progressive by 13 points in the final stanza, despite the teams exchanging leads early. The play of O’Neal and senior point guard Brian McMickle (13 points, 3 assists) factored heavily.

O’Neal continued his strong interior performance, which included two layups, while McMickle controlled the game’s tempo: In addition to converting two layups himself, Brian displayed leadership in settling his team down and extending their lead.

Brown was pleased with his point guard’s late play, opining “He came down at the end and helped us execute”.

That execution will become consistent, as the Eagles become more acclimated with their lineup. “We are working Wilbur and Anthony in” stated Brown, who also noted the addition of sophomore forward Joston Thomas before Christmas. “What we are trying to do now is get our rotation and chemistry together”.

That will be necessary, given National not only plans to enter a national tournament consisting of Christian schools and play Progressive again, but also host a challenging mid February tournament consisting of Our Savior, Patterson School, and Mt. Zion Academy.

National's team photo. Brown is far left. Size wise, the team rivals many college squads, and will be a force for the rest of the season.

The win, puts National at 11-3, while Progressive is still an impressive 9-3 for the season. Both teams are currently ranked in the top ten of i95Ballerz.com’s Power Poll.

Curiously enough, other polls don’t have either team similarly ranked. Brown for one is unconcerned. “I never worry about the rankings” he said. “There is a lot of political stuff that goes into them.

“For us, it’s more of a ministry. We care about saving lives and changing character (through hoops). Not about rankings”.