Making their points: Twelve area high school basketball players reach 1,000-point plateau

SARASOTA — Scoring 1,000 career points in high school requires more than simply talent.

Talent is the baseline, but dedication, focus, commitment, work ethic, and teammates capable of assisting in this individual pursuit, rapidly follow.

In reaching the magical one with three zeroes, 12 area players exhibited all these qualities so far this season.

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Kali Barrett, Cardinal Mooney

When 6-foot-2 Cardinal Mooney shooting guard Kali Barrett is being defended by a smaller player, Cougar head coach Marlon Williams likes to say “that the mouse is in the house.”

At that point, Barrett will position herself down low, on the blocks, expecting her teammates to get her the ball to take advantage of the mismatch.

Just one of the ways the junior Barrett can score.

“She’s what we call a combo player,” Williams said. “She does pretty much everything. She is pretty much our leader, so she plays hard.”

Any 6-foot-2 girl playing high school basketball would be expected to play forward or center, but Barrett is the Cougars’ shooting guard, with teammate and point guard Bri Behn bringing the ball upcourt. She plays away from the basket for good reason.

“We put her on the wing,” Williams said, “over other girls who are not as tall. To make passes into the post, to the corners, and just to see over the defense.

“But she’s getting points everywhere you can think of,” he said. “She’s getting rebounds, running the floor, in half-court sets, getting to the basket, catch-and-shoot. We pretty much use every possible way she does it for us.”

After scoring 280 points as a freshman, an average of 11.7 a game, Barrett seemed destined to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Last season, as a sophomore, she led the Cougars with an average of 15.2 points per game. This season, she’s averaging a team-high 14 points, along with 9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists. She’s shooting 51 percent from 3-point territory, and 43 percent overall.

Barrett has improved greatly from her freshman season, but work remains, particularly if she plans to fulfill Williams’ belief she could play at the Division I level, “and I’m talking about Power 5.” He said Barrett already has 15 collegiate offers.

“The sky is the limit.” Williams said. “She needs to get stronger. Being able to (take) one, two, three dribbles and be able to get to a spot and be efficient. Working on jump shots, mid-range to 3. Being able to draw the defense to you to make the extra pass to get an easy bucket. She has grown a lot.”

And Williams has Barrett for one more season. Many more opportunities await for the mouse to be in the house.

Angelo Blas, Imagine School at North Port

More often than not, a 1,000-point career scorer can connect from anywhere on the floor.

So when the Imagine School at North Port’s Angelo Blas has the ball on the wing, his defender must guard against the senior hoisting up a jumper. But it’s when the 6-foot-2, 160-pound human pipe cleaner drives to the hoop that opposing defenses should be most concerned.

“Angelo is an incredibly gifted finisher,” said Lee Taft, his coach at Imagine. “He’s a good shooter, he’s got a pull-up mid-range game, but what always amazes me is how he finishes among even bigger players. He’s got great control and footwork.

“He’s able to kind of slither his way through post players and he’s long,” Taft said. “He’s 6-2, but he plays longer than that. Long arms, and he’s very good at extending the ball. He gets the ball away from his body when he needs to. He’s one of the better players I’ve coached over the years. He can pretty much score from anywhere on the floor.”

Blas has been at Imagine, a charter school, since the eighth grade. He transferred to another school for a year before returning to Imagine as a sophomore. Playing for the Sharks as a sophomore, Blas averaged 15 points per game. Last season, shooting more 3-pointers than he has this season, Blas scored 20 points a game, shooting a robust 52 percent from the field. This season, playing with teammates he trusts, Blas is averaging 17.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4 assists. And, once again, he’s shooting north of 50 percent from the floor.

Because of Blas’s ability to penetrate, Taft runs an offense that has all five Shark players stationed near the NBA 3-point line. “We open space and it allows them to penetrate,” Taft said, “and Angelo is really the cog that makes us go. When he’s really on, we’re tough to stop because of him.

“When he gets to the hoop, he turns his body sideways and reaches through defenders,” Taft said. “When he’s really dialed into his game, he puts so much pressure on the defense that it allows our other players to space out and get the benefit of quick passing from him. When he penetrates, he’ll draw 2-3 guys to try to stop him.”

When the question is which college will Blas attend, Taft said no decision has been made. “I think he would like to stay in Florida,” he said. “Just to be around family, and stuff like that is important to him.

“The great thing is that wherever he goes, he still has four years to develop and mature. Become naturally stronger and bigger. His game will grow quite a bit because he’s got such a high ceiling still.”

Connor Heald, Kevin O'donoghue, Cardinal Mooney

They are Cardinal Mooney’s dynamic duo. On a basketball team with defined roles, those assigned to Connor Heald and Kevin O’donoghue carry with it the very fate of the Cougars.

Their role is to score. They must, for without their points, the Mooney offense grinds to a halt and dies. They’re the main reason the Cougars (16-8) will host a Class 3A-District 11 semifinal on Thursday night.

“We’re very big on everybody having a role and everybody doing their job,” said assistant coach Terrence Garner, who will assume the Cougars’ head coach role for the rest of the season following the dismissal of Vince Cherry. “And from the beginning has always been the expectation thatConnor and Kevin were going to carry the load when it comes to scoring because they obviously have a knack for it. We put a lot on their shoulders and they do a good job of carrying that weight.”

And that’s best illustrated when looking at the numbers.In 24 regular-season games, the Cougars scored a total of 1,298 points. The seniors Heald and O’donoghue combined for 728 of those points. So whenever the two take the court, unknowingly or not, they must account for 56 percent of the Cougars’s scoring.

The 6-foot-3 Heald leads Mooney in scoring, averaging 19,5 points per game. The 6-5 O’donoghue is second at 13.6. Then, a huge dropoff to the Cougar in third, senior Carter Jula, averaging 5.6.

“I would say Kevin is probably more of a natural scorer than Connor is,” Garner said, “but I would say Connor is a little bit more ball dominant, where Kevin is more of a catch and shoot. He can do a little bit off the dribble, but I would say that Connor excels a little bit more.”

And both have carte blanche when shooting the ball. “Whatever is greener than green, in terms of a green light, that’s what they have,” Garner said.

By now, opponents know the Mooney offense will always run through Heald and O’donoghue. Defenses may try to face guard them in an attempt to deny the ball, ‘but one way or another, they’re going to get their shots up,” Garner said. “I would say the one thing Kevin and Connor are so good at and separates them from the rest is they make a lot of tough shots. Very tough shots.”

O’donoghue joined the Cougars as a junior after spending two years at Out-of-Door Academy. Last season, he averaged 12 points and four rebounds a game, shooting 32 percent from 3-point territory and 51 percent from two. Heald averaged 11.7, nearly eight points fewer than this season. His improvement came about through hard work that’s become his calling card.

“He is one of the hardest working kids I know,” Garner said. “By far. Consistently in the gym, doing workouts 3-4 times a day. We do morning workouts in the gym, and then he trains with weights, and has another trainer that he works on his game with. He’s doing all these things very consistently.”

As for both reaching 1,000 points in a career, it was a goal among several the two set. “It certainly was on the radar,” Garner said.

Next year, Heald will play at Div. III Husson University in Bangor, Maine. “He’s going to excel at the Div. III level,” Garner said. “I think he’ll do wonders at the Div. III level. Husson is going to be really happy to get him.”

As for O’donoghue, he’s putting down the basketball to attend college and pursue a career in the medical field. But no matter what the two do, they’ll leave a hole in the Cougar starting lineup that appears impossible to fill.

“That’s part of coaching,” Garner said. “To figure all that stuff out.”

Dylan Higgins, Parrish Community

Whenever Dylan Higgins is on the floor for the Parrish Community boys basketball team, the Bulls always have a shot.

And that sweet shot belongs to Higgins, the Bulls’ 5-foot-11 senior shooting guard, who eclipsed the 1,000-point barrier earlier this season. According to his head coach, Curt Kassab, he’s one of the best shooters in the region.

“By far,” Kassab said. “He can score at all three levels, which most 1,000-point scorers can do. He can pull up for a mid-range jumper, and he’s an extremely strong finisher at the basket. He’s a great foul shooter as well, and he’s a very strong rebounder. He’s just a complete player. Special kid, special player.”

Higgins, who leads Parrish in scoring, averaging 17.8 points a game, also offers something not registered on any scoreboard. On a Bulls team with two freshmen, five sophomores, and three juniors, he provides Kassab with that vital on-court veteran leadership.

“He’s really been the anchor for a very, very young team,” Kassab said. “He’s just a really great leader, and he’s been a great leader for this young group of kids.”

Before arriving at Parrish, Higgins played at Cardinal Mooney. Last year, as a junior, he averaged 11.2 points for the Cougars. As a sophomore, his 14.8 average led the team.

“I had heard a lot of great things from some of the people who had coached him in AAU and in other arenas,” Kassab said. “We were just very fortunate that he decided to come to Parrish.”

This season Higgins is shooting 36 percent from 3-point territory, and 53 percent overall. His height will prevent him from playing at the Div. I level. “Right now,” Kassab said, “Division I schools are looking for long, big, athletic guards, but I think he would be a phenomenal Division III guard.

“We’ll have no problem finding him a place to play next year. It’s just finding the right fit for him.”

Elijah Lubsey, North Port

The fifth North Port High School basketball player to score 1,000 or more points in his career wasn’t about to let the third player to do it steal all the family glory.

Earlier this season, Bobcat senior Elijah Lubsey scored his 1,000th point. A decade ago, brother Malek Barber did it for North Port before embarking on a college career at Palm Beach Atlantic University.

Barber had a stellar career playing for North Port head coach Travis Slanger. He was named to the Herald-Tribune’s All-Area team all four of his years at the school. As a senior, he was named second-team All-State and the Herald-Tribune’s Player of the Year. Not only scoring 1,000 points, Barber is the Bobcats’ career rebounding leader.

“(Eli’s) brother was more of an athlete,” said current Bobcat head coach Bruce Wallace. “He was explosive, playing above the rim, then he got his skills more in college. Eli is more skilled than his brother at this age, but not quite as explosive.”

Still, standing 6-foot-7 and weighing 225 pounds, Lubsey can pack his own TNT. An earlier game this season against Berkeley Prep was the first one in which Lubsey wasn’t the tallest player on the court. But he’s agile enough with the ball in his hands to serve as the Bobcats’ point guard when starter Jackson Kinker needs a breather.

“He’s got a great post game,” Wallace said, “and can score from all three levels. He shoots 33 percent from 3 and scored his 1,000th point on a 3. He can take you off the dribble and score with his back to the basket as well.”

On the stat sheet, Lubsey has improved in each of his three seasons. He progressed from 10.6 points a game as a sophomore to 17.5 last season to 20.7 this one. He’s scored 30 or more points in four games. His rebounding has increased as well, pulling down 8.4 boards as a sophomore and 10.5 as a senior.

“He’s a good passer, too,” Wallace said. “He can do it all. Dribble, pass, and shoot, and his defense has been much better, and he’s getting more offensive rebounds.

“If he jumped a little higher, he’d probably be a Division I player,” he said. “He doesn’t jump all that well, but he moves his feet really well. We can switch on ball screens, and this year he’s a much better help-side defender.”

Wallace said Lubsey has gotten looks from several D-II schools, but cautions there isn’t a rush. “Usually they offer in March,” he said.

Kennedy McClain, Sarasota

Opponents of the Sarasota Sailors girls basketball team should by now know not to leave Kennedy McClain unguarded behind the 3-point line.

But even if a defender is there, she had better not blink. Because in that split-second, the ball will have left the senior’s hands, with a good chance of finding the bottom of the basket.

“Kennedy is one of the best set shooters I have ever seen in high school,” said her coach, Radhika Miller. “She has an unbelievably quick release. She catches off the move, sets, and she is going to be spot on. She’s just a pure shooter. And every team needs that to make a run in the postseason.”

All those hours spent in the gym as a youth, her dad, former professional baseball player Scott McClain, feeding her basketballs to practice her shot, have paid off. All of Miller’s players can shoot from outside.

It’s just that McClain is the most deadly out there.

“I would say I’m one of our main shooters,” the senior said, “but a lot of us can shoot from the outside, and that’s part of our game. If we’re making shots, we’re going to win some games.

“I shoot a lot before and after practice,” she said. “Really, any time I can get a gym and just get some shots in.”

McClain’s height, 5-foot-10, might convince opponents unfamiliar with her game that she’s not a threat from far out. But she knows her way around the basket as well; her five rebounds a game is second on the Sailors. But because defenders now know her speciality is the 3, they will get up in her face.

By necessity, then, McClain has worked on adding what she calls a “side step” to her game. She’ll move past the defender for either a mid-range jumper or look to pass to an open teammate.

“From the summer moving forward,” Miller said, “she has worked on getting to the rim. That’s been huge for her this season. A lot of teams will play her tight, but now she’s able to give them a little jab and get around for the pull-up.”

Miller said using McClain and teammate Sofi Miller in a high-low offense — one player on the low blocks, one on the high blocks — has proved effective. “I’d like to exploit that a little bit more,” Radhiki Miller said.

Said McClain, “It’s good to have Sofi there. If I’m boxing out, then she knows she has to get the rebound.”

McClain’s 12.5 scoring average is third on the Sailors. She has attempted more 3-pointers (92) than 2-pointers (63). Last season, her first with the Sailors, she averaged 14 points a game. McClain played at Cardinal Mooney as a freshman and sophomore, averaging, respectively, 9.5 and 7.5 points a game.

Not until she was 10 points away from 1,000 did her coach let McClain know how close she was. And in the game, she connected on 7 3-pointers.

“Her legacy will be one of the best shooters to (graduate) from Sarasota,” Miller said. “She is lights out. She gets set, she is money.”

Sofi Miller, Sarasota

As the mother and coach of Sarasota High basketball player Sofi Miller, Radhika Miller would like to take credit for her daughter’s success. She was a player herself at the University of North Alabama.

The day after Sofi was born, mom was back on the court, coaching. In the third grade, young Sofi picked up a basketball, and a future in the sport had been cemented.

“I would like to take credit for her good post work, as well as her shot,” the Sailor head coach said, “but there have been a lot of other people who have been a part of that as well.”

Sofi Miller is the textbook example of what can happen when talent, work ethic, and dedication merge into one. Before transferring to Sarasota, the junior Miller played three seasons at Windermere Prep, starting as an eighth grader and leading the team in scoring (10.5 ppg) and rebounding (9.3 rpg).

The next season, as a freshman, Miller averaged 11.9 points and 12 rebounds for the Lakers, followed by a sophomore year of 15.4 points and 11.6 rebounds. By the time she arrived at Sarasota for her junior year, Miller had already compiled 711 points and close to 1,000 rebounds.

“In the eighth grade and also her freshman season,” Radhika Miller said, “she was blocked a lot inside. Then her sophomore season, she started working on the mid-range.”

But Sofi can point to two happenings that pushed her game to the next level. The first happened last year at Windermere, when she began working with a trainer and getting to the gym at 4:30 a.m. before school to train.

“At that point, something just clicked in my brain,” she said. “Not to say I wasn’t dedicated before, but the decision (to arise early to train) really came into play.”

The second occurred over the summer. Sofi was invited to play on the prestigious Miami Suns travel ball team. Primarily an inside player prior to joining the Suns, Sofi, playing with teammates who could play inside and outside, needed to expand her game.

“That was the challenge for Sofi this summer,” her mother said. “(The Suns) really pushed her to be as confident in her outside game as she is in her inside game. She likes shooting the 3 ball, but she really enjoys working in the paint. She knows at the next level, she is going to be expected to be on the perimeter as well, but she loves to get down on the post and work.”

Not surprising, since Sofi Miller stands 6-foot-2, weighs 195 points, and works out with weights several times a week.

“I always say before she plays,” Radhika Miller said, “‘You go in and be ready to clean up that garbage.’ You have to have that in order to win.”

When Sofi works on her low-post moves in practice, Sailor assistant coach John Cox will defend, but not without wearing padding to prevent bruises from the physical forward.

Said Sofi, “I love the dirty work. I love to get the rebounds. That’s where I get most of my points.”

This season, she’s averaging 13.9 points a game, second to teammate Paisley Binswanger’s 15 points, and a team-high 10.9 rebounds. If opponents try to front her, she’s likely to grab the rebound. If they double her, she’ll look either to Binswanger or Kennedy McClain for the open jumper.

On the blocks, Sofi has an up-and-under move, and even a hook shot as she moves across the lane. But she knows how to utilize her size and strength advantage over opponents to create space.

And what’s it like to play for your mom?

“There is a line that has to be drawn,” she said. “She treats me like any other player, and I treat her like I would my coach. We do try not to bring it home, but it never works out. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. It’s such a blessing.”

After she scored her 1,000th career point in a game against IMG, the Sailors called a timeout to allow Sofi’s teammates to run onto the court and celebrate. “Lots of tears and celebration in that moment,” Radhika Miller said.

She’s already committed to Tennessee Tech, with a possible future as a marine biologist. But before that, Sofi Miller has a senior season with the Sailors in which to collect more points and distribute more bruises.

Taylor Orris, Venice

The 6-foot guard certainly made her presence felt early on, averaging 10.6 points per game and 10.7 rebounds as a freshman for Lemon Bay.

As a sophomore, she picked up her scoring average for the Manta Rays, scoring at a 12.4 points-per-game-clip while hauling down 9.7 rebounds. As a junior, her last year at Lemon Bay, Orris had her finest season from a statistical standpoint, averaging a team-high 17 points a game and 9.5 rebounds, finishing with 441 points.

Transferring to Venice for her senior season, Orris saw less playing time, averaging 5.5 points a game. She needed 109 points for the season to reach 1,000, and she collected 120, ending with a career total of 1,011 points.

Jovan Palavra, Booker

Every day, Booker High basketball player Jovan Palavra leads his team in prayer. Recently, he invited his teammates and head coach to Sunday mass.

Opponents assigned to guard the 6-foot-5 senior might be inclined to seek divine hardwood intervention.

Just how good Palavra is might be reflected in a text Tornado head coach Carl Williams received last month from Parrish head coach Curt Kassab. The teams had played the night before, Kassab trying to stymie Palavra by employing a box-and-one defense.

Booker prevailed 49-42, its eighth victory in a current 10-game winning streak. In the game, Palavra was held to a season-low five points. Still, Kassab felt compelled to send Williams the text.

“He said, ‘Jovan is, by far, the best player we’ve seen all season,’’’ Williams said. “When you get that from somebody who boxed-and-one and (he) only scored five points and he said he’s by far the best player he’s seen all season ... he is great.

“I absolutely love the kid. That is the most important thing for me.”

Williams loves Palavra on the basketball court, but he loves him more for something he said last year. He stood up in front of the Tornado team and essentially told them to be true to their school. Be true to Booker High.

“Jovan was recruited by every high school to play, and he could have,” Williams said. “And he didn’t. He implored those guys not to jump ship. Let’s have some Tornado pride. And I’ll never forget the look that he had. As our best player and captain, for him to say that ... and I’m the only school that I know of that didn’t lose anybody.”

After averaging 5.4 points per game as a sophomore, Palavra increased that to 16.8 as a junior. This season, he leads the Tornadoes with a 17.2 average and many of the buckets border on the spectacular. In a 71-23 victory over DeSoto County, Palavra broke free for a thunderous two-hand reverse dunk.

“The DeSoto coach just looked at me,” Williams said. “And I’m like, I can’t even act like I coach that.”

Last season, Palavra, feeling that his teammates were overly dependent on him, became a one-man team. “He felt like he had to do everything,” Williams said. “He learned that we have some developing talent, and to trust his teammates. That’s the difference this season.”

The 16-9 Tornadoes ended their regular season with a 10-game winning streak and will start district play as the top seed.

And they couldn’t have accomplished this without Jovan Palavra. Not a prayer.

Mary Portwood, Parrish Community

When Mary Portwood is on her game, fans of the Parrish Community High School girls basketball team know the electricity the senior can generate.

What they may not know is how Portwood plans to make electricity central to her life.

The first 1,000-point scorer in school history will put down the basketball once the Bulls’ season is over. Put it down for good. Though Portwood has received offers to play in college, the 5-foot-9 point guard, shooting guard, and small forward has decided to accept a two-year scholarship to a trade school, after which she will be guaranteed a job as an industrial electrician.

“We went back and forth about basketball,” said her coach, Kristy Cummins. “She’s got this opportunity for what she wants to go into. She made the decision. She decided to take that.”

If she’s as good an industrial electrician as she is a Bulls player, Portwood should have a job for many years to come. That Parrish improved from 12-12 last season to its current mark of 15-7 is a result of better talent, but the four-year player remains the spark that makes the Bulls go.

“She pretty much can play any position,” said Cummins, “just depending on the matchup and who we’re playing against. She can go underneath, she can play wing, she’s just a very, very talented basketball player.” And despite standing 5-foot-10, Portwood, her coach said, doesn’t rely on second-chance garbage points under the basket to pad her 14.7 scoring average.

“She’s a pretty good shooter from the outside,” Cummins said. “Her freshman and sophomore years she was more of a 3-point type of shooter, but last year, it was more of a penetration and driving in and finding the gap.”

Averaging a team-best four assists a game this season has helped Portwood get open easier. “Just from the fact of dishing the ball,” Cummins said. “It’s leading to easier baskets now that they have to sag off her.”

Entering the season, Portwood knew she was close to the 1,000-point mark, but Cummins never told her precisely how close. She went into a game last month at Lemon Bay needing seven points. She finished with eight.

“I didn’t even tell her after the game that she hit 1,000 points,” Cummins said. “I called her parents and let them know. We made a presentation at our next home game, and that’s when she found out.”

Befitting Portwood’s future, the moment should have been electric.

Marcus Schade, Braden River

Through middle school, Marcus Schade didn’t think his athletic future would entail shooting a round ball through a round hoop. Rather, he envisioned himself throwing a round ball past a round bat.

Baseball was the sport of choice for the Braden River student-athlete. He would transfer to a hardball haven such as Sarasota High and become a star Sailor pitcher.

“I would have kept playing,” Schade said, “if I didn’t lose the love, I guess.”

His heart began having doubts when he followed a friend to a Braden River basketball camp just to “mess around.” Schade was told by a Pirate coach to come out for the school’s basketball team, even though Schade had played little of the sport.

The courtship was just beginning. “Something about the roundball that draws kids to it,” said Braden River boys basketball coach Dwight Gilmer. “It’s kind of infectious.”

It infected Schade in a major way. The love he lost for baseball became a love he found for basketball. “I like the team thing,” the senior said. “No one person can win it.”

Failing to start as a freshman on the Pirate JV team, the sophomore Schade became the beneficiary of a young Braden River varsity squad. Playing a great deal as a sophomore, he averaged 12.1 points per game, a total of 279. The march to 1,000 career points was off to a rousing start.

When Gilmer took over the program, his staff evaluated the Pirate players. One, Schade, impressed Gilmer with his desire to improve. “He kind of stepped out as one of the kids who wanted to get better,” Gilmer said.

Schade already had the body. At 6-foot-4, with long arms, he’s able to maneuver to the basket and finish. “Unconventionally, sometimes,” Gilmer said. “He’s a very efficient scorer, which makes him super dangerous because he can score on all three levels. And it’s very difficult to contest his shot because he has a high release and long arms.”

Those long arms translate into steals and deflections on the defensive end, as well as rebounds. Schade’s average of six a game leads the Pirates. “He gets about eight to nine points a game just off offensive rebounds.”

And that’s led to Schade averaging 21.1 points per game, a jump of five from his average last season. He’s shooting 36 percent from trey land, but 61 percent from two-point range, an overall mark of 58 percent.

He came into the season needing 308 points to reach 1,000. With 510 thus far, Schade will finish his Pirate career well above the mark. As for college, Schade will play somewhere, but he’s hurt by being 6-4, considered a “tweener” height, and his late entrance into basketball. He also didn’t gain exposure by playing AAU ball.

“His name isn’t as out there as some of the other kids,” Gilmer said. Time for that remains for Marcus Schade, the one-time hardballer turned hoopster.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Twelve area high school basketball players eclipse 1,000 points in career