But for senior Tey Barbour, you can tell this feels a bit different. In years past at this time, the Harvard commit was preparing for the AAU season, having never played on a team with a winning record before transferring from Osbourn to Patriot before the season. He’s giddy.
“You see a different level of bounce in his step,” Rivers said. “It’s funny, I say he’s enjoying the ride; really, you could say that he’s possibly driving the bus.”
What Rivers is referencing: He’s been one of the two best players in Northern Virginia this year, alongside Jordan Scott of No. 7 South Lakes, which Patriot will play Saturday. Both teams are eying their first state championship.
Early in the season, Barbour had to find his way as a leader on a new team. In spurts, that meant he deferred too often. The staff quickly course-corrected, telling Barbour he had to “be who he is,” rather than try to placate others. He would find a way to fit into the up-tempo, ball-sharing, defensive-minded culture while still getting shots off.
Since the new year, he hasn’t missed a beat, often asking for the top defensive assignment while shooting over 80 percent from the free throw line, 60 percent from inside the arc and nearly 40 percent from three. And he’s got a big smile throughout.
“I’m not saying that the other guys don’t enjoy it; it’s kind of like a ‘been there, done that,’ sort of vibe compared to, ‘man, this is exciting,’ ” Rivers said. “You usually see that in your young guys. It’s really refreshing to see from an older kid that is finally getting an opportunity to show his outstanding basketball ability from the biggest stage in the state.”
Md. private girls’ programs get postseason event
Last winter, a group of four local media members put together a new postseason tournament for private schools in Maryland. In its first year, the Maryland Private School State Basketball Tournament was a success, crowning Mt. Zion Prep as its champion
As part of the setup process for that tournament, one of the founders — Marc Stern — had several discussions with Bullis Athletic Director Justin Leith about using the Potomac school as a venue. During one of those conversations, Leith — also the school’s girls’ basketball coach — raise the idea of a girls’ event. Stern liked it right away.
“I had already been thinking about the girls’ side of things,” Stern said. “But that conversation really made it a priority.”
Stern knew the first thing he needed to do was familiarize himself with the local girls’ landscape. As the founder of Capitol Hoops, he had mostly covered boys’ games over the years. So he connected with several coaches and organizers around the area, including Meredith Davis, coordinator of the She Got Game Classic series. Together, they built an eight-team tournament.
It’s the first time in recent memory there will be an event to crown a Maryland state private school champion.
“Most coaches we talked to seemed pretty eager for an opportunity like this,” Stern said.
The top two seeds in the tournament are Bishop McNamara and Bullis. The semifinal games will be played Wednesday at Elizabeth Seton, and the championship will be Friday night at Eleanor Roosevelt.
“We want to give these teams something else to play for at the end of the year,” Stern said.
Jordan Brown, Broadneck: The senior scored 35 points as the Bruins took down Leonardtown, 70-60, in Thursday’s Maryland 4A East II region semifinals. He also scored his 1,000th career point last week.
Elizabeth Friesen, Meridian: Six threes (and 21 points) from the junior in a 59-53 win over Lake Taylor lifted the Mustangs to the Class 3 state championship game.
Jalen Rougier-Roane, Sidwell Friends: The junior scored 15 points and earned game MVP honors as the Quakers captured a D.C. State Athletic Association three-peat.
Madisyn Moore-Nicholson, Georgetown Day: The lone senior on the Hoppers led her team to a DCSAA Class A title over Jackson-Reed Sunday at George Washington with 23 points.
River Hill boys at Long Reach, Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Gwynn Park girls at Largo, Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Maryland Private Schools State Tournament girls’ and boys’ finals, Friday, 6 and 7:30 p.m., at Eleanor Roosevelt
Virginia girls’ and boys’ state finals, Friday and Saturday at VCU’s Siegel Center in Richmond
Clarksburg rebounds from disappointment
The Clarksburg girls entered the Maryland state playoffs in perhaps the worst way possible.
On Feb. 23, the Coyotes looked like they’d coast to a Montgomery County championship, holding a commanding halftime lead over Bethesda-Chevy Chase. It all fell apart: the Barons marched back and the would-be victors trudged home.
Clarksburg’s players said little after the game, Coach Sissy Natoli recalled, but they showed their desire to improve with a spirited week of practice. Exactly a week later, the Coyotes were the ones who came back, taking down local rival Seneca Valley, 50-46, in front of a packed home crowd.
“It was pretty loud in the gym, sometimes it was so loud you’re just trying to call a couple offensive sets and you have to rely on your fingers more so than your voice,” Natoli said. “ … It was just like Friday night lights, great basketball at the right time.”
The three Turner sisters scored 92 percent of the team’s points. Senior Trinity, junior London and Destiny had 13, 18 and 15 points respectively.
The county championship loss made Clarksburg hungry for victory, Natoli said, but the Coyotes still fell behind early. The Eagles’ fast-paced attack left them just trying to catch their breath. A few timeouts slowed the pace.
Seneca Valley took a four-point lead into the final quarter, when Clarksburg outscored it by eight to advance to Wednesday’s region final — where the Coyotes’ postseason journey ended last year — at Frederick.
Flowers learns from county title loss
The day after his girls’ team lost, 52-51, to Gwynn Park in the Prince George’s County championship game on Feb. 23, C.H. Flowers Coach Roderick Hairston sat down the Jaguars to reflect.
“In that conversation, they revealed that they underestimated Gwynn Park, and they don’t want to do that again,” Hairston said.
No loss is a good loss, Hairston said, especially to a Yellow Jackets team that Flowers beat by 18 points early in the season. But if there’s any consolation, the county championship defeat served as a learning experience for a young unit with little postseason familiarity.
“It made us better,” Hairston said. “I told them it’s like a mulligan in golf, where you get another crack at it without penalty.”
The Jaguars, who earned a first-round bye in the Maryland 4A playoffs after an 18-2 regular season, seemed to have learned their lesson.
At home Friday, the Jaguars dominated Wise, 67-38, to advance to the region final against Eleanor Roosevelt on Wednesday. The Jaguars beat the Raiders by at least 30 points in both of their regular season meetings.