For Mansfield Summit, getting to the state tournament is definitely a team effort

When Mansfield Summit takes the court on Thursday in the Class 5A state semifinals to face Killeen Ellison at the Alamodome in San Antonio, most of the attention will be focused on the “Big 3” of Richard Lemboye, David Terrell and Franck Emmou.

And for good reason.

The three seniors have been the engine that has propelled the Jaguars to a 34-4 record and a team that has scored 65.4 points per game this season and allowed 49.9. Summit came in ranked No. 11 in the final 5A state poll by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches.

And while the three have dominated the offensive stats for Summit this season, coach Emund Prichett is quick to sing the praises of his five other players that see most of the playing time as well as his bench. Those players, which might not see many game minutes, play a pivotal part in the success of the Jaguars with the work put in at practice.

“Our practices are definitely intense. Maybe too intense, I don’t know if we can actually practice today [Tuesday],” said Prichett, only half jokingly. “My reserve players are so important to this team and I tell them that all the time. Without everybody on the roster and the couple of guys that we brought up from the junior varsity to practice then we’re not where we are.

“The practice level is very, very high. Those kids have seen a level of intensity when they get to the games so it’s nothing new.”

Lemboye leads Summit averaging 18.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Most of his points come inside the paint off of assists from his lifelong friend Terrell, who he’s known since the second grade, and Emmou.

Terrell, who has signed with the University of Texas at El Paso, averages 13.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. Emmou’s all-around game has him chipping in 13.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists per contest. Emmou had made a team-high 67 three pointers.

Senior Jeffery Scott, juniors Quinton Ownes-Ross and Jesse Warner, sophomore Derrick Brown and freshman Theo Brannan round out the eight-man rotation used by Prichett.

Senior David Onyeforo, juniors Cayden Brooks and Peter Serunjoji, sophomore Ian Sedah, and freshman Javon Ross comprise the rest of the roster.

Prichett touts Ian Sedah as the player that has improved the most in practice since the playoffs began.

“He [Sedah] could be our best player next year, “ said Prichett of his 6-5 sophomore. “I think it’s going to happen. This year he just lacked a little bit of confidence, he just didn’t believe in himself like he needs to. But it’s coming.”

Senior leadership

Brown, Brannan and Scott all made big baskets for the Jaguars at the regional tournament. Scott’s two threes and one each by Brannan and Brown were all the points that Summit scored in the first quarter against Amarillo as the Jags had a tough time getting the ball inside against a tough, packed 2-3 zone.

Brown drained two threes in the first quarter of the regional championship game against El Paso Chapin. Scott scored all seven of his points in the second half and the final four of the game.

“We just keep them confident,” said Terrell of his underclassmen and other role players. “We tell them that we know that they can shoot and just keep their confidence up and tell them to just play as hard as you can and let the game come to you.”

“They lift those other kids up and never talk down to them,” said Prichett. “They give those kids the opportunity to shine and when they do shine they love it.”

No one has benefited more from the senior leadership than Brannan, who according to Prichett has a basektball IQ that is “off the charts.”

“I’ve had a lot of experience this season and a lot of help from the seniors,” said Brannan. “I’ve been training my whole life with my dad and everybody so I’m ready for this. I just love basketball.”

Defense, defense, defense

While Summit has plenty of offensive weapons, Prichett hangs his hat on his pressure, man defense. Much of the reason his practices are quite intense.

“If you can guard, I’m mean, like I always say, defense travels,” said Prichett whose team has allowed 43.6 points per game in the playoffs. “I don’t know if we’re going to make a shot when we get to the Alamodome, but I know our effort can be there and I know we can play defense. If we do that then I feel good about our chances and feel good about us being able to compete.”

While Prichett believes all of his top eight players are good defenders, Warner was singled out.

“Jessie Warner’s been big off the bench for us,” said Prichett. “He comes in and just guards the piss out of the ball. He might not get a lot of shots up, but as soon as you call him he’s ready to go. He’s out there and he’s a vulture.”

Selfless

Terrell and Emmou not only have confidence in their role players, but the two possess the selflessness to be willing to dish out assists instead of pressing and trying to make things happen on their own.

“When I got here I had a plan in my mind and thought that we could get here and they put in the work to get us here,” said Prichett. “And not only the work they put in on their own it’s what they do for those other kids.

“The seniors could sit on the bench and let the younger kids play and they wouldn’t have any problem with it. They mean everything to me.”

Another example is Lemboye who doesn’t start games and hasn’t since early February according to Prichett. Lemboye, and his parents, came to Prichett to ask if he had done something wrong or had shown some kind of disrespect as a reason for not starting.

Prichett told all of them ‘no, not at all’ and Lemboye has taken it in stride and never complained while still leading the team in both points and rebounds.

“Some players need to start just for confidence and some players will do what they do whether they start or not,” said Prichett. “Richard [Lemboye] is one of those players that is going to do what he does whether he starts or comes off the bench. It’s hard to pull him out once he’s out there.”

New tradition?

Evidently the Summit players have created a new way to celebrate a win. It involves hoisting Brannan on their shoulders and bouncing him around a bit.

“They did it when we won district and they just continue to do it,” said Prichett. “I don’t know where it came from, but when we won district somebody did it and now they just continue to do it. It just happened.

“These kids, all they do is make jokes on each other the whole time. I don’t know if we coaches started it because we play jokes on them a lot, but it’s nothing but jokes pretty much all the time.”

Hopefully we’ll get to see the Brannan Bounce two more times this season.

Class 5A

(At Alamodome, San Antonio)

SEMIFINALS

1 Dallas Kimball (31-2) vs. 10 San Antonio Veterans Memorial (36-4), 7 p.m. Thursday

2 Killeen Ellison (37-3) vs. 11 Mansfield Summit (34-4), 8:30 p.m. Thursday

CHAMPIONSHIP

3 p.m. Saturday