Parklane Academy’s boys basketball team had 10 sophomores and just one senior but still managed to make it to the second round of the AAAA Overall State Tournament, and athletes were rewarded for their achievements at a recent banquet at Mr. Whiskers Family Catfish Restaurant.
The Pioneers (21-12, 5-5) were also the runners-up in the AAAA State Tournament with wins against Magnolia Heights School and Jackson Academy.
“I thought our young men overachieved,” Parklane head coach Todd Foster said. “I thought we got better as the year went on. I thought we peaked at the right time, but I thought they were a group of young guys that really cared about one another and played together as a group. The sum of the parts are better than the parts. They played together as such a family towards the end that chemistry and a culture of team is what I thought got us over the hump in some of the bigger games we won.”
Foster was an assistant coach in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools All-Star Game at Madison-Ridgeland Academy just after the season. Senior guard Quartez Brown was on Foster’s team and they were on the winning side.
“I was honored that they asked me to do it,” Foster said. “It was fun. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed being around Quartez for another week. It was great to meet a lot of the other young men that you play against and compete against. You see a different side with them because you’re in the hotel together, eating together.”
Brown said he enjoyed playing for Foster another week and making new friends at the All-Star Game. His favorite play came when he stole the ball during the first quarter, had a one-on-two break and threw a behind-the-back pass to his teammate who connected on a 3-pointer.
He earned first-team All-Conference and first-team All-State honors, but awards were not important to him.
“It really didn’t mean nothing,” he said. “I wasn’t worried about the awards. I was just worried about winning a state championship.”
Brown praised his team’s improvement as the season progressed.
“It means a lot because, in the long run, they can get better,” he said. “I think they’re going to win it next year.”
Guard and forward Newlon Gillihan was also a first-team All-Conference player.
“It’s a great honor,” he said. “I’m happy to have it. God blessed me with the talents I have and I’m going to continue to use them. We’re working to win a state championship later.”
Point guard Josh Gonsalves was an honorable mention All-Conference player and won the Grinder Award. His teammates made up the “Grinder Award” to recognize his hard work in the gym.
“We started out with a young group of guys with a big-time senior leader and a great coach who really helped us,” he said. “After Christmas I’d say is when we really came together as a team and started winning games and playing good basketball…I love my coaches and my teammates. We’re a close family and always the glory to God.”
Shooting guard Brandt Watson won the “Jack Dumas Courage Award.”
Foster created the award last season for Dumas, who played with torn ACL during his senior year in 2014-15. Dumas was a post player and tore his ACL during the 2014 football season.
Watson tore his ACL last year and had to miss the playoffs, but had surgery and expects to be ready for the upcoming football season. He is the Pioneers starting quarterback.
“This year was by far the funnest year I’ve ever played in any sports,” Watson said. “It was one to remember because we exceeded a lot of expectations and a lot of people did not expect us to do as good as we did around the end of the year. We didn’t start off as well as we should have. Especially being with 10 sophomores and one senior, it was really fun. I’ve never been with a team as close and as like a family as this basketball team.”
Post player Jake Passman won the “Team Spirit Award” for his attitude during the games.
“I think that having team spirit and being supportive of your teammates is one of the most important qualities you can have,” he said. “Mainly when I’m on the bench, I’m going crazy, supporting my teammates and cheering them on, but also when I’m on the floor (I’m cheering them on).”
Passman said Parklane came a long way with such a young roster.
“God just gave us a great opportunity to make a name for our school,” he said.
Tyler Ramshur, a shooting guard who stepped into the starting lineup for Watson, and John Barnes, who plays multiple positions, were named “Most Improved Players.”
