The missing link: Watson, who scored better than 20 points per game at Northeast last season, has yielded the leading scorer title to Brown. Watson, who is averaging about 11 points per game, is thriving in John Creighton’s system.
Inside the George Washington High School gymnasium, commemorative banners line the walls, highlighting the Public League and District XII championships athletic teams have won through the years.
There’s 24 of them in all dating to the mid-1960s when the school first opened, with everything from football to soccer to field hockey to gymnastics banners attached to the walls. There’s also golf and volleyball, swimming and tennis; heck, there’s even a banner with a badminton enshrinement. But of all the championships the school has compiled through the decades, not a single blue and gold basketball banner hangs triumphantly for spectators to see.
This year’s hoops team hopes to change that real soon.
Washington’s dream season continued on Monday afternoon, as the Eagles bulldozed their way past Kensington, 72–51, in a first-round Class AAAA Public League playoff contest. The win pushed Washington’s overall record to 18–5 (a perfect 12–0 in Division B), with the Eagles now two wins away from a Class AAAA title and four away from a Public League championship; they will meet division and area rival Frankford in Wednesday’s Class AAAA semifinals (check northeasttimes.com/sports on Thursday for a story on that game, played after the Times went to press).
“We’re very determined to win a championship,” said senior guard Asante Ali, the team’s fiercest defender who poured in 16 points against Kensington. “In 15 years, we want to come back and show our kids what we did. We want to win one for the school. It would mean a lot to me … it’s my last year and I want to win a championship so badly.”
It won’t be easy, but the finish line is at least on the horizon. Frankford will present a staunch challenge, as the Pioneers led Washington 38–18 at halftime on Dec. 22 before the Eagles stormed back to win by 14. If Washington can scrape by Frankford, a likely matchup with defending AAAA and Public League champion Martin Luther King — of Division A — looms. Beyond that, there’s other Division A powers/frontrunners Constitution and Imhotep (which beat Washington by 23 in the regular season, one of the Eagles’ rare missteps), whom many view as the favorites, which is just fine with G.W. With no championships or pedigree to speak of, the Eagles have no problem crashing the party as suspected underdogs.
“We’re definitely being counted out,” said senior guard Elmange Watson, a transfer from Northeast who scored 17 points in Monday’s win. “King is a great team with a great coaching staff, but so are we. We shed the same blood on the same floor as they do, and we feel like we’ve got the pieces. We’re not scared of anyone. We’re fearless.”
One of the program’s biggest, most important pieces is senior forward Charles Brown, who has gone from supporting actor to A-list starring role in one season. The 6-foot-6 Brown does it all for the Eagles: he can score from inside and out (he poured in an effortless 24 against Kensington and is averaging more than 17 per game this season), put the ball on the floor and find the open man, and is downright deadly in transition. He very rarely misses a free throw, and his freakishly long wingspan turns him into a terror on the defensive end. Brown, who transferred from Imhotep after his sophomore year, makes few mistakes, never takes a play off and is very coachable.
In short, he’s a kid any Division-I collegiate coach would be lucky to have; and while the soft-spoken, humble Brown is still getting used to all the attention his star status brings, he’s relishing the responsibility of being the leader who has helped the Eagles soar to unprecedented heights.
“Every day, we just work harder and harder trying to get after it,” Brown said. “Everyone’s goal is to get a banner up in here for the school, just to show everybody we were that team that got us there. Our coach tells us that every team is just a block in our way, so we’ve just got to keep knocking them down. Everybody looks up to me as a leader, and that’s good … no, it’s great. It gives me a lot of confidence.”
Another key piece to the puzzle has been third-year head coach John Creighton, who has led the team to a 46–21 record since taking over for longtime incumbent Calvin Jones. Creighton demands the most from his players on the court and in the classroom, teaching them responsibility and accountability. For example, late in the fourth quarter against Kensington and holding a very comfortable lead, a Washington player lollygagged back on defense after missing a layup; Creighton responded by immediately removing him from the game. As Ali pointed out, “If we don’t play good ‘D,’ then we have to run a lot in practice. It’s all about discipline, and we’re very disciplined on defense.”
“It’s good for them, because they’ve put the time and work in dating back to last summer,” said Creighton, also the school’s boys lacrosse coach. “We’re hoping to continue taking the next step. We’re a senior-heavy team, and their unselfishness and ability to communicate on the floor is what got us here. If you can protect the ball and make good decisions, then good things happen.”
In addition to Brown, Watson and Ali, the team boasts physical forward Jerome Blume — who snatched eight rebounds and is third in scoring behind Brown and Watson — diminuitive but deft passer Jheron Johnson, versatile sophomore Shaheed Fagan-Haynes and senior Aaron Curry (another big body) in its deep rotation.
Watson, who is eloquent and thoughtful when he speaks, still can’t believe his good fortune in ending up in this position as a senior. In a sense, he’s been the missing piece, and was quick to say how well the Washington players complement each other on the floor.
“We all have different abilities that come together during game time,” he said when asked to explain the leap the program has taken. “Asante is very physical and aggressive, like a bull that keeps on coming. Charles is so versatile on both ends. Me, Charles, Asante, Jerome … we all feed off each other. We’re a team and we play as one. We’re all the horses chasing that title.”
Added Brown: “We’re a good basketball team. We like to step up to the competition and play the bigger teams, because nobody really believes we can play with them. But we do. We all do a lot to help each other out, on the court and in the classroom.”
From here on out, it will only get more difficult for Washington. Frankford is next, then possibly King, Imhotep and Constitution. Can the Eagles shock everybody and slice and dice their way to a Public League title? That much remains to be seen, but of the 16 Public League teams still playing, Washington is one of them, and the Eagles are maintaining a business-like approach until the job is finished.
In fact, when Ali was speaking to a visiting reporter, Creighton snuck up from behind, pulled Ali’s hood over his head and told his senior guard: “Smile! He never smiles!”
“I’m having a lot of fun with my friends and teammates, but the most fun would be winning it all,” Ali said. “We want to show people we’re one of the best teams in the city, and the way we do that is by winning a championship.”
A championship means another banner on the gymnasium wall, and for once, it would involve basketball, something that would elicit a guaranteed smile from Ali and the rest of his teammates. ••
Follow Ed Morrone on Twitter @SpecialEd335
Senior guard Asante Ali, who scored 16 points against Kensington, is one of the team’s best defenders and ball-handlers.
Flying high: The George Washington boys basketball program has never won a Public League title, something this year’s team hopes to change. Pictured, senior leading scorer Charles Brown dishes the rock to guard Elmange Watson, an All-Public selection at Northeast a year ago. MARIA POUCHNIKOVA / TIMES PHOTOS
