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Brooklyn Center boys' basketball success on, off the court

By Kaitlin Merkel, Star Tribune, 02/27/16, 4:26PM CST

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The boys’ basketball team at Brooklyn Center has turned itself around on and off the court.


Under the direction of new coach Matthew McCollister and his crowd of mostly volunteer coaches, Brooklyn Center had a 15-11 record in the regular season and received a top seed in Class 2A, Section 5. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune)

During his three years as the head coach at Breck and two at St. Croix Preparatory, Matthew McCollister noticed a different Brooklyn Center lineup each game. He had also heard rumors of off-court issues, so he kept his eye on the coaching job in hopes it would open up.

“I’ve always thought that it was a position that I’d like to have. During the season last year, I saw that there were some things going on,” McCollister said. “So I went to my staff that I had at St. Croix, and I went to my wife, and said, ‘If this job opens, I really want it,’ and they said, ‘OK, let’s go get it.’ ”

He got his chance and was hired in May. The team finished 12-13 last season and lost its first game of the section playoffs. The program hasn’t been to the state tournament in 33 years.

Since his arrival, McCollister has sought to instill different values into his players as part of a culture change in the program. The school installed a new court after a pipe leak last season, and McCollister put team benches on opposite sides of the bleachers, seeking to alter every detail to break from the program’s past.

This season the Centaurs responded, finishing 15-11 in the regular season and earning a No. 1 seed in Class 2A, Section 5, despite often starting two eighth-graders and a freshman.

“We never talked about the past except for the lack of success,’’ McCollister said. “We would always point to the banner that says it’s been 33 years since we’ve been to state. We have the talent to do that, but we had to do things differently.”

McCollister brought in seven assistants, most of whom are volunteers, and made each responsible for one aspect of the team. Every player turns in a weekly academic progress report to the coaches to participate that week.

“We talked as a staff that we might have to accept some losses on the court to prove a point about what we want to do as a whole program. We’re not going to sacrifice going to study hall or grades,” McCollister said. “It was a situation that we could come in and change a culture, and use basketball as a tool to empower young men.

“These kids love basketball, so we have something that they want, and we can use that to affect their grades, to affect them as citizens.”

The new structure quickly translated to success.

Senior guard Landon Kirkwood, who has committed to Cal State Fullerton, leads the team with 15.2 points per game. Other top scorers include junior forward Devonta Prince (13 points per game), junior guard Deshawn Pickford (12-point average) and eighth-grade guard Lu’Cye Patterson (11.4 average).

Off the court, the Centaurs’ collective grade-point average rose 0.74 points on a four-point scale between the first semester of last season and the first semester of this season, McCollister said.

Kirkwood said the new coach changed “the whole atmosphere. He changed the way we act, the way we talk in practice, the way we talk on and off the court, in the hallways at school, just our whole mood and outlook on things.”

Team chemistry also improved.

“He’s a great coach, he’s a positive coach, and he’s always pushing us to be better,” Prince said. “Some people don’t have an opportunity to play in a varsity jersey so it’s our opportunity to go out there and shine.”

The Centaurs began their bid for a long-awaited state tournament appearance with a victory in the first round of section play. They played a quarterfinal game Saturday night after this edition was printed. A berth at state would mean more to players than another banner in their gym.

Kirkwood said players hope to leave “a trail of success to move forward in the years to come for Brooklyn Center.”

McCollister, meanwhile, is taking on another program-building effort. He was named the Tanzania national team’s coach in September. It’s a program that doesn’t even have team jerseys.

“It’s pretty bare-bones and it’s exciting, kind of like here,’’ he said. “Any success we have is something we’ve done. … It’s very gratifying work.”

 

Kaitlin Merkel is a University of Minnesota student on assignment for the Star Tribune.

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