MLC’s Walker scores 1,000th point — then sets record
The Metropolitan Learning Center boys basketball team gutted out a 91-83 double-overtime win over University last Tuesday. Head coach Leron Gittens checked the scorebook after the game.
His eyes lit up when he saw Jaden Walker’s numbers: 52 points?
“Wow,” Gittens said. “I graduated from New London High back in 1990 when we were one of the first schools to win backto-back championships. ... I’ve been around basketball a long time and that ... that was an awesome thing.”
Yes, it was a program record for Walker, a senior guard who leads the team in scoring. To add to the feat, he scored 39 points the night before against Weaver, the fourth of which was the 1,000th of his career.
Walker said he missed his first five shots against Weaver.
“I guess it just isn’t my night tonight,” Walker thought.
His team trailed by eight in the first quarter. Then he turned it on. He scored his fourth point on a layup — and then added 35 more.
“All I see is everyone running to the court cheering for me,” Walker said. “They stopped the game and they said you scored 1,000 points, congrats. ... It was my biggest priority — that and winning. Going into this year, I wanted to prove that I could be a great leader and make this team with a bunch of new guys win.”
The next night against University, Walker said he wasn’t really in the mood to score. He had just scored 39 points, and the team was playing its third game in five days. His knees killed, his shins hurt. The team had been practicing well as of late and figured it would be an easier game.
“I just went onto a different level,” Walker said. “I did not know I had 52 points. I thought I had 29, 28 ... but I really did not know I had 52 points. It just came.”
Said Gittens: “Was I shocked that he had 50? Yes. Does he have the ability to do it? Yes.”
Gittens said that when Walker arrived to MLC as a freshman, he was strictly a lefthanded player. Over the years he’s developed his right hand and has extended his outside shooting. The work was put in, and the results showed.
Walker’s success is important on a personal level, for the school and for the Capital Region Athletic League. He proved to others that he didn’t have to venture off to a bigger school or a more established program to put his name on the map.
“Going into last year, I had a couple of different high schools that wanted me to transfer in for my senior year,” Walker said. “Ultimately I decided that I could be the guy here. I didn’t have to go to a high Division I school like Windsor or East Catholic. I could play through my mistakes here and still be the guy.”
Players of the week
Justin Menard, Xavier: Menard scored 26 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in a win over East Haven, scored 34 points in an overtime win over Hamden and had 21 against Guilford.
Donovan Clingan, Bristol Central: Clingan posted two triple-doubles in two Rams wins last week: 15 points, 25 rebounds and 10 blocks against Farmington, and 14 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists against Southington.
Simon Partyka, Valley Regional: Partyka had 22 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals in a win over Portland.
Ty Calloway, Enfield: Calloway posted 32 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks and four
assists in a win over Bloomfield.
Keyshawn Mitchell, Capital Prep: Mitchell scored 22 points and added 14 rebounds for the undefeated Trailblazers in a win over Civic Leadership.
Matt Curtis, Northwest Catholic: Curtis scored a game-high 35 points in a win over Windsor. He scored 19 points later in the week against Conard.
Zach Johnson, Morgan: Johnson scored 25 points against Old Lyme to keep Morgan undefeated. He had 16 points later in the week against Hale Ray.
Jaden Walker, Metropolitan Learning Center: Walker scored his 1,000th career point with a 39-point outing against Weaver, and then scored a school-record 52 points in a double-overtime win over University.
Jon Jacobs, Aerospace: Jacobs posted a near quadrupled-double in a win over University: 27 points, nine rebounds, nine steals and seven assists.
Ian Calabrese, Simsbury: Calabrese scored 31 points and had seven assists in a win over Hall.
Teams of the week
Morgan: The Huskies are the only undefeated team in the Shoreline Conference and beat Old Lyme and Hale Ray last week to remain perfect.
Xavier: At 7-1, the Falcons have the most wins in the Southern Connecticut Conference. They went 3-0 last week with wins against East Haven, Guilford and Hamden as Justin Menard (27 points per game last week) has continued to prove himself as a legitimate star.
Aerospace: The Jets have won six games in a row after losing to CRAL foe Capital Prep (8-0). They beat Parish Hill and University last week.
Storylines
Windsor, one of the top programs in Connecticut over the last decade, has two in-state losses over the last two seasons.
Both have come against Northwest Catholic.
“I feel like wematchupwell against them,” Northwest Catholic junior Matt Curtis said. “I feel like we are able to contain them. They like to press a lot, and I feel like wehave good press-breakers. ... I feel like we’re just always ready for the big moment.”
The Lions (7-0) beat Windsor 78-74 on Monday in one of the biggest boys basketball games of the regular season. The two last faced off in March of 2020 in the Central Connecticut Conference tournament semifinals. Windsor, then the top-ranked team in the state, fell to Northwest Catholic, 72-62. Curtis had 15 in that game.
“We’re always pushing each other in practice to get better, and it just shows in the big games,” Curtis said.
What to watch this week
Innovation at Aerospace, Tuesday: Two of the CRAL’s best teams go head-to-head.
Bristol Eastern at Bristol Central, Thursday: It’s always fun when two crosstown rivals face off, and this all-Bristol matchup is never disappointing.
Canton at SMSA, Friday: The top two ranked teams in the NCCC will jockey for tournament position as we inch closer to the postseason.
Buoyed by an impressive run to the Pac-12 championship, Stanford jumped two spots to No. 2 in Associated Press women’s college basketball poll on Monday.
TheCardinalwonthreegames in theconferencetournamentby anaverageof31points, including a 20-point victory over then-No. 9 UCLAonSundayfor the title.
Coach Tara VanDerveer’s team received five of 29 firstplacevotesfromanationalmedia panel. Stanford (25-2) trails only UConn in the AP Top 25. The Huskies got 22 first-place votes.
NorthCarolinaState stayed at No. 3 after edging Louisville for the Atlantic Coast Conference championship. The Wolfpack receivedtheothertwofirst-place votes. Texas A&M and South Carolina rounded out the top fiveteamsinthepoll. TheGamecocks won the SEC championship onSunday, beating Georgia.
Baylor was No. 6, with Louisville and Maryland tied for seventh. Indiana and UCLA finished off the top 10. The Lady Bears, TerrapinsandHoosiersall play in their conference tournaments this week.
Thefinalpolloftheseasonwill be released next Monday before the NCAA unveils the tournament bracket.
Florida Gulf Coast entered the Top 25 for the first time since 2015, coming in at No. 24, whileDePaulfellout. TheEagles have won 22 consecutive games after losing in the Gulf Coast Showcase to Missouri State and Arkansas. They play in the Atlantic Sun Tournament later this week.