Versatility leading tiny Destiny to huge season
Drive to Destiny High School, and there’s a chance you’ll miss the entrance.
It’s located at 7210 N. 76th St., amid numerous fast-food and business signs that distract a driver’s attention on Good Hope Road.
With an enrollment of 296 students, a big campus it is not.
“This used to be a strip mall,” Eagles’ boys basketball coach Branden Joseph said. “We just renovated it, modernized it in terms of the things we have in here for it to be a school.”
And it happens to be the home of the Journal Sentinel’s No. 1-ranked team in the area, as Destiny is 19-1 with one game left in the regular season.
“Before I went here, I never knew what it was,” said senior point guard Pierre Johnson. “Then playing AAU in the summer, college coaches would ask what school I go to and what city I’m in. I’d say Destiny High School and they’d ask ‘where’s that?’ ”
Joseph says the private
Christian school opened in 2007. The boys and girls basketball teams are the only sports offered, but they are not affiliated with a conference. Those interested in football or track and field can play with Milwaukee Vincent.
Joseph, who recently won his 100th game in his seventh year at Destiny, earned the school some recognition when it reached its first sectional playoff game in his first season at the helm. But the Eagles have never advanced to a sectional final, although that could change this year.
Destiny is ranked No. 4 in the Division 4 state coaches poll and received a No. 1 seed on Sunday for the postseason.
The team features eight seniors — and seven of them are getting recruited anywhere from junior colleges to Division I schools.
Terrence Banyard, a 6foot-6 senior forward, has drawn interest from UW-Milwaukee and averages a team-high 15.9 points per game.
He’s one of four starters who returned from last season, as Destiny opened its season with an 83-76 victory over Whitnall. The Falcons feature Wisconsin recruit Tyler Herro and advanced to the Division 2 state semifinals last year.
“People raised their eyebrows at our program and our team after we won,” Joseph said.
Destiny’s only loss was by two points to Milwaukee Pius on Dec. 3. The Eagles have won 15 straight since then, highlighted by a two-point win at Milwaukee Vincent, ranked No. 2 in the area, on Jan. 7.
“I think that secured our validation for us as a program and what we do over here at Destiny,” Joseph said.
What Destiny does is play an inside-out offensive game because of its size. The plan is to get the ball down low to create opportunities for everyone on the floor. Defensively, the Eagles play man-toman and use their length and quickness to speed up the opponent.
The team’s strength is its versatility, however, as six players average at least nine points per game. In addition to Banyard, there’s Sarion McGee (13.8 ppg.), Cameron Posey (11.5), Romaine Robinson (10.2), Diovonte Caldwell (9.3) and Johnson (9.0).
“We have shooters, we have quickness, have a lot of size,” Joseph said. “We just don’t have that one stellar guy. It’s just a good team effort and our depth kind of wears down teams. Because you can’t really key in on one or two individuals.”
Brookfield Academy knows the feeling, as it suffered a 69-64 loss to Destiny on Jan. 11. But coach Pat Clarey says he enjoys playing the Eagles because they are “class kids” that he has gotten to know over the years.
“You can tell a lot about a school, a program and a coach by the interactions you have with their players,” Clarey said. “That interaction could be in the handshake line or a conversation in the hallway. Destiny kids shake your hands, look you in the eye and have meaningful conversation with you.
“The way they play, you can tell that they truly care about one another and have discipline under stress. In my opinion, two key ingredients in the making of a state champion.
“Coach Joseph isn’t a basketball coach, he is a leader and molder of young men who happens to use basketball as his platform for teaching them to be successful in life. There are very few people I would want my sons playing for, but Coach Joseph is at the top of that list.”