Boys athlete of the week

// The Post-Gazette’s top male performer from the past seven days

The past week: Cugini scored a career-high 55 points in the Crusaders’ 87-78 overtime win against Nazareth Prep on Jan. 22, then scored 35 points the following day in an 86-74 win at Avella. He then scored 52 in an 86-72 loss at St. Joseph on Jan. 26.

Check this out: Cugini led the WPIAL in scoring as a freshman with an average of 34.1 points per game, and he’s currently on pace to beat that mark this year. The 6-foot-1, 170-pound sophomore entered the week averaging 35.3 points per game, four points higher than his nearest competitor.

You scored 48 points in a game twice last season. Did you know you had finally broken 50 by the time your 55point game was over? Honestly, not really. I had a normal first half, and then the second half, I was shooting and I wasn’t missing. Then we started playing better, the team got steals, and it just kind of happened. It felt good. You have a chance to score 1,000 points less than 30 games into your high school career. Nobody else has done it in less than 40. Is that hard

for you to believe? I didn’t think it would happen this quickly, but that was always kind of a little goal to keep in the back of my head [to score 1,000 points]. I didn’t know it was a thing, really, until I was in high school, and I saw kids get it, and I was like, ‘Oh, I can do this.’

I’ve heard you referred to as “The Genie” and “Vinsanity”. Do you have a preferred nickname that your teammates or friends like to call you? I don’t really have any, but I feel like “Vinsanity” is nice, but that’s Vince Carter. So I feel like I have to go with “The Genie,” because that’s creative and rhymes with my last name. What shoes do you wear for games? Right now, I wear KDs.

Are you a big fan of his [Kevin Durant]? Yeah, I think KD is one of the best scorers of all time. I don’t know how people can guard him. He’s like a 7foot beast.

Who is your favorite player in the NBA? One of my favorite players is Ja Morant, just because of how explosive he is. He’s insane. I like watching LeBron. I think LeBron is the greatest player of all time, so I like watching him, obviously. I like watching whatever is on. What’s your favorite song to listen to before a game to get pumped up? I don’t really have a favorite song. I just kind of listen to a playlist, different artists.

Which artists do you have to have on your playlist? Polo G and Lil Baby — those are my top two.