Mills takes game higher at B&M
The signature highlight from Andre Mills and his program-record 52point performance for Brimmer & May started with defense.
A 6-foot-4-inch senior guard from Dorchester, Mills swiped a steal on an ill-fated behind-the-back attempt by a Massanutten Military Academy player at the Hoophall Prep Classic last month in Springfield. On a dime,
Mills stutter-stepped to see if the Massanutten player might attempt a defensive stop of his own.
“He sure did jump with me, but after that, the rest was history,” said Mills, who proceeded to throw down a ferocious dunk. “I don’t know why he jumped.”
Mills has built his basketball chops on athleticism and potential. Averaging 32.5 points per game, the 19-yearold has emerged as one of the nation’s top prospects.
”Two years ago he was a talented underclassmen with an inconsistent motor,” said Adam Finkelstein, director of scouting at 247Sports. “Now, he’s the hardest playing guy on the floor almost every night.”
Mills starred at Archbishop Williams as a freshman and sophomore, then transferred to Vermont Academy and reclassified. He returned to the Bay State a year later, joining his AAU coach with Mass Rivals, Tom Nelson, at Brimmer & May in Chestnut Hill.
Brimmer & May plays a challenging prep schedule in Class AA full of Division 1 recruits. Mills and Rutgers-bound classmate Bryce Dortch
(Somerville), start alongside three sophomores for the Gators (8-12). Mills views the season as a “humbling learning experience.”
His consistent scoring outbursts have pushed the lefthander past 2,000 career points, but he is also averaging 8.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 3 steals per game, shooting 48 percent from the floor.
“I don’t really go into games thinking I’m going to score this many points, but sometimes there becomes a point in the game where I’ve just got to score points,” Mills said. “I can manipulate the game with the ball more than doing it off the ball. I’ve gradually just been scoring, scoring, scoring.”
Mills, who has committed to Texas A&M over Boston College, Iowa and Providence, among others, will be joined in College Station by Mass Rivals teammate George Turkson (Lowell), a senior at Bradford Christian Academy.
Nelson first connected with Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams when Mass Rivals star Wabissa Bede (North Andover) played for Williams at Virginia Tech. Bede is now on the A&M staff.
Nelson credits Mills with changing his mindset as the precursor to his explosion, much to the delight of his future college coaches.
Taking note of his senior’s relentless drive, Nelson said. “You don’t see kids in high school play with this level of intensity and desire on both ends of the floor very often, but Andre plays to exhaustion. He’s playing to win, so A&M loves it because he fits exactly how they play — tough, strong, with will and desire.”
R In addition to Mills, here are five other NEPSAC players from local schools of note.
CJ Cox, Milton Academy — Bound for perennial top-5 Division 1 program Purdue, the 6-foot-2-inch combo guard played two years at Lexington before reclassifying at MA. Bryce Dortch, Brimmer & May — The 6-8 forward transferred in from Dexter Southfield after the COVID-19 shortened 2020-21 season. His future college coach, Steve Pikiell, said the Somerville teen “has all the things you look for in a young student-athlete.” Jaylen Harrell, Cambridge Arts,
Technology & Science — A 6-foot-5 guard, the junior from Mission Hill, formerly of Cathedral and St. Sebastian’s, ranks No. 90 in the 247Sports Composite rankings for the Class of 2025. Harrell owns a growing list of college offers including Alabama, Georgetown, Providence, and Rutgers.
Warren Keel Jr., Bradford Christian Academy — Now in the NEPSAC following a Globe All-Scholastic Honorable Mention campaign at Lynn English last season, the 5-10 guard checks in at No. 78 in the Class of 2026 rankings as a reclassified sophomore.
Ryan Mela, The Newman School — The 6-foot-6 forward committed to Providence reclassified and transferred to The Newman School last season after a three-year stint at Natick. Courtside chatter
R Cambridge (12-2, 6-1) bounced back from a Dual County League loss to Lincoln-Sudbury with two close wins — over Westwood, and a doubleovertime victory over previously unbeaten Waltham. In their next game, the Falcons honored local superfan Elmo
Mikel by naming him team manager ahead of a 60-41 win over Weston. Mikel, 47, is a Cambridge graduate and a basketball player for The Cambridge Program, a highly successful team comprised of men from Cambridge with special needs. The Cambridge Program’s top team, the Warriors, have won 62 straight games and six straight state titles. Cambridge coach George Rodriguez has been involved with the program for years as part of his role as Recreation Activities Coordinator for the city. Cambridge stayed hot Friday in a 47-43 win at Westford, with Parris Moses dropping a team-high 17 points, while guards
Isaiah Warsame and Chais Harriette led a stellar defensive effort.
“We had three big games last week and we bounced back from a frustrating performance at L-S,” said Rodriguez. “Our guys needed that win, because we know now that Waltham is one of the top dogs in the league.”
R Catholic Memorial clinched a second straight Catholic Conference crown with a 65-62 win over Malden Catholic Tuesday . . . Whitman-Hanson clinched the program’s 10th Patriot League Keenan title with a 70-49 win over Hingham . . . Peabody has won at least 15 games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2003.
R Ethan Borgesen scored 13 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter to lift Silver Lake to its first win, 59-57, over Marshfield . . . Weymouth’s 6-foot-4 star senior Edric Louissaint committed to Keene State.