After strategizing against Springbrook’s Folarin Campbell and David Brewster for six seasons, Montgomery County coachesmight have assumed they were due a respite from the Blue Devils’ reign of Division I-caliber perimeter players.
No such luck.
With junior C.J. Garner on the perimeter this year, Springbrook has yet another dangerous scorer. Averaging 16.6 points per game, Garner has been the catalyst for the inexperienced Blue Devils (8-1).
In the season opener, he wrecked Damascus with 27 points. Later, in a win over Whitman, Garner made a steal with 10 seconds left and raced down floor for the clinching layup. Last week, Garner helped propel Springbrook to the championship in its own holiday tournament.
“He’s lightning quick, very aggressive, great in transition” said Springbrook coach Tom Crowell. “The only thing he needs is to develop that outside shot.”
After graduating the top five scorers from last year’s 18-6 squad, expectations were modest. But Garner, a varsity reserve last season, expected more.
“I’m not surprised at all. This is a basketball school,” said Garner. “Last year guys on this team had a lot of agendas and we underachieved. This year we have much better chemistry. We like each other. We do what coach tells us.”
Garner’s coming out moment was last year when he scored a 3-point play, hitting the winning free throw in a pressure-packed gym with 3 seconds left in a 56-55 victory over backyard rival Blake. This past summer, his stock rose with a strong performance on the AAU circuit.
At 5-foot-10, Springbrook’s newest star comes in a smaller package than his predecessors — the 6-5 Brewster, a freshman at Richmond, and the 6-3 Campbell, a junior at George Mason. But that hasn’t prevented Garner from drawing attention from schools such as Towson and GMU.
It also hasn’t diminished Garner’s self image.
“He thinks he’s the best player in Montgomery County,” said Crowell. “I don’t know if that’s true. But I like his attitude. So do the kids. We needed a leader and he’s become that.”
Key Player
» Garner was held to a season-low 11 points in Springbrook’s lone loss, 53-44, to Magruder Wednesday night.
» Was a standout soccer and football player before devoting his attention to basketball.
» Combines with seniors Micah Perry and Othello Banaci to form perhaps Montgomery County’s quickest backcourt.
