Brooks School Exceeding Expectations

New England Recruiting Report | Sunday, February 20th, 2011

The Brooks School is off to their best start in years with a 19-1 record in the highly competitive ISL and has emerged as a potential number one seed in the upcoming NEPSAC Class B tournament. 

With wins over strong Class A programs like Phillips Exeter and Milton Academy in recent weeks, Brooks went into this weekend’s game against Phillips Academy of Andover looking for yet another upset and were able to do just that behind a balanced scoring effort that has become the norm for them this season. 

The win was the 18th in a row for Brooks having suffered their only loss to Lawrence Academy in just the second game of the season. 

While balance has certainly been a staple of this year’s team, a trio of juniors provides head coach John McVeigh with three strong individual talents. 

Anthony Barry, Connor Mahoney, and Aaron Davis were no strangers to each other having previously teamed on the AAU circuit with the Middlesex Magic, and that continuity is proving critical in their first season together at Brooks. 

Barry is the team’s star athlete and leading scorer, averaging nearly 21 points per game, and showing his ability to create his own shot off the dribble and play above the rim while also being a constant threat on the offensive glass and improving his perimeter jumper. 

Mahoney began the season sidelined by injury but has since returned to give Brooks a big mid-season boost.  The six-foot-five forward is the team’s best long distance shooting threat and is also impacting games with his high basketball I.Q., developing offensive moves, and versatile defense. 

As for Davis, he is the consummate point guard who sacrifices his own offense, distributes the ball, and runs the team at all costs.  This season’s success is especially sweet for him after having spent his first year at the ISL school without his two new counterparts. 

“I went out and talked to them because I knew it would be great to have them here,” Davis told RallyNorth.net. 

For McVeigh, the wins are equally as sweet, especially because they come within the framework of the school’s primary mission where education always comes first and foremost. 

“They’re not just basketball players here,” McVeigh told Rally North of his players.  “They’ve done a great job in school.  They’ve done a great job in other things.  Aaron Davis and Anthony Barry starred in the school play in the fall.  They’ve bought in to doing things outside of just basketball here.” 

"I love the model right now. I love to be in a place with kids who want to play in the Ivy League and NESCAC," McVeigh told Rally North. "Next year, we will have six different kids in six different schools in the NESCAC, who've played here. That's the kind of stuff I'm proud of. All three of those juniors are getting looked at by Ivy League schools. It's fun coaching those kinds of kids."

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