Millbrook boys’ basketball seniors leave program with many memories

With a little more than a minute left in Saturday’s RDU High School All-Star Basketball Game inside the Millbrook High gymnasium, Wildcats seniors Trejon Jacob and Faison Brock stood by assistant coach Julius McKinley during a timeout. Each of them broke out into a big grin.

About 30 seconds later, everyone knew exactly why.

After a miss by the Durham all-stars, the Raleigh unit scrambled up the floor. The ball whipped around the court couple of times until a shot finally was taken. It bounded off the rim, where Brock snagged the rebound. He paused for a brief moment before slashing toward the unguarded rim.

He threw the ball off the backboard and, in full stride, grabbed the rebound and slammed the ball through the hoop.

“Oooh, what a self-assist and jam!” the in-game emcee remarked.

Fittingly, the player Millbrook head coach Scott McInnes called “the ultimate team guy” raced back down the court and blocked a shot. Twenty seconds later, the game ended with a resounding 128-96 victory for the Raleigh team.

Brock and Jacob met near the sideline and shared a quick embrace, grins still beaming ear to ear.

It was a fitting way for them to leave the basketball court for their final time as Wildcats.

“This was a very, very, very good way to end a high school career,” said Jacob, who tallied 10 points, seven rebounds and an assist. He committed to Seminole State College in Oklahoma just a couple of days later.

“Having a good time and enjoying myself one last time in this uniform was amazing,” he said.

Added Brock, who had six points, 10 rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot: “This was very special. The last time we lost on this court was my sophomore year, so I’m very glad we leave with one last win here.”

‘Crushing blow’

Those emotions were a stark contrast to the previous time the duo walked off the court together.

That came on March 1, when Millbrook saw its state championship dreams shattered for the second straight season at the hands of Garner, the 2015 state champion.

The 92-88 loss on the Trojans’ home floor in the third round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A boys’ basketball state tournament ended the team’s season with a 28-2 record. It also came after Brock and Jacob were huge parts of a 19-point comeback that came up just a little short.

“As seniors it was a crushing blow,” Jacob said. “We always wanted to win a state championship and it took a couple of weeks for it to settle in, I think. We felt this team was a very special team and that we could do something special together and we just happened to fall short. It was heartbreaking.”

Thinking back on the game, Brock says he still agonizes about things.

“We probably haven’t gotten over it yet,” he said. “But it was just a good learning experience. Just one mistake, just a little thing here or there and we would have won it.

“And then … ?” he trailed off.

McInnes said he knows the pain of the loss is still raw, but his players will always look back on the special things they accomplished such as a fifth straight Cap-8 Conference championship.

A league tourney championship.

And a school record for victories.

“You try and remember all the good things,” he said.

And the coach added as he watched his two former players run up and down the court on Saturday for the last time in Millbrook blue and white: “And this is another one they can add to all of that.”

Next step

Jacob already settled on a college, but Brock, who also plans to play on the next level, should be making a decision very soon.

Brock, who averaged 13.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 1.6 assists during his senior year, said he is considering Newberry College, Winston-Salem State and some other schools.

The 6-foot-6, 205-pound forward sees his team-first attitude as his biggest asset.

“I’d rather just do the minor things, grab loose balls, make an extra pass, set a screen,” he said. “I just let the scoring come to me. I don’t ever force anything.”

Jacob, a 6-5, 170-pound guard, also averaged 13.9 points to go with 5.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals.

And to both, Millbrook will always be special.

“I just really like this school,” Brock said, as he went to the lockers for one last time.

This story was originally published April 13, 2016 at 2:48 PM with the headline "Millbrook boys’ basketball seniors leave program with many memories."