Mbakwe article

[mu_hilltopper]

From http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/sports/high_school/16165231.htm



Feast of St. Bernard's
Trevor Mbakwe's transfer puts the small Tri-Metro school in the state spotlight.
BY RAY RICHARDSON
Pioneer Press
Trevor Mbakwe told St. Bernard's guard Chad Jones in the summer he was thinking about transferring to St. Bernard's.

Jones and Mbakwe have been friends since eighth grade, but Jones blew it off as idle chitchat. A month later, Mbakwe enrolled at the small Catholic school in St. Paul's Rice Street neighborhood, making a believer out of Jones, a senior from Eagan, and elevating St. Bernard's to elite status among Minnesota's Class A schools.

St. Bernard's plays its season opener Thursday night against Como, and Jones can't wait to throw Mbakwe a lob pass that will count — a toss the 6-foot-8 senior can turn into a one- or two-handed slam dunk.

"Trevor is already the heart and soul of our team," Jones said of the former Henry Sibley star. "He gives us a big presence on defense, and he's unselfish on offense. We're going to be so much better this season."

Mbakwe's transfer from Henry Sibley put an early spotlight on St. Bernard's as one of the state's top teams in any class. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 1 in Class A in the Associated Press preseason state rankings.

Mbakwe, who signed a national letter of intent last month to attend Marquette, joins three returning starters at St. Bernard's: Jones, 6-6 senior forward Patrick Cassidy and sophomore point guard Trenton Davis.

Mbakwe is considered the top power forward in the state and has been ranked among the nation's top players at the position by Rivals.com, a high school basketball scouting service. He averaged 21 points, 12.5 rebounds and three blocked shots per game last season for Henry Sibley.

St. Bernard's coach Ed Cassidy was enjoying the last few days of his summer vacation when he got a phone call alerting him to Mbakwe's plans. Cassidy thought he was hearing a "cruel joke."

There was no laughter at St. Bernard's, only smiles, when Cassidy saw Mbakwe going through the admissions process Sept. 5 to establish eligibility for the entire season. Cassidy is 66-19 (.784) in three seasons at St. Bernard's, including a 23-7 finish last year. The chance of an unprecedented run this season seems possible with Mbakwe.

"He adds a whole new dimension to what we can do," Cassidy said of Mbakwe. "A lot of our guys will be able to play their normal positions now. In my 15 years of coaching in high school, I've never had an impact player of his size."

Jones, an AAU teammate of Mbakwe since 2002, was key in the Mbakwe move. When Jones heard Mbakwe was thinking of leaving Sibley to improve his grades, Jones talked to Mbakwe about St. Bernard's academic system. It helped that Jones and Mbakwe are friends and had a basketball history before high school. "I wouldn't be here at St. Bernard's if it wasn't for Chad," Mbakwe said. "He had a lot of persuading to do, but he did a good job. I wouldn't want to go through this experience with anyone other than him."

Mbakwe's on-court challenge is to maintain a strong performance level against weaker competition. Henry Sibley is a Class 4A school and consistently faced better talent. Mbakwe admitted he had little knowledge of St. Bernard's or Class A schools before Jones made his case.

St. Bernard's is in the Tri-Metro Conference, which includes De La Salle and Breck. But Cassidy is bracing Mbakwe for games in which he might dominate or be neutralized with radical defenses.

"It's hard sometimes as a player when you see your competition is not on the same level, but that's something I'll have to work through," Mbakwe said. "I want to do what I can to help us win a state title. On any level, that's hard to do."

St. Bernard's lost in the section finals to De La Salle in 2005 and Maranatha Christian Academy in 2006. Mbakwe could be the difference for St. Bernard's to take that next step.

[rocky_warrior]

Cool, I'm excited to see him in an MU uniform.

[Djgoldnboy]

According to "some" out there , you never will.......

I, on the other hand, can't wait to see him suit up next year as well.

[miltownsports]

According to "some" out there , you never will.......

What does that mean? His grades arent good? Lazar situation?  some people jsut dont think hes any good?
I talked to a friend who saw him play and he said he thought he was just a stick figure.

[SoCalstu09]

He's had some real problems with grades. I don't think he would have qualified for MU this year had he been old enough (grade wise). As the article says, he is transferring schools in order to improve his grades.