Rashad Bell, who scored 22 points, goes in for the dunk. (Damion Reid)
Andre Barrett quickly knew it was going to be one of those nights — a very special one at that.
“I felt it from the start that I was going to get it going with how aggressive I was,” he said.
The former Seton Hall star upped the game’s tempo against veteran Nike 1 and started a barrage of jump shots and big plays that never ended. Barrett connected on six 3-pointers, scored a game-high 27 points and grabbed seven rebounds in Gold’s Gym’s lopsided 120-90 win over defending champion Nike 1 in the Nike Pro City championship game Thursday night at Baruch College. It led wire to wire to earn the team’s first title in six years. Nike 1 won four of the last five crowns.
“They are older than us,” said Barrett, who earned game MVP honors. “We had to push the tempo and make the game fast. They are a good team and they are smart. If we had slowed it down we would have been playing their game.”
He got off to the blistering start with two 3-pointers and a beautiful fall away jumper in the first quarter, but it was after halftime that Barrett really shined. The 5-foot-10 guard hit his first three treys, all from the left side, and scored 17 second-half points. Gold’s Gym, which led by 13 at the break, saw its lead balloon to 88-60 heading into the fourth.
“He hit three in a row and I knew it was over,” Gold’s Gym teammate Rashad Bell said.
The former St. Francis Prep star played a the Robin to Barrett’s Batman all night by taking advantage of mismatches in the post. He scored 22 points and grabbed six boards. Mark McCarroll, who played at Christ the King, dropped in 14 points and Antwan Dobie added 11 for Gold’s Gym. Lloyd Clinton led Nike 1 with 21 points and Tyrone Grant had 15 points and nine rebounds. Darren Phillip added 13 points and seven boards and legend Junie Sanders netted five in likely his final game in the tournament.
“When you have the caliber of players that we have, people have to know their roles,” Bell said. “You got to play together. Everyone can’t be out their thinking for themselves.”
Gold’s Gym may not have been holding the trophy had it not been for the blue-collar work in the paint by McCarroll, Michael Wright, Torin Francis and B.J. McFarland. The quartet of big men allowed Gold’s Gym to hold their own with Nike 1, which usually dominates the glass. They also contested shots as Nike 1 shot just 38.4 percent for the game. That was all part of coach John Strickland’s pregame speech as he became the first person to win a Pro City title as a player and a coach.
“It’s not a good feeling, it’s a great feeling,” said Strickland, nicknamed The Franchise. … “It’s really about the players more than anything. They make me look better than what I am.”
No one looked better than Barrett, who Strickland called the engine. After the game the crafty guard talked about a prophetic pep talk he received from Milwaukee Bucks guard Chris Douglas-Roberts, who played the last two games with Gold’s Gym.
“He told me to take over the game,” Barrett said. “He basically knew what I could do.”