Brandon McCoy is quickly making his name known to basketball scouts all over the country. McCoy began his junior year at Cathedral Catholic High School (San Diego, California) unranked in the 2017 Class by ESPN, but his stock quickly began to climb. In August of 2015, McCoy made a huge leap in the rankings, moving into the #17 spot. McCoy wasn’t done there. This last Wednesday, January 21, 2016, McCoy moved into the top ten of the ESPN 2017 rankings, snagging the #9 spot. His ascent through the rankings is a lot like his journey as a basketball player, as he said for himself,  “Basketball took me on a journey. I went from being the worst player on the team to being the best player on the team, which taught me a lot about hard work, dedication, and staying focused. Focused on my family, focused on God, focused on it all.”

 

Something that may surprise you about the dominant 6’10”, 210 lb Center, is that he didn’t begin playing basketball until the age of 14. “I always wanted to play basketball, but I never tried to play because I used to box. So, one day I met someone who introduced me to the game of basketball and everything’s been great ever since,” McCoy said.  Once he began to play basketball, the offers started to pile up. As he progresses through his Junior year, he already has offers from schools such as Arizona, Kansas, UCLA, and plenty of others. “I’m looking for a family oriented program that takes basketball as serious as I do. I’m looking for great coaching and also a school that offers my major which is Marine Biology.” explained McCoy on what he’s looking for in a school.

 

While he may be dominating the high school circuit now, McCoy has had to prevail through plenty of hardships in his life. “My mom, my sister, and everyone is in Chicago, so whenever I think about why I’m doing all of this, I think of them,” he said. “Basketball is a really fun sport to play and I really love playing it, being able to play the sport gives you enough motivation to stay focused,” For McCoy, it can be tough leaving his family for San Diego, but when he made the decision to play at Cathedral Catholic High School, he did it for his family: “My grandmother is in the hospital and coming to Cathedral Catholic gives me the chance to be closer to her,” While it has undoubtedly been tough for McCoy, it will all be worth it if he achieves his ultimate goal of making it to the NBA. “I just want to be successful and do what I want to do,” he said, “I don’t want a job that I don’t like. I want a long and happy career, whether that be in the NBA, which is what I really want to do or it be something else. If I get there, I want to be a great player. I just want to have a happy life and make it to the NBA.”

 

One factor that has greatly improved McCoy’s chances of playing in the NBA has been his ability to excel with his AAU team, Cal Supreme. AAU basketball is where many high school basketball players get most of their attention from scouts and McCoy is no exception.“Being able to play EYBL with Cal Supreme has been great because everyone in the EYBL has a lot of talent and they have the chance to play at a Division 1 level. So, having the chance to compete with so many good players, and some great players has taught me a lot about how to find the strengths in my game. Everyone can shine, you just need to find your own niche.”

Brandon McCoy’s continual rise through high school basketball is clear evidence that he has found his niche. With a couple years left in high school and an interesting recruitment on the way, McCoy is definitely a player to watch for in the Class of 2017 and he is no doubt, one of high school’s ascending stars. .