City of Basketball Love

Zak Wolf (@ZakWolf22)
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In 2018, when Collegium Charter was looking for a new head coach of their basketball team, they needed to find someone who would stick with the program and provide stability that wasn’t there before. In his fourth year as head coach, Markel Jones has done just that and more. 

Jones, who played for Collegium and graduated in 2010, knew that he could make Collegium into a program that is taken seriously, especially after they joined the Bicentennial League a few years ago when he first took over.

When interviewing for the job, Jones talked about a five-year plan that he wanted to put into place. The plan was to build up in the first few seasons and over time improve, before eventually establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with. 

“I think we just needed some kind of consistency,” Jones said. “We’ve had coaches come and go, so we’re trying to keep our kids from middle school so we can build and having that consistent voice and presence here helps with that.”

Based on the timeline Jones gave himself, he’s ahead of schedule, but maybe his plan is working even better than he expected. 

Collegium is off to an 11-1 start to the season, and tied for first place in the Bicentennial league, starting 7-0. They knocked off a scrappy Phil-Mont Christian team, which only had one league loss heading into the contest, 66-62 on Saturday.

Despite the success they’ve had this season, it wasn’t always easy for Jones and his team. After coming over from the Tri-County league, Collegium’s best record in the Bicentennial had been 5-7, and the fact that their season was canceled last year didn’t help. 

After playing constantly all summer and workout sessions in the gym, Collegium came into this season motivated and it’s shown. The Cougars have been blowing through the league, keeping pace with Dock Mennonite who they’re tied with at the top of the standings. 

Winning the league would be a huge accomplishment for Jones and the rest of the program, 

“It would mean a lot,” Jones said. “We lost badly to some teams in the beginning and it was rough, but these guys were freshmans and sophomores so they were just learning. Now for them to be able to compete at the top of the league I think is a testament to their hard work.”

Jones is only 29 years old, which allows him to relate to his players easily and give them comfort when they need it. He sees himself as a role model to them, which creates a strong connection that a lot of older coaches aren’t able to have. The ability to have conversations about not just things that are happening on the court, but off it as well. 

“It's like having little brothers,” Jones said. “It’s more like a family atmosphere. They see me all the time and they can come talk to me, but at the same time they know I’m the head of the program and the guy to get them going.”

A player which Jones has a special connection with is his point guard Dinero Washington. In Jone’s first year with Collegium, Washington was the starting point guard as a freshman. Undersized and inexperienced, Washington got banged around and bullied and together with his coach, they learned valuable lessons on what it took to win games.

Washington’s growth was on full display Saturday, putting up a team-high 16 points and some clutch free throws down the stretch to ice the game.The junior point guard scored seven points in the first quarter, which allowed Collegium to jump out to a 24-12 lead. As the game went on Phil-Mont wouldn’t go away and they made a run in the fourth quarter to get the game to single digits. 

When the game started to get tight, Jones trusted Washington to have the ball in his hands and make the right play. 

“It’s super comforting,” Washington said. “I can make decisions and he’ll be ok with it because we’ve got such a close bond that he’s got trust in me to make the right decisions.”

Washington knows it was hard at first, but he’s put the work in to get where he is this year. All the time he spent in the gym with his coach is paying off in big ways.

“It was tough at first, but you’ve got to learn,” Washington said. “You’re going to have mistakes, it’s going to be a learning process, but me and my coach we’ve got a strong bond. Just working with him in the gym, we’re they’re all the time, just getting better and trying to prove that we’re a good team and that we can compete with anybody.”

Washington is the leader of a close knit group that have been with the program since their freshman season. He’s the guy who runs the show and makes sure everyone is getting involved and the offense is running smoothly. 

Collegium is a team that has multiple guys who can hurt you in different ways. Whether it’s Washington with his downhill driving ability, sophomore K’mari Smith and junior Alyjah Warren lighting it up from the outside or junior forward Travon Mack with his physicality in the paint, Collegium is a tough team to guard. All four players were in double figures, with Warren scoring 16, and Smith and Jackson both had 13. Smith and Warren combined for seven 3-pointers, six of which came in the first half, when Phil-Mont was in a zone.

“It’s a really good thing to have so many options because teams a lot of the time focus on me or maybe focus on our big men, so people get open shots all the time,” Washington said.

The Cougars’ success so far this season has led to the number one ranking in District 1 for the 4A classification. Their only loss this season came against Catholic powerhouse Nuemnan Goretti, in a game that was close throughout. After feeling they could’ve made a run at the district last season, but unforeseen circumstances prevented it, Collegium feels ready for real this time.  

“We were planning to be good last year, but we missed our season because of COVID,” Jones said, “so this year is our year to make a run at districts, Bicentennial League and hopefully states.”

By Quarter
Collegium:  24  |  15  |  16  |  11  ||  66
Phil-Mont:   12  |  14  |  18  |  18  ||  62

Scoring
Collegium: Washington 16, Warren 16, Smith 13, Jackson 13, Fowlers 5, Mack 2, Pilt Jr. 1

Phil-Mont: Olinger 17, Swider 16, Deheer 11, Chi 10, Lilliston 4, Haviland 4