John Carroll hoops team ready for BCL play
Tony Martin will be back in a familiar setting this season. 
The John Carroll boys basketball coach -- formerly Archbishop Spalding’s head coach and an assistant at Mount St. Joseph and Cardinal Gibbons -- will lead the Patriots in their inaugural season in the Baltimore Catholic League.
“The Baltimore Catholic League and the John Carroll School both represent excellence. We are honored and excited to be a member,” Martin said. “I have great respect for the Catholic League. That’s where I cut my teeth as a 22-year-old coach under arguably one of the greatest coaches in Maryland history in Ray Mullis at Cardinal Gibbons. From there, I had the chance to coach several years in the Catholic League. It’s something that John Carroll is excited to be a part of.”
Leading the way this season for John Carroll will be Malcolm McMillan, a 6-foot, 185-pound senior point guard. McMillan, who played this summer for Crusader Nation on the AAU circuit, averaged 16 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals for the Patriots as a junior.
“Malcolm is continuing to get better every year," Martin said. "This summer, I think he caught a lot of coaches’ attention with his competitiveness, his toughness and his physicality. I think he’s slowly matured into a terrific lead guard at the high school level. I’m very excited to see what his senior year brings.”
Martin said American, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Bucknell, Central Connecticut, Cornell, Drexel, East Carolina, George Mason, Holy Cross, Lehigh, Loyola, Mount St. Mary’s, Niagara, Old Dominion, South Florida, Towson and Wagner have been involved with McMillan.
“He’s going to sign early and he feels very comfortable with the list of schools now,” Martin said. “A lot of schools are coming in for workouts, so somebody else could jump right into the mix. But I think he feels very good about those schools.”
In the Patriots’ frontcourt, forward Jarred Jones is finally healthy after dealing with finger, knee and shin injuries over the past couple years. Martin said Jones, a 6-foot-7, 185-pound junior, has received interest from Albany, Clemson, Delaware, Georgia Tech, Holy Cross, Navy, Oregon State, Washington, Richmond, St. Francis (Pa.) and Xavier.
“He looked terrific this summer, and you can just tell he’s getting bigger and stronger and more comfortable coming off his injury,” Martin said of Jones, who played for Nike Baltimore Elite this summer. “I expect him to have a terrific year. A lot of high-majors are starting to show interest. With two years to go, he’s in a good spot to achieve his dream after some devastating setbacks.”
Ronald Scott, a 5-foot-11 combo guard, should also provide some scoring punch for the Patriots. As a junior, Scott averaged 16 points and shot 44 percent from 3-point range.
A former Towson Catholic player, Scott suited up this summer for Nike Baltimore Elite and is hearing from several Division II programs, including Wheeling Jesuit in West Virginia and Pfeiffer University in North Carolina.
“Ronald’s a winner, a gamer and he just puts the ball in the basket,” Martin said. “I love his passion for the game and I expect him to have an excellent year.”
There’s plenty of young talent on the Patriots’ roster as well. Martin expects contributions from sophomore forwards Mike and Christian Owona. Freshman point guard Kamau Stokes is another one to watch down the road.
With a nice mix of veteran leadership and young talent, Martin's optimistic about John Carroll's future.
“The thing is, we’ve finished in fourth place the last three years and made the [MIAA A Conference] semifinals all three years,” Martin said. “We’ve been in an identical spot, which is a great accomplishment from where we came. But we’re looking to take the next step up and looking to compete with the top three teams in the league.”
Baltimore Sun photo of Malcolm McMillan by Kenneth K. Lam / Feb. 8, 2009
