This was not what Dee Barnes wanted his junior season to be like. King's Christian had taken strides a season ago to emerge as a private school powerhouse in little Callaway, Md., population 1,700.
Barnes opened the season with 51 points through his first two games this winter, the frontman of a team on the rise. Then midway through Game 3, a rout at Lanham Christian, officials stopped the game and herded players into the hallway as King's Christian Coach John Somerville grabbed his chest and assistants stood around him trying to keep him conscious.
The heart attack has sidelined Somerville for the rest of the season, but he’s recovering well, said Blaine Somerville, a cousin and former assistant coach.
He considered himself retired, he said, after the 2015-16 season. Then John had a heart attack and Blaine returned to the sideline as acting head coach. The Eagles (14-0) have yet to lose, and they got stronger over the winter break when they added St. Mary's Ryken transfer D'Angelo Tull .
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The emergency that threatened a man’s life and the progress of a program has instead galvanized it.
“When Coach went down, you can only imagine what that mood was,” Blaine Somerville said. “If you know southern Maryland, you know it’s a very different way of life here. It’s a very tight community. We have Amish horse and buggies running up and down the highway.”
Assistant coaches asked the team if they wanted to finish the game against Lanham Christian. Of course, Barnes said: “We needed to finish it.”
The Eagles played again the next day while John Somerville’s prognosis was still in question. Upon arrival, Blaine Somerville answered those questions. Coach isn’t coming back this year, he told the team.
“But you know us other coaches,” he said. “We know you. We have faith and you, and let’s go play basketball.”
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King’s Christian ran away with a 77-57 win.
“They didn’t mess with the routine,” Barnes said. “We just kept playing good basketball.”
The Big number: 29.3
Points per game for Jewish Day's Bryan Knapp over the past four games. The Cornell commit scored 25 points against Hebrew Academy on Saturday and 30 against Sandy Spring two nights earlier. The Lions haven't lost since Dec. 6.
Private school player of the week
G Brandon Edmond, John Paul the Great, Sr.
Edmond went off for 31 and 35 points in back-to-back games on Thursday and Saturday. He had 51 points — yes, 51 — earlier this season against Quantico.
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