For Trinity players, every day is a road trip (1/27/08)

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HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL: For Trinity players, every day's a road trip By Brendan Hall | January 27, 2008 If it's not raining out, the typical weekday morning for Uche Egesionu goes something like this: wake up at 5 a.m., catch a bus near his Randolph home to the MBTA's Ashmont Station, take the Red Line to catch the 558 bus from Downtown Crossing, and arrive at school just before the 7:55 bell. Meanwhile, his buddy and teammate Sterling McDowell-Ashe is hopping the 30 bus near his home in Mattapan Square to reach the Forest Hills Station, where he rides the Orange Line to catch that bus at Downtown Crossing. It's a two-hour commute, each way, each day, for the two. These treks are hardly unique at Trinity Catholic High School, a private school with an enrollment of nearly 250 drawn from more than 40 communities, the products of 70 middle schools. Just one member of the Falcons boys' basketball team has a vehicle, and only three have driver's licenses. It's part of the sacrifice of enrolling at this small but diverse school nestled on a corner of Washington and Adams streets in Newton, just a stone's throw from the Mass. Pike. But this season, the payoff for that daily sacrifice has blossomed. With a commanding 74-31 win over Notre Dame of Lawrence on Tuesday, the Falcons moved to 9-1 and first place atop the Catholic Central Small division. As soon as the 6-foot-5-inch, 280-pound Egesionu steps onto the court wearing his trademark goggles, the game plan already seems to be drawn out: dump the ball to him in the post, and let him create a matchup nightmare. But Egesionu is far from one-dimensional. The senior is perhaps at his most dangerous when stepping out and delivering a pass. In that Notre Dame win, he repeatedly fought through double teams, seemingly with ease, en route to a career-high 9 assists that left him just one tick from his first triple-double (he registered 19 points and 10 rebounds). The performance capped a monster week in which he also dominated league rivals Matignon (38 points, 18 rebounds) and Lowell Catholic (32 points, 15 rebounds). He is averaging league-bests of 24.5 points and 16 rebounds per game. "He makes it a lot easier," McDowell-Ashe said. Credit his great passing ability to two things: his regular role as quarterback in pickup football games around his neighborhood and in Dorchester, and a previous long-standing inclination for the guard position. His days as a guard came to an end during his AAU games with the Boston Soldiers - where he played forward. "I think like one, but I'm definitely not as quick" as a guard, he said, laughing. Seniors Stephen Burckhardt (7 rebounds per game), Greg Raye, and McDowell-Ashe (16 points, 3.5 assists) are adept at moving without the ball, creating plenty of open looks for everyone. On Trinity Catholic's 10-player roster, eight are seniors, but leave it to a sophomore to manage the ebb and flow. Point guard John Lopes - another Randolph resident - has emerged as a vocal leader on the floor while averaging 11 points and 4 assists. Lopes epitomizes what coach Scott Kmack emphasizes: ball movement. Tuesday night, of the 35 field goals converted by the Falcons, 27 were off assists. "He's someone who's able to very quickly realize what's going on and vocalize to his teammates what we need to do," said Kmack, who also serves as the school's dean of academics. "He's been a great asset."