February Star of the Month

Rakeem Brookins, Roman Catholic
for his performance on 2/14/10 vs. St. Joe's Prep
27 points, game-clinching basket
(photo from 2009 season)


Video of Brookins' performance against St. Joe's Prep on 2/14/10

For a few years, whenever someone mentioned Roman Catholic basketball, the name Maalik Wayns always came up. But there was another player on the team who was lighting up the courts and making defenses game-plan for him. Now that Wayns has graduated and moved on to play with the Villanova Wildcats, that player has assumed the role as the go-to guy, no questions asked. And his performance in a Valentine's Day match-up against St. Joe's Prep was one example why.

Rakeem Brookins (5-11, 170 SR) finished up the contest against St. Joe's Prep with 27 points, but the key thing about the points (as always) was the timing. There was one stretch in the 3rd quarter where he was on fire with his shot, and provided an emotional lift for his team. Such a stretch was needed, as on the other end, Prep's Joe Nardi was making just about every shot he took.

It was almost like a dual between the two, and it was only fitting that it came down to the last few seconds. After Nardi tied the game at 52 with 15.4 seconds left, Roman's Dennis Regan found Brookins slicing towards the lane. Brookins took the pass in stride and fought through two defenders to put in a tough layup, which gave the Cahillites a 2 point lead with 3 seconds to go. Roman ended up winning the game, 56-52.

There is no doubt that the pressure was on Brookins this year to have an even greater impact on the team than before. He has responded with a terrific season, finishing the regular season third in the Catholic League in scoring with almost 19 points a game. As he prepares to continue his basketball career at Tulane University, fans know that he has what it takes to put a team on his shoulders. And if they didn't know that before Valentines Day 2010, we think they may be aware of that now. For that performance, Brookins earns Varsity 365 Star of the Month honors for February 2010.

*This also makes Brookins eligible for our
' 09-'10 Performance of the Year award*

Previous Stars of the Month