Khalil Brantley: We came down here to win

If you enjoy high school basketball and didn’t make it to Leesburg for the Roundball Classic this weekend you missed a treat. Not only was there great basketball from some of the best teams around, Boys and Girls School point guard Khalil Brantley was entertaining to watch and difficult to stop.

Brantley is listed at 6’2” 170 pounds but doesn’t come across as an intimidating figure. That is until you try to stop him from going to the basket. Early in the game against Monroe, the Golden Tornadoes kept Brantley off balance and his shots just were not falling. Monroe’s best guards — Dominik Henderson, Matthew Smith, Kareem Nixon and Cedric Johnson all took turns trying to stop New York City’s best point guard. They had some success, but in the second half it was Brantley that brought his team back to win the game. With all the focus on Brantley other Boys and Girls players were also free to put points in the basket and the Kangaroos came from behind to beat Monroe 66-63.

The Monroe team used man to man defenses and zones to try and stop the Kangaroos, but Brantley has the ability to squeeze into the lane and shoot no matter what the defense is doing. And when the defense is able to keep him out of the lane, he can be deadly with the three as well.

“We came down here to win it all,” said Brantley. “We got a chance to see other places and how teams down here play, but we came to win.”

Brantley is listed as a sophomore on MaxPreps but he said he was in his junior season. He hopes to play college ball and eventually play in the NBA or overseas. His coach is glad he is on her team.

“Khalil is a great player,” Boys and Girls High coach Ruth Lovelace said. “I put players into categories or great categories and Khalil goes in the great category. He is the whole package. He can shoot, handle the ball and play defense.”

Brantley scored 32 Thursday as the Kangaroos beat Central Macon and 39 as they edged Monroe. He was scheduled to play in the championship game of the Roundball Classic against top-ranked Eagles Landing Saturday night.

Staff Photo: Joe Whitfield
Staff Photo: Joe Whitfield