They’re Getting an A in English : Bishop Montgomery High Basketball Team Receives a Boost From Senior Center

With Bishop Montgomery High trailing Mira Costa, 48-43, Coach Doug Mitchell knew he needed to make a defensive switch in the fourth quarter if the Knights had any hopes of winning the championship game of the El Segundo basketball tournament.

Mitchell decided to put his tallest player, 6-foot-6, 210-pound Andre English, on Mira Costa center Frank Zeno, who had 21 points in the first three quarters of the Dec. 11 game at El Segundo.

English held Zeno scoreless in the fourth quarter, when Bishop Montgomery outscored the Mustangs, 19-9, to win the championship game, 62-57. English finished with 18 points and 18 rebounds, earning the tournament’s most valuable player award.

“I was proud of myself (defensively),” English said. “(Zeno) was keeping them in the game. We don’t have a young team but we do have a lot of seniors who are in their first year of varsity, so it was good for the team’s confidence.”

English’s strong play didn’t surprise Mira Costa Coach Glenn Marx, who coached the senior center for one week in July. Marx coached a team composed of Bishop Montgomery, Mira Costa and North Hollywood Campbell Hall players in a one-week tournament in Las Vegas.

“He’s willing to sacrifice individual play to play within a team concept,” Marx said of English. “The thing I like about him is that he’s not interested in scoring all the points, but in doing all the other things that need to be done.”

For English, the El Segundo tournament was a good way to start his final high school season, a season in which he has set lofty goals. He leads the Knights (5-0) with averages of 17 points, 12 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots a game.

“Last year I played a little soft, but this year I want to be a warrior the whole game,” English said. “Before games I usually try to stay by myself and concentrate so I can be more mentally tough.”

Although his chief goal is for Bishop Montgomery to win the Southern Section Division III title, English has set individual goals for the first time. He wants to average 22 to 25 points, 15 rebounds and three to five blocks a game.

English set those goals because he said that is what he’ll have to do for Bishop Montgomery to be successful.

“For us to (win the Division III title), I’ll have to (score) in the mid 20s,” English said. “I’m the tallest guy on the team. We don’t really have a tall team, and we need someone to challenge the shots on the inside.”

Although English is off to a strong start, Mitchell said his star player has not yet reached his stride.

“He hasn’t shot as well yet as he can, and he’d be the first to tell you he should be (scoring) in the mid-20s” Mitchell said. “He just needs to find his rhythm.”

English has been named to All-Southern Section teams the past two seasons. As a sophomore at Ribet Academy in La Canada, he averaged 18 points and was named to the All-Division V team. Last season, his first at Bishop Montgomery, he averaged 15.5 points and 11.1 rebounds, earning a spot on the All-Division II team.

Despite the accolades, English said college recruiters have told him that he is not athletic enough for major college basketball.

For English, who would love to play at Indiana or Duke, that assessment was tough to accept at first, but it has served to motivate him.

“It is tough; every year I’ve improved and my teams have won,” English said. “Everybody always tells me if you can play multiple positions you should be able to go somewhere. I think I’m dealing with (the criticism) well.”

Marx, who has worked as an assistant at three different Division I colleges, believes that recruiters’ early evaluations of English will eventually change.

“Guys at (the Division I) level tend to look for the perfect player,” Marx said. “I think (English) is a very good athlete and they may just be making a very simplistic evaluation.”

Mitchell believes that English needs to bulk up when he steps up to the next level.

“He has a hard time keeping weight on, but he’s got a good frame,” Mitchell said. “He’s real dedicated and real receptive to coaching. He can shoot the (three-point shot), he’s hard to defend and he can take the small guys inside.”

English lifted weights during the summer, but he said he has a hard time gaining weight, even with a healthy diet.

“It’s kind of weird,” English said. “When my mom leaves town, I’ll eat almost the same amount of food, but I always seem to lose five or six pounds. I just bounce back and forth from around 195 pounds to 210.”

When English transferred to Bishop Montgomery from Ribet Academy, Mitchell was impressed with English’s basketball skills as well as the way he carried himself.

“He was a big boost for our program,” Mitchell said. “He is a real leader. He is a positive, intelligent player and I’ve never seen him get down on a teammate.”

English purposely kept a low profile at the start of last season in order to make a better impression on his new teammates.

“I didn’t try to come in and take everybody’s spot,” English said. “I came in to earn my time. I just wanted to be a good role player.”

English said most of the colleges interested in him are members of the West Coast Conference, especially St. Mary’s, where former Bishop Montgomery standout Darrell Daniels is the starting point guard. English has a 3.0 grade-point average and has already obtained an NCAA-qualifying score on the Scholastic Aptitude Test.

“St. Mary’s has been interested and Creighton was for a while, until they got some guys from back East to sign,” English said. “I’m not worried about college.”