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Brooks' Skinner finds stardom on hard courts, hardwood

Friday, January, 18 By Hector Longo
Staff writer

For the record, the bribe was made but never paid. Brooks School senior Jordan Mickens was that desperate to talk Bradford's Alex Skinner into playing basketball this winter.

"I offered him $10,000, I would have done anything," joked Mickens, the New Jersey native and only returning starter from last year's team. "He's such a good shooter. I knew we needed him."

In the end, the money didn't matter. Friendship won out, and Skinner committed to join his pal on the hardwood instead of polishing up his tennis game on the hard courts.

And the Brooks boys team has been the giant beneficiary. "He's been on fire," said Mickens, co-captain with Skinner for 9-4 Brooks. "It's been over half a season and he's got to be averaging about 23 points a game (actually 21.5). Without that, I don't know where we'd be."

Skinner doesn't dislike hoop. In fact, he says, the way he's playing this year, he's even "surprised myself." By trade, Skinner, the son of EMass schoolboy (Danvers High) and Merrimack College basketball legend Dana Skinner, fancies himself a tennis player first.

A two-time All-ISL player and returning Eagle-Tribune All-Star, he owns a USTA ranking in the top 30 for New Englanders under-18.

He was contemplating not playing just to fine-tune the tennis game for the spring season.

Normally, losing a reserve who averaged only 4.7 points a game last season as Skinner did, wouldn't appear to be that huge.

Brooks is fortunate Mickens knew better. The two backcourt mates, now co-captains, forged a friendship last year, Mickens' first at Brooks.

When graduated emaciated coach John McVeigh's roster, the only two upperclassmen left standing were Skinner and Mickens, a part-time starter in the backcourt last year averaging 7.9 per contest.

Skinner hit the tennis courts last spring and Mickens went out on the lake for the crew season, but only the rower was doing it to fill a season.

As far as Skinner was concerned, his hoop career was over. "Last year, I was concentrating on tennis and saw basketball as taking away from that," said Skinner, a high honors student. "During the summer, I maybe picked up basketball 10 times."

There's definitely more than basketball in Skinner's blood. He learned the game with one net not two from his mom, Keiko, a former tennis player at Merrimack College.

"We belong to Cedardale in Haverhill, and that's really where it all started at age 10," said Skinner. "I got better fast and made a good group of friends in tennis. At Cedardale, we had a team that grew up together. That was a team that made it to the nationals four straight years." Genetics can't be tamed, though, and Dana Skinner's silky-smooth jumper wouldn't be stifled.

Only, it basically deserted Alex when it counted last season, making for a long winter over on Great Pond Road. Making shots became a chore.

"I think a lot of it had to do with confidence," said Mickens, who admitted he really didn't understand what kind of player Skinner could be until this past fall.

"We started working out together and playing one-on-one basically every day," added Mickens, himself a high honor student with 2,070 on the SAT who was accepted early-decision to Williams College.

"He was lighting it up."

Skinner's workouts commonly ended with a similar refrain. "Every day, he'd tell me he wasn't going to play," said Mickens. "I still remember the day he was going to make it official and tell coach McVeigh. I was shocked. I just did all I could to change his mind."

Mickens actually once wrote Skinner an inspirational quote that read, "I have faith, you're going to play." But Skinner held steadfast. Tennis was No. 1.

That is right up until three days before practice began. "On my birthday, he gave me a card with a note inside that said basically, keep the faith, I'm going to play this year," recalled Mickens. Expecting growing pains, Brooks has instead taken on all comers.

Leading the way is Skinner.

"I'm still doing all the same things I did last year," he says. "My teammates are setting great screens for me to run off and I'm getting the basketball. Only now, I'm knocking down the shots."

It didn't take long for the 6-foot-1 jump shooter to know he made the right choice.

"The fact that I almost quit and decided to play for my friend, there's not much pressure at all," said Skinner, easily the area leader with 62 3-pointers in 13 games. "After the first game, I scored 20 against Pingree, obviously a career high, I knew the choice was right." That mark was only temporary. Skinner has eclipsed the 20-point mark in seven games with a new high of 34 against Middlesex.

Skinner has shown no signs of letting up either. Defenses keep hearing about his exploits, but the results remain the same.

Just because he's playing hoop doesn't mean the ISL tennis fraternity won't need to beware.

"I did the same thing last year and had a pretty good season after it," said Skinner, who was 10-2-3 last spring. "I'm definitely going to be ready."