Syracuse, N.Y. — With just under a minute left in his boys basketball team’s game against Canastota on Monday night, Jordan-Elbridge coach Ryan Brunelle had already seen enough.
His Eagles held a comfortable lead and Brunelle wanted to get some of his players on the bench. But there was a small matter of history to take care of, and Ryan told his son, star guard Nolan, that he had one more chance at it before he walked out.
And what a blow it was.
Brunelle cut through four Canastota defenders and etched his name into the record books as the 10th boys basketball player in Section III history to reach 2,000 career points.
Nolan finished Monday’s game with exactly the 29 points he needed to reach the milestone, helping his team to a 62-48 victory over Canastota.
Nolan said he was generally aware he was approaching the mark, but wasn’t sure he’d hit it until he felt a swarm of teammates.
“Obviously it’s a really cool achievement to say that not many people have done that,” Nolan said. “I’m very fortunate that I did obviously, but going into it, this was never my goal. I really like to win and do things like that and play with my teammates, coaches, all of that.”
Dozens of friends and other fans who played a role in Brunelle’s life crowded into the Jordan-Elbridge stands. Ryan helped put together a large banner that included personal messages from his supporters.
“I mean, there wasn’t a lot of room for all those people,” Nolan said. “You realize that people are there for you, all the people who really support you and are looking for you to do the best you can.”
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Canastota vs Jordan Elbridge Boys Basketball
Ryan, who held JE’s scoring record until Nolan broke it last year, said he knew his son had potential when he entered varsity as an eighth-grader, but neither of them dreamed of flying in such thin air.
“To be honest with you, I’ve never really thought about it like that in terms of points,” Nolan said. “But we knew at a young age that his skills were very, very high. So I knew he was going to do well at the high school level. The great thing about that (success) is just bringing people together and being a great teammate and a captain and kind of the face of a program that you’d want, a kid who does it right, does exceptionally well in the classroom, great in the community, all of your players are hopeful all the time.”
Ryan has been shadowed by two or three defenders for most of his career, so it’s only fitting that his basketball milestone solves a similar conundrum. He started by splitting a pair of defenders on the left and then eluded two more before carelessly throwing himself into the opposite position.
“It’s kind of like a ball-handling prodigy from the age of three or four,” Ryan said. “I’ve never seen anything like that. And we had to change the game plan tonight. He had to attack the rim. So he made a lot of good splits on two defenders and we used some ball screens to loosen him up a little bit.”
The Eagles (7-4) have played eight regular season games, giving Nolan much more room to climb the charts. Jamesville-DeWitt’s Bernard Blunt has 2,507 points, followed by CBA’s Greg Paulus with 2,399 points. Nolan is averaging just under 29 points per game, and with just an average start, he could be in the top 5 in the 2,200 to 2,300 point range.
“I let the way I play or the way I perform every night speak for who I am as a player,” he said of his place in history. “I’m not the kind of person who goes around and tells people, ‘Hey, I’m this, I’m that.’ My game speaks for itself and people can base that on what they see and what they think.”
For just the second time in his career, Brunelle was held without a three-pointer Monday. But he’s also well on his way to establishing himself as one of the resort’s best.
Brunelle, who will play college ball at Keuca, has 329 career 3s. Former Syracuse star Joe Girard III (Glens Falls) tops the field at 688, but Brunelle is currently tied for fifth, according to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association record book. If he reaches 42 more this season, he will move into second place.
On Monday night, however, Brunelle was focused only on the immediate future. After a short drive home with Dad, some teammates and other friends were scheduled to go to a small after party.
“It was never just me. It was always about including everyone. It’s not always just you,” Brunelle said. “I might be the one dribbling the basketball, but it’s the people around you that make it all come together. It’s going to be fun to hang out with those people and just thank them and spend that time just soaking it all in.”
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