A G.O.A.T Carving His Way into the Record Books

Hoopster Alex L. ’20 achieves highest score in Browning history

Alex L. ‘20 calmly shoots over his defender at the Loyola School, Jan. 30, 2020. Alex became the highest scorer in school history with 2,196 points (Da Ping Luo).

In a sea of blue and white, the Panthers entered the Columbia Lion’s den. It was in the third quarter when the ball was thrown down the court. The ball started left but was passed to the right to the open player. He releases the trigger almost immediately and swooshes. The Columbia fans go quiet, but the Panthers roar loud in support of Alex L. ’20 and his 2,000th point.

“I think that the main motivation was not necessarily to get to those 2000 points but more to become the best player I could be,” Alex said. “That is what motivated me to work in the off-season a lot and play outside of school to practice all the time.”

The game against Columbia was tight as they doubled down on their defense against Alex. They were trying to isolate him from the rest of the team, but he took advantage of any openings he could get. With a nice pass around the outside of the key, Alex was able to make the shot that would put into the exclusive 2000 point club.

“Well, it has been a pretty frustrating game because Columbia always box-and-ones me, and I can’t get the ball. So it had been a pretty frustrating first half, and I had only taken two shots. But it felt really good in the second half to be able to come alive. When I made the basket, I didn’t think much about what it meant. But it was definitely a special shot that I will always remember.”

Alex and Head Coach Gerald Colds after he reached the milestone of 2,000 points, Jan. 22, 2020. Alex has been a member of the varsity team since eighth grade (Jesse Rost ’11).

For Alex, becoming the best player he could be was always the goal. He was initially selected to play for the varsity team starting in eighth grade. However, once he began taking charge of the court, he never stopped dominating for Browning.

“I started playing varsity in eighth grade, so that automatically gave me an extra year to score points,” he said. “I didn’t score that many points during that first year, and then after my second year, I was about 500 points away from the 1,000 point club. So, then by basically doing that math, if I scored the same amount every year for the next three years, I would reach 2000.”

Alex’s journey to becoming the highest record scorer in Browning history, with 2,196 points scored, was attributed not just to his tireless work during the Browning season, but also thanks to his continued efforts to get better during the offseason. In fact, he played at a higher level with the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), which is the dominant league for high school students hoping to pursue college ball.

“I play AAU basketball, which involves travel tournaments during the spring and the fall. I’ve been doing that since sixth grade, and that’s what got me ready for high school basketball,” Alex said. “So once I started playing varsity basketball, I was playing basketball all year round. AAU is a pretty big time commitment on the weekend with games all the time, and we had practice two times during the week, so I was staying sharp.”

It was during these AAU practices that Alex was able to get some more one-on-one mentorship with his coach, Mark Jerome. Jerome helped instill a winning mentality and competitive spirit that Alex would bring to the Browning hardwood. He attributed a lot of grit to Jerome.

“We would play games with five or six people and be way undersized, but, just because of his coaching, we could win,” Alex said. “So he was a big influence early on to motivate me to play basketball.”

Alex has been surrounded by many coaches who have supported him, including Browning’s very own coaches Michael Cohn and Gerald Colds. He saw them as crucial figures during his career on the team, and they helped him become his best self.  

Alex drives to the basket during the championship game, Feb. 13, 2020. Liptak’s hard work in the off-seasons has allowed Browning to win back-to-back titles (Al Pereira).

“Coach Cohn and Coach Gee over these last few years have really motivated the rest of the seniors and me to come together, and all work together so we could win for Browning. 

Coach Cohn has been mentoring Alex since his first season five years ago, and, as such, they have built a tight relationship.

“It seemed like he could always talk to me about things that were going on within the team, issues that needed to be voiced,” Coach Cohn said. “He was quiet in the beginning, and his voice also grew as he got older. In the end, by the time he was a junior, he was a team leader.”

Their relationship was built upon trust and honesty, which allowed them to ensure that the team would succeed. But Alex also showed qualities of humbleness and acceptance of criticism, which, in Coach Cohn’s eyes, was something quite special.

 “I could tell him what I thought was best to tell him, and he would take it to heart, which was one, a testament to him, and two, a testament to our relationship, which was nice.”

Alex’s milestones were always something amazing, and they were achievements that he shared with the entire Panther community. But, for Coach Cohn, his fondest memories are actually the interactions he and Alex had during the beginning of his career.

“But early on in his career, our team wasn’t having the success that we wanted and he and I would have a lot of sit-down conversations about how we could make it better, what he needed to do, what I needed to do, what his other teammates and the other coaches could do. To be able to have that kind of conversation with somebody that had that skill, and with the future leader that you see today at that age, showed his maturity and his perceptiveness with what was going on with the situation. Those conversations will always be something that I can draw back on as far as nice memories between him and I.”

It is interesting to note that the majority of Alex’s milestones were made at opposing courts during away games. When he entered the 1000 point club, he made that achievement at Loyola, and his 2000th point was made against Columbia Grammar. For Coach Cohn, these accomplishments will be something that he won’t ever forget. 

“You’re always going to remember certain teams that win championships, and I’ve had a lot of success coaching other schools, but you know, individual accolades are great too. When I look back at my coaching career, whenever that ends, that’ll definitely be something that I’ll remember. I would be very surprised if I have another 2000 point scorer. Hopefully, I will, But I don’t know if that will ever happen again.” 

However, with Alex and the rest of the seniors leaving next year, Coach Cohn reflected on how much of an impact the Class of 2020 had on the basketball culture of the school. Alex and the current seniors have made basketball something that students are very proud of and a team that is to be reckoned with in the league. 

“He, his classmates, and this year’s graduating senior class have transformed Browning basketball into something that is respected and successful,” Coach Cohn said. “We have won 2 championships in the last two years after a decade of not winning. I want to thank him for that because without him, I don’t think those championships would have ever happened or Browning Basketball would be where it is now.”

Alex gets past his defender at the Barclays Center game, Nov. 26, 2019. Alex has transformed the Browning basketball program with his daily contributions for the past five years (Al Pereira)

 But in addition to Coach Cohn and his other coaches throughout the process, Alex’s first and arguably most important influence on his basketball career comes from his father David L. For Alex, “my dad was my first coach and was also an important person who helped foster my passion for the sport.”

In fact, when Alex was starting middle school, David noticed that Browning did not have any programs for young students who wanted to play basketball. So, he sought out to create a solution, which would play a big role for Alex becoming interested in the game.

 “I started that program when he was in either the fourth or fifth grade, and so, there were probably 12 to 15 kids from the class that every Monday at Madison Avenue Pescatarian Church gym for a couple of hours,” David said. “After the first year or so, he really started developing an interest and was pretty athletic and really enjoyed playing at the time, but Browning didn’t really have many programs for young kids. So I went and found a youth program at the Riverside Church. I think that was really something that he really enjoyed doing. So, that had a lot to do with him getting hooked on the game and really wanting to get better and play more.”

 David was really interested in getting Alex into basketball initially because of what the game teaches its athletes. He saw basketball as a teaching opportunity for his son to become better prepared for whatever he may encounter by instilling different skills and qualities.

“One of the reasons that I started getting both my sons into sports is because it does provide confidence for them to do other things going on and gives them a work ethic. They know if they show up to practice that they will get better.”

Alex and Terrel Phelps ’11 pose, Jan. 30, 2020. The hoopsters are the only members of Browning’s exclusive 2,000 point club (Da Ping Luo).

For David, his favorite memory of Alex playing occurred during the final game against Columbia for league championships. The game was a close matchup until the end when the Panthers came back from a double-digit deficit to beat the Lions. 

“One of the amazing things that I’ll remember is the last game that they played. They came back to win the game by 2 points at the buzzer when Alex stole the ball. It was a great moment for the Browning basketball team and everyone who showed up for the game, and so it’s hard not to cite that as my favorite memory right now because it was so recent and so exciting.”

Looking back on how Alex has transformed as a player, David has seen him grow both on and off the court. As his first coach and father, he wanted to remind Alex of where he came from and how much he’s grown.

“Alexander really took the whole game to heart and was always improving himself,” David said. “I am incredibly proud that he remained committed, practiced a lot, really earned a lot by going through the whole process of becoming a good player and a leader on the team. I think that is a really important thing that sports generally do when you’re on a team. You learn to be a leader, that’s something that I’m really proud of.”

During his five years on the team, Alex’s role has shifted from being the eighth-grader to one of the leaders of the team. Throughout his career, he’s been able to apply what’s learned to help foster a winning culture and mentality for the team.

“In practice, I try to really push and work hard so that we are ready for the big games,” Alex said. “It’s something that is really hard to do, to flip the switch. If you are not practicing hard, then it is hard to turn the switch and play hard during the game, so that’s what the co-captain and I try to do every practice.”

To anyone who hopes to dethrone Alex as the highest scorer in Browning history, he had this to say: “Good luck. I hope that the points equal wins for Browning.”