One of the worst days of Shelton Mickell’s life also was one of his most meaningful.
It was March 6 of last year and he was at Madison Square Garden for the PSAL Class AA championship game. Mickell got off to a good start, scoring 11 points, but he was benched much of the second half after he flew off the handle following repeated disagreements with coaches and teammates.
Cardozo lost the game and Mickell, the Judges’ sixth man at the time, blamed himself.
“My immaturity cost us a city championship,” he said, recalled the painful afternoon. As the final seconds ticked away and Boys & Girls claimed the crown, Mickell felt despondent.
“I felt hopeless,” the skilled 6-foot-2 guard recalled. “I just wished I could go back, but it was over.”
Well, not completely.
Many of his teammates lost out on a title that March day, but Mickell had one year left, and he has made the most of it.
Mickel has led Cardozo to an undefeated league season in Queens, the Queens AA regular-season crown and its second straight Queens borough title. The Judges’ leading scorer at 14.8 points per game, the immaturity that caused his benching at the Garden is an afterthought now.
He is one of the Judges’ leaders, along with fellow seniors Chris Gayot and Marquis Barnett. The relationship with Cardozo coach Ron Naclerio has improved, as have his practice habits.
“He’s become consistently our hardest worker,” Naclerio said. “He wants to be first in all the drills. All the times he slacked off as a sophomore and junior, he’s not letting it happen again.”
Mickell was always told about working hard, as most players are by youth coaches. He wasn’t lazy; just not what one may describe as a gym rat. Once he saw success on game days equate to his work habits, he began spending even more time — before, during and after practice — on improving.
“I realized the harder you work in practice the luckier you get in games,” he said. “Things tend to fall your way. It refects in your game.”
The on-court knock on Mickell has always been consistency. He averaged eight points per game his sophomore and junior seaons, but showed flashes of brilliance, a common description Mickell hated. He felt he could produce on a daily basis – he just needed the opportunity. The versatile guard has shown that thus far.
Boys & Girls star Mike Taylor, a Rutgers recruit, is generally considered the PSAL’s top shooting guard, but Naclerio sees ability in Mickell, such as his uncanny handle with each hand, range and accuracy in his jump shot and passing ability, that separates him from others.
“A few years from now, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s better than Mike Taylor,” the coach said. “If he was a grade younger, next year people would be shocked how good he was. He’d really be a big-time MAAC, Colonial or Atlantic-10-type player.”
College coaches are starting to notice. Quinnipiac, Manhattan, Hartford, St. Francis College (N.Y.), St. Francis (Pa.) and Towson are all very interested after all that Mickell has accomplished this winter, though he does need to put on significant muscle to his lithe frame. Gaining a Division I scholarship has always pushed Mickell, but getting back to the Garden is his true motivation.
“I want to get back so bad, I have to,” he said. “I owe it to coach and my teammates. Winning it this year or getting there would be redeeming for me. That’s a major goal I have.”
