By Tom Westerholm
LocalSportsJournal.com

MUSKEGON – At halftime on Friday, as Muskegon boys basketball took on Mona Shores, Carmela Briggs was nervous. 

“She normally is not gun-shy,” Briggs said, referencing her son Jordan as she eyed the scoreboard. “But he’s been getting in the paint and passing it. I don’t know what’s happening.”

Briggs, the star guard and Mr. Basketball candidate for the Big Reds, was nearing two milestones in one evening. Before the game tipped off, he was just seven points away from 1,000 in his decorated high school career. He was also three 3-pointers away from tying (and four away from breaking) the school’s record for most 3-pointers made in a career. 

Carmela knew he would get there. Briggs hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first half and was just one point (and one 3-pointer) short.

Muskegon head coach Keith Guy with Jordan Briggs (Photo/Craig Smith)

Still, it was hard to be patient. 

“I’m like, ‘Come on Jordan, shoot the ball,’” she said. “‘You’re right there. Shoot it.’”

Briggs obliged on the first play of the second half, freeing himself from a Mona Shores defender to bury a mid-range jumper. The reaction was relatively muted, but the first milestone was achieved.

Briggs may have been the only person in his circle leading up to Friday’s 81-38 victory who didn’t know he was nearing 1,000. His coaches knew. His family knew. His teammates knew. 

But they worked together to leave Briggs in the dark. In the days leading up to the game, Briggs asked his mother if she knew how many points he had. She pretended she didn’t. As his team went through layup lines, Muskegon coach Keith Guy said Briggs still had no idea.

“We kept it from him,” fellow senior star Anthony Sydnor III said. “We just kept a secret. We knew he was going to get it this game.”

Still, there were plenty of clues. Many fans clutched posters lauding Briggs’ upcoming accomplishment. Briggs’ grandfather sported a shirt that read “Briggs 1,000 points” on the back – a shirt that “completely didn’t obey the rules,” according to Carmela.

The shirts and posters did finally tip off Briggs.

“I kind of got the gist of it throughout the game,” he said with a smile. “I didn’t know until then though. They kept it a good secret. And I like it better that way so I wouldn’t press for it, I wouldn’t be worried about it. I could just go play my game.”

As a team, Muskegon didn’t play its game early, falling behind 12-11 after the first quarter. The Sailors stayed attached for much of the second quarter as well, slowing the game to a crawl. A 3-pointer by Jordan Bledsoe brought Mona Shores to within one, which held until the three-minute mark. 

But the Big Reds’ swarming, pressing defense made the Sailors uncomfortable and sparked a 9-0 run, highlighted by junior big man Terance Davis’ dunk with 2:40 remaining. Mona Shores junior Chrishawn Chapman hit a 3-pointer to end the half, and the Big Reds’ lead was just seven. 

“I thought we played terrible the first quarter, first half,” Guy said. “I thought they played harder than we did, they got to every 50-50 ball, I thought they beat us off the bounce, we didn’t play good defense at all.”

Guy made himself clear in the halftime locker room, and the Big Reds’ defense kicked into overdrive in the third. Over the first seven minutes of the quarter, Muskegon outscored Mona Shores 26-3. Once again, the Sailors hit a 3-pointer before the period ended, but the Big Reds led 57-28 entering the fourth. The damage was done. 

Briggs, however, was not done. He had already scored his 1,000th point, but he still needed a pair of 3-pointers. Guy sent Briggs back onto the floor, and with five minutes remaining in the fourth, he buried the 3-pointer that set the record. This time, his cheering section exploded.

“I wouldn’t be here without my family,” Briggs said. “I really just can’t thank them enough for what they’ve done for me, not just on the court in high school, but traveling, AAU, money, not just my parents, but all my family has pitched in something.”

Jordan Briggs goes up for the shot that produced his 1,000th career point (Photo/Craig Smith)

For Carmela, Friday’s game was a chance to appreciate her son’s passion for the game. Briggs picked up basketball at age 4, running through the house with a ball and talking to an imaginary coach. Soon after he fell in love with the game, Carmela and her husband Michael signed up Briggs to play for the Muskegon Magic at the YMCA. Briggs was the smallest player on the team, but his skills quickly drew the attention of coaches, and it became clear he had a future in the sport. 

“His passion to do well in the game, I can’t even describe how much that means,” Carmela said. “A lot of kids don’t find something they love and stick with it. I’ve seen so many, like ‘Ah it’s fun, whatever,’ but he really is dedicated to it. And so as a parent, that makes us so proud to know this is something he loves.”

Guy, meanwhile, has seen Briggs grow from a shy player who had to be coaxed into talking to being a leader – a perfect example, along with fellow seniors Sydnor and David Day III, of what can happen with tireless hard work for a team full of talented young players.

The future is bright for the Big Reds, but Guy isn’t ready to think beyond the present.

“I’ll tell you what, this season has 22 games, more than we’ve ever had,” Guy said. “But it seems like it’s going faster than it has ever gone, and I find myself sitting back thinking and hoping it slows down, because I don’t want it to end with these guys. They’ve been around so long. 

“I’m hoping it ends where we want it to end, because these guys have done everything right. They deserve good things to happen to them.”

Jordan Briggs as a youngster learning the game of basketball (Photo/Carmela Briggs)

Photo courtesy of Craig Smith