SPRINGFIELD — Antonio Pemberton has a dozen Division I college basketball scholarship offers and has made two campus visits — one to Utah and another to Marquette.
During his conversations with the coaching staffs at all of these schools, he’s noticed that most of the coaches like the same thing about him.
“The energy,” Pemberton said. “That’s what they say.”
The Methuen native and Brewster Academy (N.H.) point guard plays with plenty of it. The junior’s never-ending energy on both ends of the court powered Brewster Academy to a win over Faith Family Academy (Texas), 59-57, on Friday night during the Hoophall Invitational at Western New England University.
Pemberton finished with a game-high 18 points, while also chipping in six assists and a rebound. The win improves Brewster’s record to 17-1. The program is currently ranked No. 10 in the country, according to national prep school rankings from MaxPreps.
The junior joined the program at Brewster Academy last season from Bradford Christian Academy in Haverhill. It was a struggle for Pemberton to get solid minutes behind stars like Ebuka Okorie (Stanford) and Killyan Toure (Iowa State).
But with experience as an underclassman on one of the best high school teams in the country last year, the Methuen native has emerged as a leader on and off the floor for the program this winter.
“He is much more vocal this year,” Brewster Academy coach Jason Smith said. “Last year he was the youngest guy on the team. This year I think people are starting to understand just how good the guys were he was behind last year. … People are realizing how good the backcourt was last year, and Antonio was right there with them. Antonio will have the same impact (as Okorie and Toure) when he gets to college as well.”
Pemberton showed leadership as an underclassman last year on a team that played in the national semifinals. With senior star power moving on at the end of the season, his coaches named him one of two captains of the team during last preseason.
“We have had some phenomenal point guards over the years, Antonio is just as good as any point guard we have had here,” Smith said. “If people follow our program, that’s a big statement. We’ve had NBA guys at that position. Antonio is ultra competitive. I wouldn’t trade him for any point guard in the country.”
NBA players that have competed at Brewster Academy in recent history include six-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell, Devonte’ Graham, TJ Warren and Will Barton.
Pemberton isn’t the only Merrimack Valley native to compete for Brewster. His childhood friend, and Lawrence native, Reece Ayala, joined the program this season from Milton Academy.
Ayala’s defensive play off the bench was key for Brewster Academy in its win Friday.
Having played with Pemberton since they were little, Ayala has watched his friend’s game grow exponentially, especially within the last year.
“His game has developed like crazy,” Ayala said. “He works hard. We are always in the gym. … He has a strong pull up, everything. He controls the game. It’s great to see.”
Looking toward the rest of the season, Pemberton has his own individual goals, but the ultimate team goal is the one he is working toward most.
“Win the natty. I need that,” Pemberton said. “We need a banner. We could’ve had one last year, so we need to leave it on the floor.”
