The secret is out.
The Wakefield Warriors have a talented addition to their roster this season, and the transfer student made his impactful debut in Northern Virginia the night of Dec. 12 for the boys high-school basketball team.
Senior forward Carlton Young led visiting and undefeated Wakefield (3-0) to a 60-46 non-district victory over the Lake Braddock Bruins by scoring 25 points, grabbing eight rebounds, having four steals and one assist. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound Young made one three-pointer.
Young played only 30 seconds in Wakefield’s opening game in Charlotte, N.C., because of a twisted ankle, and did not play in the Warriors’ second game for the same reason. He was healthy and started against Lake Braddock.
“No one knows much about him, but they will now,” Wakefield coach Tony Bentley said.
Young is from a military family, which moved to Arlington from Tampa. He was an all-league player for the Newsome High public-school team near Tampa the last two seasons.
“Carlton has a lot of talent, can play any position, and also is a very unselfish player. He has fit right in great with his teammates here,” Bentley said.
Young said the adjustment has gone well.
“In Florida, the coaches had me playing the [center] position. Here, they have me being a three-level scorer [multiple positions]. I like that better and it fits my game,” Young said.
He scored 17 points in the first half against Lake Braddock when Wakefield had a 30-28 halftime lead, moving in front for good at 22-21 on a three-point play by senior guard B.J. Willis (10 points, four steals, three assists). The Warriors expanded the lead to 52-36 by the end of the third quarter and were comfortably ahead for good.
Senior forward Miles Hancock is another transfer player for Wakefield. He scored 12 points, had seven rebounds and two steals. Sophomore guard Jeremiah Poole had six points, three steals and two assists; senior forward Matt Lis had four points and six rebounds; and junior guard Myles Jackson scored three. Junior guard Shane Morrison added three steals and two assists.
Wakefield shot 56 percent from the floor, but turned the ball over 13 times in the second half.
“Lake Braddock junked it up on defense at the start and it took us a while to settle down, then we got a little sloppy at the end with the turnovers,” Bentley said.
NOTES: Bentley has lived in the Lake Braddock school district since 2004 and four of his daughters attended and graduated from the school. During that time, his Wakefield teams have played Lake Braddock only twice, winning each. The first came in the region playoffs in 2007, also at Lake Braddock . . . Prior to the Dec. 12 game, Bentley and longtime Lake Braddock coach Brian Metress chatted for a few minutes about various topics. Each has five daughters.
