McKinney powered the Leadership engine

By JOHN LIKANJE

Leadership Academy junior Maurice McKinney led a Lions squad that won 17 games and advanced to the Class A1 sectional semifinals as the No. 2 seed. The 6-foot-1 guard averaged 21.8 points, shot 53 percent from inside the arc and 41 percent from long range.

McKinney’s scoring average ranked second in the Rochester City Athletic Conference (RCAC) Upper Division behind McQuaid senior Kobe Long (23.3 PPG) and fifth in the RCAC behind NE Douglass senior Adonis Flagler (24.3 PPG), Long, School of the Arts junior Ethain Clarke-DeSouza (23.1 PPG) and East High senior Zechariah Harris-Scott (22.8 PPG).

McKinney dished out 5.2 assists, collected 4.1 rebounds and swiped two steals per game. The junior guard scored double-digit points in all 22 games played. McKinney tallied three triple-doubles, reached the 20-point plateau in 15 contests and poured in 30-plus points four times as well.

On December 10th, the 6-foot-1 guard connected on four long-range shots and 7-of-8 free throws as part of his season-high 33 points to lead the Lions to a 105-95 win over McQuaid. McKinney dished out nine assists as well. The junior guard’s other 30-point performances included 31 three times (January 8th against Aquinas, January 18th in a 76-75 win over UPrep and February 11th in an 87-74 win over Wilson Magnet).

Last spring, McKinney played AAU for Beast Nation. The 6-foot-1 guard holds offers from Division II and Division III schools in the Buffalo, Pennsylvania, Rochester and Syracuse areas.

With the graduation of Ja’mez Aiken, Kennyh Hardeman, Shamir McCullough and Nuhsar Mike, McKinney will lead the offense with classmate Rayshawn Boyd.