Brice Flenory wants to turn back clock at Valley

By: Antonio Rossetti
Sunday, November 24, 2024 | 4:03 PM

Valley is looking to rejuvenate a basketball program that won a WPIAL championship in 1993 and was a force in the ’90s.

New coach and A-K Valley Hall of Famer Brice Flenory is taking on the challenge. He graduated from Valley in 1998 after averaging 36 points and showcasing his classic fadeaway jumper. He is the dean of Pittsburgh Public Schools.

The Vikings finished 5-15 last season with a 3-9 conference record, but with a huge turnout at open gyms, Flenory sees a team ready to win.

“I came in, hit the ground running, with my intensity, still able to play and show them things, not just from the sideline, but in the trenches with them, showing them how to play the game,” Flenory said. “They have responded really well. They look forward to practice. We’re keeping our heads down, and we’re going to work.”

Flenory said they have a determined attitude.

“They’re motivated,” Flenory said. “They have that look in their eye. They want to win. They want to be winners, and they’re tired of being losers. They are tired of being written off, and they want that pride back to Valley as well. I see it every day at practice. We all feel it, and it’s intense. We’re going to be gritty. We’re going to be tough. We want teams to sleep on this, so whoever is in the way, they are just going to have to come and find out.”

Flenory remembers playing in the playgrounds and the alleyways until it was dark outside. He wants the players to find time around the clock to work on their game. He said his professional experience playing against players such as Tim Hardaway and with Myron Brown will help them.

“My experience playing professional brings experience to them, not so much the skill level, because it’s totally different, but just the fact of understanding the game that everything doesn’t always have to be fast-paced all the time, looking for opportunities when the opportunity presents itself, being ready in the moment, staying ready,” Flenory said. “Our motto is, be ready, stay ready.”

One of those players who is staying ready is senior Mickael Allen.

“He’s been the workhorse,” Flenory said. “He’s been with me since conditioning and open gyms. He’s leading these guys … this year, he knows this is his senior year. It’s one and done. He has to lay it all on the line. I mean, he’s ready. He’s focused on leading.”

B.B. Flenory, Brice’s uncle, was a superstar for Valley in the 1970s and played at Duquesne. Valley basketball is in the family’s blood.

“If anybody knows how Valley got down back in the (day), I mean, you can go back to the ’70s, of course, but when I played, I played the late ’90s, even in the early 90s, with Tom Pipkins and those guys, even me, were winners,” Flenory said. “When I was coming up in Valley, we were winners, and teams didn’t really want to play Valley, and they were scared that they feared Valley, to be honest.”

He said the new section alignment is special and reminds him of when he played.

Flenory sees players who have bought into his coaching philosophy and want to turn back the clock.

“I have a bunch of core underclassmen who are ready,” Flenory said. “I have height, depth, strength, mentally and physically. It’s going to be the old-basketball Valley. And if anybody knows Valley basketball back then they know they better bring their ‘A’ game because this is the mentality of the old.”

Flenory said his three seniors — Allen, Payton Eason and Omarion Jackson — have stepped up as leaders.

He said Eason will be one of the team’s top defensive players, and Jackson, a guard, is ready to break out.

“He has that Penny Hardaway-esque game about him,” Flenory said. “He can handle, he can shoot, he can take you off the dribble. Solid guard, and it’s really going to help us throughout our season.”

Tayshaun Hawkins will be a premier scorer for the Vikings.

“He’s a 6-3 junior. Big body. Big, strong body type,” Flenory said. “He’s a sharp shooter. He can cut to the basket. Slash. He’s strong. He finishes. He’s going to be the one that really gets us going.”

Point guard Dawson Wall and forward Owen Rankin, who is 6-foot-5, are freshmen who could contribute.

Taireke Davis, who stands at 6-7, will man the middle.

Flenory said Valley will take advantage of its height.

“It’s old-school ball,” Flenory said. “It’s really a good combination underneath. Pull you out, turn and face up. It’s going to be what a lot of teams haven’t seen in a long time.”

Flenory said although the game is always changing, the fundamentals always have to be there.

Valley wants to play as a family. Flenory wants to instill a “family over everything” mentality, playing with pride, strength and as a family.

“Family’s going to show up for family, and I believe every guy next to each other is going to play up for one another,” Flenory said. “I always say, never leave your brother on an island by himself.”

He wants his players closing gaps on defense and helping each other out.

He also knows it’s important to win on and off the court. As an educator, he wants to get to know the players first and wants them to put schooling first.

“The goals are turning young men into men and turning athletes into students first,” Flenory said. “That’s more important to me than any winning season: turning men into students first and then athletes. First goal is to uplift young men as people, having humility, understanding what that means, and having a humbleness about you.”

Flenory said everything is easier when the teacher knows who he is teaching. He knows the families of the players as he went to Valley. He said he walked the same hallways as the players but joked that the lunch in the new lunchroom was different from the burnt pizza he ate.

“If we’re grinding every day, practicing and grinding, grinding and grinding, I don’t see how we can’t be successful,” Flenory said. “I don’t want to put a label on it. I’m not going to put a label on it. I’m not saying we’re going to Hershey. I’m not saying we’re going to the Peterson Event Center, but with hard work and the heart and the determination and desire from what I see in these kids right now, they can go and be anything they want to be.”

Valley boys at a glance

Coach: Brice Flenory

Last year’s record: 5-15 (3-9)

Returning starters: Mickael Allen (Sr., SF), Omarion Jackson (Sr., G), Tayshaun Hawkins (Jr., G)

Top newcomers: Dawson Wall (Fr., PG), Payton Eason (Sr., F), Owen Rankin (Fr., F)

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