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Marcus Bryant and Sharrod McCree grew up just miles apart in St. Petersburg. Bryant went to Dixie Hollins High and developed into one of the top players in the county. McCree, a year younger, went to Boca Ciega and was his team's leading scorer.
Despite growing up in the same city and playing against each other in high school, the two did not really get to know each other until two years ago. That's when they both ended up at Eckerd College.
The local kids stayed home, and the local team is the beneficiary. Bryant and McCree, both seniors, are the Tritons' top scorers. Bryant, who earned the nickname "Chief" in eighth grade because he looks and plays like former Boston Celtics star Robert Parrish, is a power forward with a 15.2 points-per-game average and 7.8 rebounds per game.
McCree is the ball-handling shooting guard. He averages 14.5 points, mostly as an outside shooter. He is also an above-average passer and defensive player. Together, they have Eckerd thinking about its first conference championship since 1995.
"I'm counting on those guys to put points on the board," Eckerd coach Tom Ryan said. "They are our seniors and they provide leadership."
The road to Eckerd had a slight detour for Bryant. A power forward with an 18.1 scoring average as a high school senior, Bryant was highly recruited. He chose the University of West Florida in Pensacola, but lasted only two years after having a dispute with the coach.
Ryan recruited Bryant in high school, and Bryant didn't forget. He enrolled at Eckerd midway through the 2001-02 season and sat out a year. He played full time last season and helped lead the Tritons to their first-ever Elite Eight tournament appearance.
McCree was a Triton from the beginning. His playing time increased every year and as a junior, he led the team with 13.9 points per game.
As seniors, McCree and Bryant have never felt more comfortable playing with each other. They started by playing on the same pro-am team at St. Petersburg College and spent most of last summer playing pickup games with each other. The result has been familiarity.
"I have a lot of confidence in Chief," McCree said. "We've got a connection where I can look at him or he can look at me and without a word being said we both know what we have to do."
"We just clicked," Bryant said. "That pro-am team really helped. We knew of each other in high school, but once we started playing together it really helped."
The St. Petersburg duo are not the only players having an impact on this year's team, which is 8-5 and 1-1 in the Sunshine State Conference prior to Saturday's game at Saint Leo. Senior forward Anthony Washington, junior forward Peter Akintola and junior forward Dan Dreaden, from Largo, have also played big roles.
That is good news for McCree and Bryant, who don't have to worry about leading the team in scoring every night.
"At first, there was some pressure to be the scorer," McCree said. "But not now. We've got guys who can come off the bench and score, so I can distribute the ball much more. I'll still take my shots, but I know there are other guys on this team that can score."
The Tritons lead the conference with 78.5 points per game. They will need those points, because winning a conference championship is the main goal for Bryant and McCree.
"That's the one thing we haven't done," McCree said. "We've got one more chance to do it, and I want that more than anything else."
ST. PETERSBURG COLLEGE: The Titans are off and running in the Suncoast Conference after defeating Pasco-Hernando CC on Wednesday 81-70. SPC improved to 14-3 prior to Saturday's game against Polk CC.
Ben Bridges, Damitrius Coleman, Djerabe Mbaipeur and Kory Crumbley continue to lead the Titans.