Lumen Christi High School senior Brenden Gregory and boys head coach Adam Trombley were recognized as the 2022 Wasilla Physical Therapy/Alaska Association of Basketball Coaches Class 1A Coach & Player of the Year. In the 30-year history of the award, it is only the second time a Lumen Christi coach or player has been recognized with this top statewide honor, joining 2004 Archangel awardees Noah Brauner and former head coach Phil Jordan.
Brenden Gregory has been a four-year starter, holding several school records, chiefly among them, most career points, draining 1,806 since 2018 and breaking his record of 34 points in a single game which he achieved in his freshman and junior seasons after a dazzling 51- point performance in February 2022. According to the Alaska Sports Report, this is believed to be just the fifth 50-point plus game in all of Alaska high school basketball since 2009.
Lumen Christi High School senior Brenden Gregory guides the basketball behind his back to create an opening to the basket during the 1A Class state tournament’s opening round at the Alaska Airlines Arena in Anchorage on Wednesday, March 16, 2022. (Jay Luzardo/North Star Catholic)
His achievements on the court have earned him recognition throughout his career as a three-time first-team all-state and conference teams honors, two conference tourney MVP awards, and four-time all-tournament team recognition. The Lumen lefty isn’t just talented with a basketball but is a multi-sport athlete as he was the quarterback for Dimond High School and is playing baseball for the Lynx this Spring. Gregory doesn’t just excel on the court, but in the classroom as well. He currently holds a 3.7 GPA, ranks 4th in the 2022 graduating class, and is an Alaska Scholar. He plans to continue his basketball career in college, majoring in chemistry.
Legendary UCLA coach John Wooden once said, “It takes time to create excellence. If it could be done quickly, more people would do it.” And coach Adam Trombley has been building excellence at Lumen Christi for the last five years. In his first Peninsula Conference tourney in 2018, the team narrowly missed a trip to the state tournament by losing by two as Nikolaevsk hit a 3-point shot in the final seconds in the Peninsula Conference semi-final game. They rebounded as the Conference runner-up the following year and have since been Conference champions for the past three years in a row. Lumen did not place in Trombley’s first state appearance in 2019, but in their next state tournament in 2021 they took home the state championship and finished third this year. The Archangels were poised to have an excellent 2020 state tournament, but the pandemic prevented the tournament from happening.
Players describe Coach Trombley as persistent, disciplined, and dedicated, and he is beloved by boys and girl players alike as he assists with the girl’s team as much as his schedule allows. One non-starter of the girl’s team said, “Coach is hard on us, helping reach our maximum potential and more. He is also someone you can laugh and joke with. He can go from making you run, to giving you a fist bump at mass or to playing cards.”
Lumen’s number one fan, Fr. Tom Lilly of St. Benedict’s, said, “having known Brenden since he was in elementary school and Coach Adam Trombley for more than 15 years, I can attest to the dedication and tenacity with which they approach basketball from both a player’s and coach’s perspective. They made a great combination that helped lead to honors of which both can be justifiably proud.”
'Lumen Christi boys basketball player, coach named best in Alaska'
Be the first to comment on this post!has no comments