Brother Martin point guard Raphael Bickham ‘27 drives past a Hannan defender during second-half play in the season-opener at Brother Martin. Bickham led the Crusaders in scoring with 16 points.
By: Ron Brocato
The Brother Martin Crusaders opened the 2025-26 prep basketball season under head coach Wesley Laurendine on Tuesday, Nov. 18, but it was not the way the new coach wanted to resume his career after leaving a successful stay at Archbishop Shaw.
Laurendine, whose last game at Shaw was a 59-55 defeat to Archbishop Hannan for the 2025 Select Division II state championship, saw his team lose again to the Hawks, 52-46, in the 2025-26 season opening game at Brother Martin. Hannan hit seven 3-point field goals to pull away in what was a see-saw game, to start its season with two wins. Laurendine was disappointed, but saw the makings of a district contender.
During his career at Shaw, in which he accrued a 182-132 coaching record with four Final 4 playoff appearances, his early years as a young head coach produced rather ominous outcomes. “It took me three years to get them into the playoffs,” he recalled about his early days on the bench. “My first years at Shaw, I tried to do things that I thought would help us win; things I learned as an assistant coach at Jesuit. But I learned that doesn’t always work. I had to be more of myself and do things I created on my own.”
His first team went 6-21 in that rookie coaching year. And it got worse before his teachings kicked in. “We went 11-20 in the second year. Then I started all eighth graders and freshmen the next year, and we went 4-21. And that was one of the best seasons I had coaching because that was when I started doing things with the team I thought would work for them. We were just a bunch of young players playing against varsity players,” he said.
Those “young” players eventually became a force, winning the Catholic League title before the school administration opted to play in a lower class. “We made the playoffs and beat St. Paul’s, and took St. Augustine in the quarterfinals. And then the next year things started falling into place,” Laurendine said. “We started winning and winning big in my fifth year; 25 wins a year in my sixth and seventh seasons with district titles both seasons.”
Laurendine’s fortunes changed through his persistence and patience in developing athletes in a football-driven community. “Kids started wanting to come to Shaw, and the players who are there now are the ones who used to watch us and say they wanted to make basketball their featured sport and play for Shaw.” But his success wasn’t in the Catholic League he admired, and when the opportunity presented itself, he accepted it with open arms to play in a district in which he competed both as an athlete and mentor.
Laurendine’s task is to mold the Crusaders into a title contender against teams that have been among the district’s most competitive. He mentioned St. Augustine and John Curtis as the most experienced in the district, but noted that Archbishop Rummel and Jesuit merit consideration among the potential playoff contenders.
As a former basketball player at Rummel, Laurendine is quite familiar with Catholic League basketball. During his varsity years, he was called upon to guard D.J. Augustin ‘06 in the 2004-05 season when his team met state champion Brother Martin. “The league is different,” he pointed out. “There are not as many Catholic schools in it, and it’s more football-focused than it’s ever been (with the addition of four-time champion Edna Karr).
“But it’s still one of the only (districts) that people care about, and anytime I open a newspaper, there’s always an article about the Catholic League in it. And that's why I tell every kid who may want to come to school here that if you become a star at Brother Martin, everyone will know who you are, and that’s the opportunity we offer you here.”
The Crusaders' next game is on Friday, Nov.21, at home against East St. John at 7:00 p.m. District 9-5A play begins on Jan. 6 at Archbishop Rummel.
