BeeGraphix’s Gallagher named unanimous MVP
By Jose Negron
jnegron@yourmvi.com
Plenty of excitement surrounded Rodney Gallagher III when he entered the Mon Valley Independent Summer Basketball League boys division draft in June.
The hype was sort of reminiscent of professional No. 1 draft picks such as Sidney Crosby and Zion Williamson.
And Gallagher didn’t disappoint.
The Laurel Highlands standout was selected No. 1 overall by BeeGraphix head coach Tim Tyree and went on to lead his team to a 10-2 record and a championship in the MVISBL’s inaugural season.
The sophomore-to-be and reigning WPIAL champion also picked up MVISBL boys division player of the year honors Thursday night. He was a unanimous selection for the award.
“It’s just another blessing and accomplishment, and I appreciate all of the opportunities that I have,” Gallagher said. “I just came out here trying to outwork everybody while having a different mentality than everybody else. I just wanted to play my game and not worry about anything else.”
Just like he did on the court as a freshman with the Mustangs last winter, Gallagher put up video-game-like numbers this summer, leading the league in scoring during the regular season at 25.6 PPG.
In nine games, Gallagher totaled 230 points and registered eight 20-plus point games and three 30-plus point contests. He scored a season-high 41 points in a loss to Farmers Insurance July 30.
Gallagher was invaluable in a pair of playoff games, too, scoring a team-high 29 points in Tuesday’s semifinal win over Howard Hanna Wilson Baum before pouring in 20 points and adding 10 rebounds in Thursday’s title game against Farmers.
“Rod is everything you can ask for in a point guard and I think he has shown that over the last two months,” Tyree said. “He leads and everybody else follows.”
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