This year, the number of players who hit the milestone tripled. Six players - five boys and one girl - all eclipsed the mark during the 2013-2014 season. Here are the six players, in chronological order:
It's been a while since the Sharon High 1,000 point club has been updated - and Brian Mukasa remembers growing up watching his brother and telling his mom, "Mom, I'm going to score 1,000."
As any parent would do with a young child, she told Brian he had to work for it.
And Mukasa has, as noted by both his head coach and Gordy, both of whom talked about his work ethic.
"He just has that work ethic," Jackman said. "He's had it since day one. He loves the game of basketball and he's not afraid to sacrifice and do the extra thing. He puts a lot of time into and the game and it shows."
Not only did both coaches talk about his work ethic, they both started by calling him a leader.
"The first thing that comes to mind is leader," said Gordy. "He's an absolute leader, he's their emotional leader. The second thing is work ethic. You know he puts his work in in the offseason. He's the type of floor general every Hockomock team wants."
Mukasa scored nine points in the first half but added just three in the third quarter. He missed a shot in the fourth quarter and was fouled on the floor before finally getting fouled on a drive that led to two free throws. The first one - swish, 999.
The second one? Swish. 1,000.
"As soon as the first one went in, I just thought back to all of the reps I've done," Mukasa said. "The second was the same as the first, just put it through."
It wasn't the most glamourous of shots, but the gymnasium erupted and Mukasa said he didn't care how, he just wanted it to be past him and just play.
It showed too - his next bucket he split a double team and used a lefty finger roll that got a kind roll.
Hard work has certainly paid dividends for Taunton's Shaquille Davis.
From youth basketball to extensive and intensive practice sessions at the Joseph Rabouin Field House, the Tiger boys' basketball star finally reached the 1,000-point plateau.
Making the achievement that much more impressive is the fact that Davis plays in an unselfish system under head coach Charlie Dacey. The Tigers also face an extremely challenging schedule on a yearly basis and, for the past two years, have competed in one of the top leagues — the Hockomock — in the state.
"Shaq is a competitor," Dacey says. "He always rises to the occasion. Shaq plays his best in the biggest games, whether it is in the tournament or against good teams."
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The senior captain began the season with 878 points. Officially, he hit the 1,000-point mark following a free throw with 1:30 left in a 57-52 victory in Attleboro on January 10.
"I tried not to think about it," Davis said of reaching 1,000 points. "If I thought about it too much, I would get off my game. I wanted to let the game come to me."
However, the celebration for Davis' accomplishment was saved for Taunton's next home game against King Philip on Jan. 17. When Davis hit a three-pointer in the opening quarter for his first points, the game was stopped. He went into the stands and presented the game ball to his mother. The Tigers would go on to a 64-40 win over the Warriors and a party to celebrate Davis' milestone was held following the game.
The Attleboro High School 1,000-point club banner will soon have to come down to add a new name to the exclusive group. With a contested basket in the third quarter of the Blue Bombardiers’ game against the King Philip Warriors, Walsh scored his 1,001st point as part of Attleboro’s 55-47 win over the Warriors.
Attleboro improved to 12-6 with the win while King Philip is now 6-10.
With a little more than three minutes to play in the third quarter, a coast to coast drive by Walsh capped off with a toss up ended the waiting for 1,000 points as Walsh became only the 11th Attleboro basketball player to earn the achievement.
“I was pretty determined honestly to get to the hoop and once I got there I kind of just laid it up,” Walsh said.
Walsh finished the game with 23 points and 1,007 career points.
With just under thirty seconds left, Sharon guard Jimmy Fritzson carried the ball up the court with pressure from before the inbounds. He was looking for a three pointer but was swallowed up and even had the ball knocked away.
As the clocked ticked under ten seconds, both the Sharon fans and OA fans on their feet, Fritzson was able gain possession again near mid court, charge towards the three point line again before being surrounded by three more defenders, this time forcing up a shot but getting fouled and earning three free throws with 1.3 seconds left in the game.
By the atmosphere, you would have never known Sharon was trailing 81-52. It felt like a playoff game with the score knotted, but instead, it was Fritzson's quest for 1,000 career points.
The league's leading scorer stepped to the line and calmly sank three free throws in succession to hit 1,000 career points.
"He's worked awful hard all season to do what he's done," said Sharon head coach Bruce Jackman. "He's a very private individual and doesn't say much. He wasn't even aware of how close he was until I brought it up to him Sunday. We were planning on it happening Friday and then [assistant coach] Josh [Coran] said on the bench he needs six more with 1:20 left, so I said lets try and do it."
A lot has happened in 14 years - but a 1,000 point scorer at Canton High isn't one of them.
Until Sunday, that is, when senior Sam Larson became just the six player in Canton history to score 1,000 career points. He's the fifth male player to do so and the first to do so since both Adam Jablonski and Brian Pendergast did so in 2000.
The three-sport athlete needed 15 points entering the Bulldogs second date with Fairhaven, and after the first quarter ended 5-5 and the half was just 23-15 in favor of Canton, Larson headed into the locker room with 14 points and 999 career points.
"I just wanted to get it early so we could just focus on the game," Larson said of his mentality coming into the second half. "We came out really dry and we wanted to fix that and make a run, so I wanted to get it early and get it out of the way."
And he did just that, receiving a pass beyond the arc, hitting the defender with a perfect shot fake before driving straight to the basket to two points, hitting the milestone with 7:09 left in the third quarter.
Yoni Monat recapped the event for The Sharon Advocate:
Karlie O’Driscoll scored a basket and retreated to defend, a routine that the Sharon High girls basketball senior captain has practiced hundreds of times during her illustrious career.
In this instance, during the third quarter of Eagles’ final regular-season game on Feb. 19 vs. Holliston, O’Driscoll’s teammates rushed up to her, blindsiding their leader. The Hockomock League MVP had not known, but with that shot she tallied her 1,000th career point, achieving a long-sought-after goal.
O’Driscoll received embraces from her teammates and family, flowers, the game ball, and a hug from head coach Kate Horsmann. O’Driscoll’s accomplishment put a cap on a remarkably successful regular season for the Eagles, in which the program won its first Hockomock League title in 37 years.
#8: A Shot Worth The Wait
#9: Repeat Sectional Champs
#10: The Rivalry Rematch
#11: Vaulting To The Top
#12: Triple Overtime Thriller
#13: The Brick Wall
#14: Making A Big Splash
#15: The Buzzer Beater
Honorable Mention: The Finalists
2012-2013: The Complete Countdown