Cummings, Thomas take over The Pete for an evening
Brandin Cummings and Meleek Thomas combine to make up one of the best 1-2 punches in all of high school basketball in the state of Pennsylvania. On Friday night, the talented duo from Lincoln Park showed why.
Cummings, a 2024 recruit committed to Pitt, and Thomas a five-star in the class of 2025, guided their Lincoln Park team to a WPIAL Class-4A title by defeating North Catholic 78-68 at the Petersen Events Center.
Cummings has been a fixture at most of the Pitt home games this season, of course. He is the younger brother of Pitt point guard Nelly Cummings. After sitting in the stands at The Pete many times this year, the younger Cummings took center stage on his future home court on Friday night. He scored 22 points, including 16 in the first half and displayed the ability to score at all three levels.
Cummings knew the stage would be big, and he felt he delivered.
“I knew a lot of people were going to come out and see me play,” he told reporters after his team improved to 26-1 on the season. “Everybody knows I’m a Pitt commit. I really just wanted to put on a show for my fans and my family, especially in my future home.”
Cummings has been supporting his brother all season long in the stands, but Nelly was unable to return the favor last night, as he was already in Miami gearing up for today’s showdown with the Hurricanes. The younger Cummings said he knew his brother and the coaches were watching, and he got some advice from his older brother prior to the game.
“He just told me to come out here and lay my heart on the floor,” Cummings said of his brother’s message to him.
He and his teammates needed to in order to capture the championship. North Catholic lost both prior meetings to Lincoln Park, but played a scrappy, up-tempo game to keep pace with Lincoln Park. The Trojans even took a brief lead at the end of the third quarter, but that’s when Thomas stepped up for the Leopards.
Thomas, a 6’4” wing who is only a sophomore, and arguably the best player in the state regardless of class. He finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds, 5 steals, and 4 assists. Thomas took over in the second half with 18 points after halftime, including a breakaway dunk that got the crowd to its feet.
“It was surreal,” the 7th ranked recruit in the country said of his fast break jam. “It was a great moment just to be playing on an ACC court with the whole city out and my family out. I’m used to playing on a high school court, but I felt like I was flying so I just went up and it was amazing.”
North Catholic coach Jim Rocco has faced off this potent Lincoln Park team three times now, all losses for his squad, but he had extremely high praise for the Cummings and Thomas duo after the game.
“You’re talking about the two best players in the area, I believe that,” the North Catholic coach said. "I believe that Cummings will be in a position to get significant minutes for the University of Pittsburgh in the ACC as a freshman. Maleek is a top 10 player in the country. If Maleek was at Sierra Canyon or Montverde Academy, he’d be one of their best players.”
Lincoln Park coach Mike Bariski did not have any arguments on that statement
“They play off of each other, that’s what is great about those two,” he explained. “They pick each other up, and they play off of each other.”
Lincoln Park will now take a 26-1 record into the 32 team PIAA Class 4A state tournament. The Leopards are one of the favorites for sure, and could ultimately see Neumann-Goretti in the state finals. The Philadelphia Catholic League powerhouse is one of the top teams in the nation led by 2024 four-star point guard Robert Wright III.