While many high school athletes were preparing for their teams’ Thanksgiving week football games last week, Mikey West took a big step in his basketball odyssey.
The former Waterbury scholastic standout signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball for Bethune-Cookman University in a ceremony at the Franco-American Social Club in Waterbury last Tuesday. The Wildcats are a Division I program that plays in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. For West, family was a big influence on his dreams of playing Division I basketball.
“I realized I wanted to play D-I basketball at a young age,” West said. “Growing up watching my older brother Trevon Seymore, who played at Coppin State, he primarily inspired me. I guess it is a family thing because I also looked up to my cousin Marcus James, who played at Sam Houston, and a host of other family members who love the game as much as I do.”
West began his scholastic basketball journey at Sacred Heart High School, where he played his first two seasons and won a pair of state championships. He transferred to Holy Cross High School for his junior season and was an All-NVL selection before moving on to Lee Academy in Lee, Mass., for his senior and post-graduate seasons. He played his AAU ball for the New Haven Heat.
“As I got older and developed my game, I believed I was worthy to play at the highest level of competition and refused to accept anything less,” West said. “I chose Bethune-Cookman University because I love their style of play and they have a great coaching staff.”
Bethune-Cookman was the first Division I school to offer West, and he said that Wildcat coaches Ryan Ridder, Dominique Taylor, Denver Cobb and Donald Reyes believed in him. The visit to Bethune-Cookman, which is located in Daytona Beach, Fla., in October sealed the deal.
“When I went on a visit to Bethune-Cookman, it felt like home,” West said. “They embraced me.”
West added: “I want to bring more notoriety to historical black colleges because I feel they are overlooked.”
West returned to Connecticut for a game against Notre Dame-West Haven on Nov. 23, which Lee Academy won, 85-71. West poured in 27 points in that game, which was played in West Haven.
A basketball journey that began in Waterbury moves on to sunny Daytona Beach. With the move, the dream continues for West.
Photo caption: Mikey West, pictured playing for Sacred Heart during its 2017 state championship win over Notre Dame-Fairfield at Mohegan Sun Arena, signed a Division I basketball Letter of Intent to play for Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla. (Copyright, Sports on CT-69, file)
