Noah Cummings rises up to lead Flathead hoops

One of the issues for this year’s Flathead Braves was where, in the wake of the graduated Joston Cripe’s 20 points a game, they were going to find points this basketball season.

A lot of them have come from junior Noah Cummings, a 6-foot-4 swingman with some silky moves.

“He has great size and great length,” third-year Flathead coach Dirk Johnsrud said. “He’s done a nice job of not only shooting the three but getting to the basket. And I’ve noticed he’s getting to the line a lot. We need that to continue.”

Going into Thursday night’s home game against Missoula Big Sky, Cummings is averaging 17.4 points a game, second only to Helena sophomore Jaxan Lieberg among Western AA players.

It might be a mystery — Cummings averaged 4.6 points on last year’s Braves — if Johnsrud didn’t witness how hard the player worked.

“Noah spent a great amount of time going to not only our camps, but a variety of other camps to improve his skills,” he said.

Asked about this, Cummings ticks them all off: Flathead High’s summer programs; going with the team to a Gonzaga camp; and a PGC Camp in Boise.

“A five-day camp on scoring,” Cummings said of the Idaho trip. “Ball-handling, getting to the rim, and finishing. I think it was needed. It really helped me.”

There are some genetics at work. Johnsrud noted that, “There’s some black and orange in that family,” thanks to Cummings’ mom, the former Alicia Johnson. There’s also some red, white and blue: One uncle is Corky Hill, who has a plaque in the Columbia Falls gym thanks to his athletic exploits in the mid-1960s; current Wildcat standout Jace Hill is a cousin.

“My mom’s grandpa played basketball with the original Phil Jackson,” he added. That would be Norman Johnson, a high school teammate of Jackson — not to be confused with Flathead assistant Phil Jackson — on the 1961-62 Williston (N.D.) Coyotes.

In other words hoops, above all, are in the blood. That’s not always a guarantee of success, of course, so Cummings spent the past spring on an AAU team that included Glacier’s Cohen Kastelitz, Easton Sant of Hellgate, Eli Quinn of Frenchtown and Riley Allen of Sentinel.

He played on a select team as a freshman as well. The aim is to improve, certainly, and pick up a college opportunity along the way.

“I think that’s always been the main goal,” he said. “Since I’ve been in middle school.”

He’s been in contact with Grove City (Pa.) College, a D-III school already. But that’s a ways away. Right now the Braves are dealing with adversity, as in an 0-9 start.

There have been opportunities: They led Great Falls CMR three quarters, were ahead of Bozeman and Helena High at halftime and had Missoula Sentinel on the ropes in a 40-38 loss.

“I think it’s just a matter of getting there as a team,” Cummings said. “We’ve had some very close games. We have such a young team, and we’ve had those games at hand, but we just need to learn to close them out.”

Things won’t get easier Thursday. Missoula Big Sky rallied from 16 down to beat Glacier 50-49 Tuesday, and last Friday Glacier handled Flathead.

“We are very young,” said Johnsrud, who boasts one senior, receiver Michael Manning, on this season’s roster. “We are athletic, and I’m very happy with how hard we’ve computed. But we’re not happy with where we’re at by any means.”

Meanwhile Cummings, after games of 28 and 30 points, has opponents’ attention.

“It’s annoying,” he offered, laughing. “But the more attention they give to me, the more opportunities my teammates get to score. It’s just a matter of finding the open guy.”

“That’s one thing we’ve really talked about with Noah,” Johnsrud said. “‘Now that teams can see you can score, you’re going to get their best defender. And they’re going to do everything they can to stop you. Now what can you do better?’

“It’s just another chance for him to elevate his game.”