Meet The Bee’s Boys Basketball Players of the Year: Sheldon’s Marcus Bagley, Justin Nguyen

Sacramento Bee 2018-19 Boys Basketball Players of the Year

Marcus Bagley and Justin Nguyen, Sheldon

They didn’t know each other until last fall, when Marcus Bagley and Justin Nguyen became teammates.

And then they clicked, reading each other, feeding each other, and basking in the rewards.

With Bagley and Nguyen leading the charge as a ferocious 1-2 punch, Sheldon High School emerged as the top basketball team in Northern California, a path that led to the final game of the season in the highest classification in the state.

Bagley and Nguyen are The Bee’s co-Players of the Year for 2018-19 for their myriad skills and for leading a team that went 28-7 on the court.

“We don’t get as far as we did without those two,” Sheldon coach Joey Rollings said. “They were great for us.”

They are also good students and campus leaders.

Bagley is a national recruit as a 6-foot-8 guard. He’s a junior who can shoot, dribble, dunk, defend and dazzle.

He averaged 19.9 points and 7.9 rebounds and added to what was already the top team in Northern California when his family moved to the area. Bagley’s brother, Marvin Bagley III, is a standout rookie with the Kings.

Nguyen is an unsung and unflappable senior guard, a dynamo with the dribble, pass and 3-point shot, and a tenacious defender at 5-10. Nguyen isn’t sure where he’ll attend college, but he plans to keep playing, and to major in business.

He averaged 10.0 points and 3.3 assists, but his impact went beyond statistics. He led Sheldon in scoring in some dramatic playoff games as the Huskies won the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship and the prestigious CIF NorCal Open Division title for the second successive season.

Nguyen also earned the CIF Sportsmanship Award after the section, NorCal and CIF State title games. And he was presented the annual Pete Saco Award by the Kings and the Kings Foundation as the area’s top senior player for his achievements and sportsmanship, which included being recognized during the March 21 Kings game at Golden 1 Center.

“He’s the perfect point guard,” Bagley said of Nguyen. “He set everyone up and made us better.”

Nguyen said of his game, “I like getting people involved. I wanted to do something this season for people to remember me by. I know some see my size and wonder if I can play, but I just do what I can do.”

Bagley is a 4-star recruit with all the makings of becoming a 5-star recruit as a senior. He’s as relentless of a worker as he is a talent.

“I want to be as versatile as I can, to do anything I can to help us win,” Bagley said. “I try to play all over. I wasn’t always the best athlete but I got better, and I worked hard.

“That’s the difference between a good player and a great player — how hard you work. I want to be great.”

Bagley has serious recruiting interest from programs across the country, including Arizona State and UCLA. He wants to commit to a college before the academic year is out.

He said he felt welcomed at Sheldon. His skills and easy-going personality certainly helped.

“Sheldon made me feel at home,” Bagley said. “I want to be here. I want to leave a legacy.”

Said Nguyen of Bagley, “He’s a great player, versatile. He can do it all. Best player I’ve ever played with.”

The Sacramento Bee 2018-19 All-Metro Teams

This story was originally published March 28, 2019 at 12:10 PM.