"We usually do that on days when the girls' team has a home game," Bagwell said. "Otherwise, we have to wait around until about 5:15 to start our practice. And sometimes we'll do it on Fridays so we can all just leave after school. I guess we've had maybe 10 to 15 morning practices this season."
Is everyone groggy?
"Just until coach blows his whistle and makes us start running," Bagwell said, laughing. "That wakes us up real fast."
Does a family member make sure Bagwell gets up on time?
"Nope, that's what the clock's for," he said. "If it wasn't for the clock, I'd never be getting up. I'm doing good, though. I've only missed one morning practice."
Does he make sure to go to bed earlier?
"Nah, I still stay up late. Doing my work," he said. "I'm always burning the midnight oil. That's the way it's going to be in college, right? Might as well get used to it."
Is he able to enjoy a normal breakfast?
"I have a great big cereal bowl," he said, demonstrating the size. "Filled with Toaster Strudels."
Yesterday, Bagwell, a 6-1, 175-pound junior point guard, mostly filled up the stat sheet.
With 16 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, he sniffed a triple double and he also posted two steals.
One thing he didn't do was impress himself.
"I wasn't feelin' it out there," he said. "I didn't think I was playin' that good. Things weren't clickin'."
Coulda fooled World Comm, though Bagwell indeed was a shade subpar (6-for-15) from the floor. He was 3-for-8 on treys. Mostly, he was a masterful floor general and was the major reason 20 of Northeast's 29 buckets featured assists.
Bagwell was particularly impressive as the Vikings, who owned a 33-22 halftime lead, created significant space in the first portion of the third quarter. In all, Northeast tallied 20 points in that session. He scored eight and passed for eight more.
