Many freshmen aren’t counted on to provide vital minutes and points, but Portal's Akeem Oglesby is proving to be an exception.
    Still in his first season, Oglesby has already shown tremendous growth as a player and is a key part of the rotation for Portal.
    “I didn’t know what to expect coming into this year,” Oglesby said. “I just wanted to work hard and get better. Things have just been going well for me.”
    Oglesby had his breakout moment a couple of weeks ago. Facing Montgomery County — which had beaten the Panthers earlier in the year — Portal went down early, but waged a fierce comeback. Held scoreless through the first three quarters, Oglesby came to life. Patrolling the perimeter, the freshman hit a pair of 3-pointers to give his team the lead, then sank three clutch free throws to seal the win.
    Since that game, Oglesby’s role has continued to grow — especially after star guard Stacey Morgan suffered a pair of ankle injuries.
    “We just all have to step up and pick up the slack,” Oglesby said. “Stacey is going to get healthy and help us to be a really good team. If we keep it up, I think we can go pretty far.”