'It seemed like it would never happen': Brothers play final basketball season together at New Hanover

Mikhail and Lenier Pocknett grew up nearly inseparable.

Brothers only 15 months apart in age, they were always playing sports together, and on the same teams.

Their freshman year of high school was one of the first times they didn’t share a basketball court or football field. Mikhail played varsity basketball, while Lenier was on junior varsity. Little did they know, they’d go another two years without sharing the same jersey.

But that’s all changing this winter, with family ties and championship aspirations bringing the Pocknetts together for one final basketball season.

"I walk in (the main office) one day and there Mikhail is, and at first I'm a little suspicious," New Hanover head coach Kirk Angel said of that day in the spring.

"I sat down with him and made sure he was doing this for the right reasons, and I called (Ashley coach) Wells Gulledge and told him that Mikhail was here. They knew he was leaving, but we didn't know he was coming. He wanted to play with his brother, and he wanted to play at New Hanover."

The two brothers' lives have been together, and yet apart, too. They've lived in several places over the years, from Goldsboro and Wayne County to the Wilmington area, including Mikhail spending the two previous years at Ashley.

The skilled wing left with no hard feelings, instead seeing a chance to compete for a conference and state championship in his final high school season, and to do it alongside his brother.

Mikhail’s switch might have taken the New Hanover program by surprise, but it was years in the making, and an opportunity for the Pocknett family to find some happy closure.

"It's really special," Mikhail said earlier in the fall. "Lenier and I talked about playing together but it seemed like it would never happen. Our connection on the court has just picked up where we left off, and we're just ready to get started."

Different paths to Wilmington

Mikhail was born in Richmond, Va., before the family moved to Goldsboro, where Lenier was born 15 months later.

The Pocknetts will tell anyone who asks that they are a football family, first and foremost. Both boys, in the middle of a set of five siblings, were throwing a football before they ever shot a basketball. The brothers shined with the Leland Panthers youth football team when the family lived here for a brief period while they were in elementary school.

However, Mikhail and Lenier both vividly remember when their love of basketball began to really separate itself from football, at Brogden Middle School in Dudley.

The season before they arrived, Brogden didn't win a single game. With them on the team as seventh-graders, Brogden went 12-1 and won the conference championship.

"Making so many people at Brogden happy, we fell in love with basketball," Lenier said. "We both wanted to just focus on basketball in high school."

Maintaining that focus hasn't been easy. Mikhail and Lenier lived with their grandmother through their early teenage years as their mom, Vivian, struggled to find housing.

Mikhail stumbled in this environment, needing more structure to stay out of trouble and be successful on the court and in the classroom. Mikhail and Lenier's travel-ball coach, Jimmy Cooper with the East Carolina Warriors, said their community in Goldsboro could be a difficult place to live -- and eventually leave.

"They're coming from a place where a lot of kids just don't make it," Cooper said. "There isn't an expectation here for every kid to get through high school and get to college. I've lost a few. It's hard."

And that's what brought Mikhail to Wilmington. He moved in with a foster family and enrolled at Ashley High School for his sophomore year.

Mikhail shined on the court, averaging 15.3 points and 8.4 rebounds per game in his two seasons with Ashley. He enjoyed his teammates and Ashley High School as a whole, getting a new grip on basketball and academics.

Meanwhile, Vivian was getting things in order to reunite with her son. She found a job as a certified nurse assistant in Wilmington. She and Lenier moved from Wayne County in 2020, but Mikhail had to stay with the foster family for the immediate future.

"It was extremely hard," Vivian said. "I put in a lot of work and still couldn't have my son under my roof. It was really hard. He’s the one that keeps all of us laughing and he’s the one that keeps things light. If there’s a problem that’s brewing in the house, he always says, 'Don’t worry momma, we got this.'"

Coming home

Mikhail and Lenier have enjoyed their time in Wilmington, but Goldsboro will always be home. Family members are still there, along with memories of shooting hoops outside of their grandmother's house.

Family is everything to the Pocknetts, and it's what pulled Mikhail to New Hanover High School.

Just a couple days after turning 18, he moved in with his mother and changed schools. Officially an adult, he could make the decision for himself to leave the foster family and return to his mother and brother. Their sister will move to Wilmington after she completes her eighth-grade basketball season this winter at Brogden Middle School.

"I'm just happy and proud he made that decision," Vivian said. "Mikhail would text me every morning and he would come over for holidays, but you still have doubts. You try to instill how important family is when they're young and hope they keep that value as they get older. Mikhail did."

The next step for Mikhail was to settle in with his new school and new teammates. Fortunately, his younger brother did most of the heavy lifting in the previous year.

Lenier arrived at New Hanover in the fall of 2020 with COVID-19 still playing a major role in day-to-day life. Classes were only virtual, so there was limited time for Lenier to develop friendships.

Lenier's temperament didn't make the move easier. If Mikhail is the light and goofy brother, Lenier is the one who keeps things close to the vest. It took some time before his humor and personality shined through.

"He's got a big boulder up, and it's going to take a sledgehammer going 90 miles per hour to break it down," New Hanover assistant coach BJ Donnell said. "He first showed up and everyone was like, 'Who are you?'

"But eventually, he got comfortable with us and gained confidence as last season went on."

With Lenier's guard let down and friendships already built, Mikhail's transition was much easier. It didn't hurt that Mikhail and Lenier played AAU travel ball this summer alongside New Hanover teammates James Jones and Khalil Genwright.

Donnell also is president of that Wilmington Basketball Club AAU program. He didn't meet Mikhail until the spring, but quickly developed a soft spot for both brothers.

Donnell has seen others like Mikhail and Lenier come through New Hanover and not make it to graduation. The program has had its fair share of attrition with players not reaching their senior season.

The Pocknetts' path could have gone a similar route. What has separated these two, to reach a point where their coaches know they will both graduate and play college basketball in the future?

"It’s a different sense of integrity," Donnell said. "The kids that make it through all the way, they always do the right thing when nobody’s looking. Sometimes, there are kids who don't make it because they have one foot in, and one foot out.

"We try to hang on to them, but it's hard. Once you make that decision that you don't want to be in this structured environment, that's when you go left. It takes a sense of integrity to deal with outside factors and come out the other side a better person. They've done that."

Chasing dreams, together

Like so many brothers close in age, the Pocknetts' bond has been strengthened through years of competitive fire.

Whether it's cards, cell-phone games or basketball, Mikhail and Lenier have a lifetime of challenging each other to be better.

Mikhail was always the bigger brother — both in age and size — so Lenier had some catching up to do. Today, they're the same height and again on the same team, turning inward competition into outward growth.

"The first thing that jumps out about both of them is how much they hate to lose," Angel said. "Some kids can handle a loss and just move on, which isn't always the worst trait. But for these two, they take it personally. They bring a mental edge to practice every day and it feeds into the entire team."

New Hanover's basketball program prides itself on a high-octane system that any athlete would love to play in. With the Pocknetts, the Wildcats now have two players who can run with guards and protect the low post. Mikhail and Lenier have both spoken about how much they enjoy Angel's system.

A preseason basketball poll came out with the Wildcats (2-0, 1-0) ranked No. 2 in the Class 4A. That ranking might seem high for a team that lost in the second round of the 3A playoffs a season ago, but the addition of Mikhail and two dynamic freshmen have the Wildcats dreaming of championships, starting with reclaiming the Mideastern Conference crown.

"There are expectations and history here," Mikhail said. "I know I get to come in here and compete for championships with 12 dudes that want to do the same thing. It’s something you dream about, but there's a long way to go."

Regardless of this year's end result, dreams will already be realized for many of the people who helped shape Mikhail and Lenier's lives.

Reaching this point, as teammates, brothers and, now, Wildcats, is a win for the Pocknett family.

"I've got goosebumps already just thinking about watching them play," Vivian said. "They already brought me a shirt to wear. I didn't get to many games last year, but that's going to change. I couldn't be prouder of my boys."

Reporter Jackson Fuller can be reached at Jackson.Fuller@StarNewsOnline.com or 910-343-2262.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Brothers Mikhail, Lenier Pocknett reunite at New Hanover basketball