 |
Huck's Corner, 2002-03
|
|
Huck's Corner, 2002-03
|
DEC. 11
NON-LEAGUE
SJ Prep 67 Germantown Academy 55
With the win the Hawks were able to give Head coach Speedy
Morris his 700th career coaching win (high school & college). That is a ton of
W's!!! By the looks of things he should pick up a few more before this season is over. The
Hawks (6-0) kept the Patriots at arm's length all afternoon. They took control for good at
the end of third quarter and at the beginning of the fourth. Sr. F 6-6 Mark Zoller
scored right before the third quarter buzzer and baskets by, sr. WG TJ Valerio and
jr. PG Chris Clark gave the Hawks their largest lead at 54-41, with 6:48 to play.
The Patriots (1-5) would draw no closer than six points the rest of the way. The Prep was
once again led by Zoller. For a player who doesn't jump and isn't that quick he sure does
find himself in prime scoring position on a consistent basis. He finished with 28 points
(12-for-18, FG's), 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Amazingly, he hit his first three shots. Then
he suffered through a 1-for-7 stretch in the second quarter, but rebounded nicely and
merely hit his last eight shots. Penn coach Fran Dunphy was in attendance. Maybe he
was there checking out Zoller, who in my opinion could be a nice fit for the Quakers.
Scoring help came from jr. WG John Griffin (5 rebs, 5 asst, 3 steals) who dropped
19 points. Griffin hit a couple of big threes late in third stanza when GA started to
sniff towards getting back in the game. Already a very heady player, he looks to have
gotten somewhat quicker. He showed good ball and head fakes to get himself open. Valerio
and Clark played a balanced floor game. Each scored eight points and each had 5 assist.
Clark does a nice job of running the team, while Valerio is a capable shooter and a nice
complementary player. To say that the Hawks are efficient is putting it mildly. They
turned the ball over just 7 times, and shot 25-for-46 (54.3) from the field. Rarely,
do they have a bad possession or take a bad shot. They are not overly athletic or that
big, but they play intelligently and are well coached. They seem to know their limitations
and look for each other out on the floor. Come league play they will have to be reckoned
with. I expect them to give Neumann and Roman all they can handle, and in the long run
they just might be the cream of the crop in the always tough Southern division. Two areas
of concern might be depth and lack of height aside from Zoller. Coincidentally, they were
last year's concerns and rarely did they come into play. The Patriots might just be the
best (1-5) team in the area. They lost a wealth of talent from last year's squad, so
experience is an issue. However, the future looks promising. Seven of the eight players
who saw action today were underclassmen, including all five starters. There is much hope
in two talented soph's in 6-6 F Brian Grimes and 6-5 F Ryan Ayers. Grimes
(15 pts) looked good on some midrange jumpers. A few times early with his back to the hoop
he caught, then faced, and got good lift off the ground nailing a couple over Zoller. He
also showed a nice touch in converting all five of his free throws. Ayers, is the son of
76ers asst. coach Randy Ayers. I was also impressed with him. He finished with 13
points and 9 rebounds. He is athletic and looks like he could grow a few more inches. He
showed a few good moves around the basket. Jr. PG Larry Sharp (13 pts) is heady. He
hit 4-of-6 from the field and nailed all four of his freebies. Jr. F 6-3 Joe Gill hustled
for 11 pts, 5 rebs, and 5 assist. He looks like he will provide much of the dirty work for
the Pats. Soph CG 6-3 Kirk Jones (4 rebs, 3 asst, 2 blocks) showed some skill and
when he gets stronger should be a decent player. The more this team plays together the
better they will become. Next year and the year after they should be very good again. For
a miserable afternoon there was a solid crowd. Also, it was a very good showing by the
Prep student body. I get the feeling they might be sensing some of the magic that the
football team has provided in recent years starting to show in this year's basketball
squad.
DEC. 7
NON-LEAGUE
West Catholic 80, Academy Park 43
The Burrs (2-0) took command during the midway point of the first quarter
and never looked back. Their largest lead ballooned to 40 at one point in the fourth
quarter. All twelve Burrs who dressed scored, three made it into double-digits; jr. WG 6-5
Marshall Taylor (17 pts), sr. F Brandon Wicker (13 pts), and jr. WG Rob
Latimer (10 pts). Six other Burrs scored between four and seven points. It was good
day for Head Coach Bill Ludlow to give all of his troops a chance to play. Wicker
was a terror on the boards, and grabbed 12 of his 15 rebounds (7 offensive) in the first
half. He is probably a shade over 6-1, but shows good quickness on the baseline and
doesn't waste any time on putbacks. He's almost always surrounded by bigger players.
Taylor didn't start due to being sick during the week. He wasted no time showing that he
has gotten well. He packed 15 of his 17 points in the second quarter and also added 9
rebounds and 3 blocks. West received solid bench play from jr. WG Brian Robinson
(2-three's), jr. PG Kyle Whalen (2-three's), and jr. CG Mark Anthony
(3 steals). All three will be expected to pitch in and all three can do something
different to help the squad. Whalen should provide solid ballhandling in time and he shot
the ball confidently today. Anthony will also provide ballhandling relief, but what I like
about him is how he looks for offense and isn't afraid to take the shot when presented. He
shows much confidence in this aspect. Robinson could be the sleeper player on this year's
Burr squad. He is athletic, who could turn himself into a decent defensive player if he
applies himself. He also doesn't waste much time getting his shot off and seems to possess
somewhat of a scorer's edge. The good news for the Burrs is that they have won both of
their contests without much help from sr. F Brandon Weston and sr. PG Curtis
Bryant. Neither has played bad, but they were probably the team's most consistent
players a year ago, and neither has done anything out of the ordinary yet. I expect that
they will in time. The Burrs have a couple of quality freshman that have found themselves
already dressing varsity in 6-3 F Chris Mayo and 6-4 F John Maddox. Maddox
played significantly on the Burrs football team. Mayo has the look of someone who just
might turn out to be pretty special. Though far from polished, he does exhibit good body
control, takes the ball hard to the rim, and is very fast and athletic for a young kid.
West hit (8-of-19, 42.1%) on threes. The forced Academy Park (1-1) into 23 turnovers. They
also held the Knights to 15-for-56 shooting in the game, a frigid 26.8%. Somebody please,
shovel the snow out in Sharon Hill. As I mentioned in my last report I thought this Burr
squad could be highly entertaining and effective at home on the small court. They wasted
no time in showing me that in this contest. However, like the case for many Burr squads,
consistency will be crucial if they expect to make any noise in the ever-tough Southern
Division.
DEC. 1
NON-LEAGUE
West Catholic 68, La Salle 67 (OT)
The Burrs (1-0) needed one
free throw with just :03 seconds left from jr. 6-5 WG Marshall Taylor to
escape with a win in the opener for both squads. LaSalle (0-1) could not get a shot off
and threw the ball out of bounds on their last possession. The versatile Taylor started
slowly, but in the end came within sniffing distance of a triple-double. He finished with
19 points, 14 rebounds, 8 assist, and 4 blocks. The talented shooting guard looks to be
much stronger and seems to possess more body control than last year. This is a key year in
his development. He still seems to get himself in foul problems by committing silly fouls.
He'll need to show better discipline and stay on the floor for the Burrs to be successful.
To his credit he did play a portion of the third quarter, all of the fourth, and the
overtime with four fouls. Sr. F 6-1 Brandon Weston (11 points) treated
the crowd to a couple of breakaway slams. Both dunks came off open-court steals. Weston
made 5 steals in the game. Sr. F 6-1 Brandon Wicker (13 pts, 6 rebs)
showed some explosiveness working along the baseline. He has the nice ability to place the
ball nicely off the glass against bigger defenders. Sr. PG Curtis Bryant fouled-out
midway through the third quarter. He'll need to stay on the court and right now is truly
the Burrs only option at the point guard position. Jr. PG/WG Marc Anthony may
help in time. He'll have to gain more confidence in his ball-handling skills, but shows a
nice form on jump shots. He only took two shots, but made them both. He shoots the ball
with confidence, and doesn't hesitate on his release. Jr. WG/SF Rob Lattimer
in many ways mirrors a Public League player. He likes to slash his way to the basket, but
at times gets a bit out of control. The Explorers were led by sr. F 6-5 William
Furey (16 pts, 6 rebs). Furey showed good hands and a nice touch. Bruising, F 6-5
Doug Kelly will be relied upon to do a lot of the dirty work for La Salle
this season. Kelly managed a respectable 11 points and 5 rebounds. Jr. WG Kevin
Moll (4 steals) scrapped his way to 12 points. Flashy, sr. PG Chris
Reedman struggled early, but scored all of his six points in the fourth quarter.
Two of those points tied the game at the end of regulation on a reverse-layup. Star
football players, PG Matt McGurkin and WG Brian Donohoe
(7 pts), will probably contribute more as the season progresses. Jr. WG Ryan Kirk
(7 pts) provided a spark off of the bench for the Explorers and could end up getting more
playing time. Considering this was the first game for both teams it wasn't that badly
played. West held a six-to-eight point lead for long stretches before the Explorers made
their fourth quarter run. I suspect this bunch of Burrs could be very effective in the
Burrdome, on a smaller court where they'll be able to use their athleticism.