After putting on a show two weekends ago, Aaron Bowen has been hesitant to put up jump shots and has had little success when he pulled the trigger. He's run the floor exceptionally well and was making a big impact on transition offense, but his game wasn't as well rounded... until the second half of Saturday's game. In one of the most competitive games at Kenner this summer, the Hoop Magic Warriors used a deep bench and a lot of intensity (Byron Mouton did his best TO, to the extent of fist pumping after made free throws) to put the Tombs down one at half. HMW extended the lead to start the first half; the Tombs kept themselves in the game through gritty- outside shots from Freeman, Hollis and Markel weren't falling as they usually do. It wasn't until a run late in the second half when Aaron Bowen hit two 3's assisted by Markel and another basket that the Tombs took a late lead. With 12 seconds to go HMW hit a 3 to tie the game 67-67. With about 5 second left, Bowman put up another end over end shot, this time a twelve footer and splashed in a final swish. A missed buzzer beater was let with loud applause- this game more than any other at Kenner had a regular season feel. The Hoyas, excuse me, Tombs, were prone to being ground down by a talented and deep team but fought their way out of a hole- most especially thanks to Bowen, who finished with 12 points.
Austin Freeman showed why he will be a special player this year- his shot was clearly off this afternoon and in response he ratcheted up his defense and used his size to bully people around the hoop and threaded the needle on a lot of passes that had some muster behind them.
Play that would've had commentators going on for at least 10 minutes were KL games broadcast: Austin dribbled the ball to the wing at Markel Starks who made a sharp backdoor cut and had an easy layup. It was executed so naturally- Starks has a great feel for the game, especially for freshman.
One scary moment: Moses Abraham and Starks came down on each other under the basket and only Starks got up. Moses was able to put weight on it right away, but not much at first, was able to limp back to the bench. He came back in for a minute later, so hopefully it was a rolled ankle that won't be an issue.
Moses is the ideal red shirt if we had depth, he has a long way to go with his hands (stone), but his determination to go after the ball will be welcome on our thin front line. At least a few times every scrimmage it seems he gets deadlocked in a battle for a rebound with a teammate. Also, he swished a few more free throws today- that never fails to amaze people in the audience.
The resurgence of Aaron Bowen has me questioning if there is a health issue with his right shoulder that is in a sleeve. The ball looks so good out of his hand, the multiple air-balls last week seemed such an anomaly.
One thing I noticed about Hollis Thompson that makes me question if he's fully ready to take his offensive game to the next level beyond a spot shooter is that he has a tendency when he's dribbling to put his head down and not see the court as well as he could. He will certainly be an impact player this year and the stronger his ball handling, the further he can tap into his full potential.
I stepped out for the Clyde's matchup, but came back in time to another close finish 70-68. Tomorrow is the day to take note of- Clyde's Versus Tombs. I cannot wait to see Lubick and Moses on Vaughn and, even more direct of a rivalry as for two players who will be dueling for minutes, Markel vs. Vee.
In the final game it was DC Legends versus.... well four guys were doing a shoot-out on the other hoop, one of whom was wearing a polo. I came mainly hoping that Henry would face real competition so I started planning on heading for the door early. A few guys ran into the locker room for unis and they came out with a team... and then five minutes later DC Legends was down 13-3, Premiere Athletics had 6 guys in their bench, Henry was stripped a few times inside and Chris Wright had a jump shot blocked away from behind. I was stunned. Chris, realizing that his teammates were for the most part unable to come within striking distance of the rim on an open three, starting taking it to the glass.
Another scary moment- Chris went up strong with two and he was fouled by the ball and he ended up falling to the floor on his back. He bounced right up, but he was clearly shaken. Fortunately, he seemed fine by the end the game.
Henry Sims had a poor game, was thwarted down low repeatedly and aside from a few nice defensive plays, did not make good use of his size. Though I cannot certianly vouch for anything during the last 10 minutes of the game as my brain and body were vibrating to the continual chant of two well meaning youngsters seated directly behind me screaming OFFENSE OFFENSE OFFENSE or DEFENCE DEFENCE, DEFENCE depending on which situation described DC Legends situation.
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