Hug High School JV Player #2

Last Saturday, January 21, 2012 I went to McQueen High School to watch Hug play McQueen.  I don't know a single player from either team, but I love High School sports, what they represent and Saturday's are the BEST days to watch amateur sports.  So I went...I blogged about the game earlier this week, but there was one player I didn't talk about (although I really wanted to).  I really didn't know how to fit him in the story until now...

I don't care what level of sports (or life) you're on, you want to be the starter (or the man/woman).  We all learn (eventually) that this isn't the case.  For some reason or whatever, you may "deserve" to start, but something (or someone) dictates that you have to take a lesser role.  This DOES NOT mean you are of "lesser" value, it just means that your true value may actually not be viewed in the proper light...this is life my friends.

Anyway, as I'm photographing this Hug/McQueen game, something "told" me to shoot this kid (#2) who was the first person to check into the game.  I had no idea of who he was, if he was any good, or what his situation was...but I took his picture non the less.

Little did I know that this kid was on some straight up Vinnie Johnson type ish!  This young bol (South Jersey slang for young guy...it's pronounced "bull") came into the game and started lighting kats up!

The thing is, this kid didn't only fill up the bucket, he played D, boarded and distributed dimes (a dime is an assist).  He did all of this without the "sense" or entitlement of STARTING.  If you took one look at this kid when he was entering the game you would have thought you were looking at a lion about to be unleashed!  The dude just had something about him that said "I don't give a f#ck that I'm not starting...I'm about to do WORK"...and he did.

The point of this blog post is that this kid "played" his H.E.A.R.T out and from the looks of his contributions, he could have cared less if he started or was the first/last guy off the bench! 

In sports and in life, not everyone is going to get the chance to sit in the sun...but when you do (if you indeed do get the chance) you have to take full advantage because you never know if you'll get another one (chance) or some more sun.  This Hug JV player got a little bit of sun from me and I feel fortunate enough to give him whatever sun I can because dammit...this kid deserves it.  He played his ass off AND he played his HEART out!


John H. Harris II
Owner
H.E.A.R.T Athletics LLC


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Hug vs. McQueen Boys JV Hoops

This past Saturday, January 21, 2012 I decided to watch the Hug vs. McQueen JV Boys game.  I did this for a couple of reasons.
1. I've seen the Hug Varsity Boys play...and they're nice
2. McQueen is big sports school, so I wanted to check out the hoops team
3. Saturdays are made for sports

So I go into the game "expecting" Hug to be good, but not really knowing what to expect from McQueen.  You know, would they be shook (slang term for scared), any good or anything close to the football program (which by the way is really...really good).  So as the game starts and quarters are passing by, McQueen and Hug were really gettin' it in.  No lead was larger than 7 points and there were at least 8 lead changes. 

In every game I go to and shoot, I'm always looking for players that not only play their asses off but play with HEART.  There were more than a couple.  For McQueen, #'s 5, 21 and 3 really stood out and for Hug #'s 35, 11, 25 and 2 really caught my attention.  Here's a breakdown of what I saw...

McQueen Lancers



# 5 is a true floor general.  The kid took shots when he needed to take'm, fought through screens of D, drove the lane against the bigmen of Hug and hustled his ass off all game long.  Really good player.

#21 played a hell of a game too.  Although he was giving up a couple of inches to #35 from Hug, he still went hard in the paint all game long.  He had a bunch of hustle in'm as well.  One play it looked like Hug was going to get a free fastbreak layup...but out of nowhere comes #21 to block the shot.

#3 was a slasher.  This kid was always driving the lane and had a decent handle.  He didn't care who was in the lane, he was going to either get his shot off or get that bucket.  Every team needs a guy like this.  Big HEART and fearless when attacking the bucket

Hug Hawks

#35 was a straight up monster.  He grabbed boards, blocked shots, made his shots and battled all day long with McQueen's #21.  This kid basically went bananas during this game.

#11 was a beasting Saturday, just like #35.  The two of them combined made it really tough for McQueen on the defensive end.  For a bigman 35 has quicks AND hops.  He created his own shots and played hard on D.  Tough player...

#25 for Hug was ice cold.  This kid didn't care how big you were, he was getting in the paint...period.  His handle was ill and his shooting was iller (yeah, I know it's slang and it's not 'really' a word...but it's MY blog so I'm using it, lol).  At one point in the 4th quarter the game was tied up, the Hug coach called a timeout and set up a designed play.  With the game tied #25 ran around 2 screens to get open in the corner to pop a 3...he didn't hesitate at all.  The kid got the rock and pulled the trigger.  The kid was Reggie Miller lethal from range.

I can't lie, BOTH teams played hard and played with HEART.  Like most games I got to shoot, I found myself "watching" the game more than shooting photos.  This (to me at least) is a sign that the players on both sides are competing at their highest levels and leaving everything on the court.

Play with HEART!

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Bishop Manogue vs. Wooster Boys Freshman Hoops

With every game I go to, I go with absolutely no prior knowledge on which team is good and what player can do what.  The same was true when I went to the Manogue/Wooster game.  All I really wanted to do was take some quality pictures and witness a hard fought game.  I gotta tell ya, just like every other game I watched this year, both teams played their asses off.

I could write a really long blog about my opinions of the game, but in truth, I'd rather talk about the game and how the pictures I took reflect my feelings on the game in general.

Wooster Players

*Blogger Note* Since I do not know these players yet, I will have to refer to them by number...



#2  This kid played with a ton of HEART.  He never let ball pressure bother him and he didn't have any hesitation to take the rock into the trees (that's slang for driving the painted area and shooting over the taller players...you're welcome).  He also dove on the ground for loose balls, played D and was willing to take the open jumper when it presented itself.

#1  This kid was smaller than #2 but played just as big as he did.  I was actually zooming my lens to take a picture of another kid when #2 snatched a board (that's a Rebound for the uninitiated) from much...much taller players.  What the non-basketball player needs to know that is, rebounding is about determination.  You can jump out of the gym, but if you don't WANT to rebound...it's not going to happen.  This kid not only snagged this board, but he did it with some serious swagger.  He also hustled his ass off and knocked down open shots...ice cold this kid was.

I know for any team victory, the victory belongs to the TEAM, but I can't front.  This kid #33 played his ass off in the 4th quarter.  He blocked shots, he made shots, he boarded and he played D.  This kid was the difference in Wooster winning and losing....period.  I know the entire team played as one, but damn, this kid has a big ass HEART.  He was all over the place when it counted.

I can't front, I really was watching the Wooster players more than the Manogue players because I live literally 3 blocks away from the school.  This is in no way demeaning the effort put out by Manogue because the game literally came down to the last 30 seconds before Wooster pulled out the "W".  So even though I didn't thoroughly dissect the Manogue players, here are some pictures of hustle and HEART that they put out over the course of the game.

At the end of the day, Wooster came up with the "W", but both teams played hard and played with H.E.A.R.T and that's really all that matters.  Somebody is going to win and somebody is going to lose...just DON'T lose the lesson that this recent loss has taught you...You feel me?

Douglas vs. Hug Varsity Boys Hoops

January 13, 2012

Tonight's game was a good one.  And the funny thing is, I wasn't even going to go to it.  I was going to go the the Wooster game instead for a couple of reasons:
1. It's closer (can't front, sometimes I'm lazy)
2. I've already seen Douglas and Hug play
3.It's closer
moving on....
So being that this was my second trip to Hug High School in about a week, I was privy to their pre-game, pre-warmup routine.  You can watch it here ----->CLICK ME AND WATCH.  If you have never been to Hug, this can be kind of intimidating, and it gets the crowd going.  *BLOGGER NOTE* If you are the visiting team, you always want to get the crowd out of the game, it then basically turns into a neutral court instead an away game...The game started off great for Hug.  Sam Williams owned the paint and Douglas had a hard time defending the 3 point line

The "battle" that I thought would happen between Williams and Meyers never happened.  Meyers never had enough touches to make that happen.  Also Hug went up 19-4 at the end of the 1st quarter.

The funny this is, most teams being down by that many, on the road, would probably start to mail it in.  Douglas kept on fighting to get back in it.  I know, I know, everybody goes on a run in hoops.  True...but how many teams come back against the number 1 ranked team in the area (on the road) to make it a game again?

You had guys driving and kicking out to open shooters....

You had guys turning turnovers into fast break points...

But in the end, the thing that really killed Douglas's chance of winning the huge lead they gave up in the first quarter.  Trying to come back from 15 down on the road is tough.  I can't front on'm though, those boys played their H.E.A.R.T's out, but there is only so much you can do in any situation.  And that's not to take anything away from Hug.  Hug was hot, I mean Hades hot in the 1st quarter!  Both teams played hard and as a former competitor, that's all you really can ask for.  With that being said, below are a few points from the game that are just my opinion.

Point 1

If you are playing a hotly contested game and the score is close, DO NOT give up an alley-oop fast break dunk.  It's not a good look and the crowd will go nuts...

Point 2

Number 10 for Douglas was doing work and getting buckets...we should probably give him the ball more.  He's a bigger guy, running the breaks, grabbing boards and defending a dude at least 6 inches taller than he is.  Throw him a bone and hope he gets to the freebie line.

Point 3

My man Nate can score...so Nate...SCORE.  Don't wait 'till the end of the game to go get buckets...

Point 4

Sometimes you're the hammer...and sometimes you're the nail.  If the Big Man is on, and tonight he was (in the paint defensively) there is NOTHING wrong with settling for a jumper...just saying.

All in all, I'm glad that Nate convinced me to come to this game.  A simple box score would have done this game absolutely NO justice.  This was one you had to see yourself.  Douglas came back from a 15 point deficit to tie the score in the 4th quarter, only to claim defeat in the end.  But it's not the end of the world.  They can take it as a learning experience, while Hug can take from it that they can't let off the gas pedal when they're hot.  But I'm glad I was there to see it for myself.  Both teams played hard and played with H.E.A.R.T.

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