Auburn vs. Benjamin Russell Recap and Observations
Recap: On Tuesday, January 15th, 2019, Auburn High faced Benjamin Russell at home. After a tight first quarter, Auburn led Benjamin Russell 18-13. With some good ball movement and a couple of offensive rebounds, Auburn led at halftime, 31-25. At…
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Continue ReadingRecap:
On Tuesday, January 15th, 2019, Auburn High faced Benjamin Russell at home. After a tight first quarter, Auburn led Benjamin Russell 18-13. With some good ball movement and a couple of offensive rebounds, Auburn led at halftime, 31-25. At the half, Justin Brooks had 6 points and Caleb Kariuki also had 6 points for Auburn and Sintorri Smith had 7 points for Benjamin Russell.
The third quarter is really where things started to go wrong for Benjamin Russell. Auburn began to press and trap, which caused Benjamin Russel to have a handful of turnovers. Within 30 seconds, Benjamin Russell gave up an and one, turned the ball over, and then gave up another and one to Auburn High. The poor ball handling continued, and Auburn took a 49-33 lead over Benjamin Russell into the fourth quarter.
During the fourth, Benjamin Russell started to make a small comeback run. After putting on a full-court press and forcing a few turnovers, Benjamin Russell battled back to within single digits. However, they could not finish the comeback and Auburn took the non-area win, 65-51.
Jaikobee Gamble led the way for Benjamin Russell, scoring 14 points for the Wildcats. Desmond Bishop also helped Benjamin Russell, scoring 10 points. Justin Brooks helped lead the Tigers a victory, with 25 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. Noah Warren also helped Auburn, adding 9 points and 2 rebounds to the stat line for the Tigers.
Observations:
Observation 1: Auburn plays well as a team
One of the best compliments a coach can get about his team is that they all blend well together and play as one unit. This was definitely the case with Auburn High. The players took their time and passed the ball around a lot, making sure the shot they were taking was high percentage and that it wasn’t rushed. Sometimes they would make 4 or 5 passes before shooting in the paint or taking an open three-pointer. The Tigers had 14 assists during the game, which is a great number for any high school team.
Observation 2: Auburn plays fast off of the rebound
While I was watching the game, the first thing I noticed about Auburn was how fast they played, especially off of the rebound. Right after the ball came off of the rim, Auburn would rebound, pass the ball to a guard, and off they go. If I glanced away for a second after a missed shot, Auburn would often already be down on the other side of the court by the time I looked back up.
Observation 3: Justin Brooks found his groove in the second half
After a slow start in the first half, with only 6 points, Brooks went off towards the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth, finishing the game with 25 points. He shot 4-8 (50%) from behind the three-point line and shot 9-16 (56%) overall. Brooks found his rhythm late in the game, knocking down multiple three-pointers within the span on a few minutes. He is definitely a player to watch late in the game because he can get a hot hand in a hurry.
Observation 4: Benjamin Russell made a nice push at the end of the game
After finding themselves down 49-33 at the end of the third quarter, Benjamin Russell got the game back within 10 points in the fourth, despite losing by 14 points. A nice press had Auburn flustered, causing them to turn the ball over more than they would like to admit in the fourth. Benjamin Russell had 8 steals, which mostly came in the fourth. If the game hadn’t of gotten out of hand in the third, Benjamin Russell could have taken the lead from Auburn with their late-game pressure. It is going to be something that other teams need to watch out for when facing Benjamin Russell in a close fourth quarter.
Observation 5: Benjamin Russell needs a leader
A really good team is marked by playing unselfishly as one unit, but they still have a team leader. This is one thing I noticed that Benjamin Russell lacked. Despite some good players, they didn’t have a guy they could go to on the court to give the team some confidence. Jaikobee Gamble did have 14 points for the Wildcats, but a leader goes far beyond points. Benjamin Russell needs someone who can direct the players on the floor, make big defensive plays, and encourage his teammates to keep playing hard.