Day 3 at the Titan Classic
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@Oklahoman.com
My initial thought after watching superb basketball for three straight days: How did Guthrie lose so easily to Harrah? Is Harrah really that good, then?
For those confused by these sentiments, Guthrie upset Midwest City, 49-48, Saturday night in the finals of the Titan Classic at Carl Albert.
After being tied at the end of three quarters, I thought MWC had established itself as Jarrod McDaniel and Chuck Sanders began taking over the contest. I’m not supposed to root for anyone, but McDaniel impresses me more and more each time I see him. His court vision gets me giddy with excitement.
However, Donte’ Foster would not let the Bluejays die. That’s about as gutty an effort as you can see at the high school level. Without their leader, Guthrie was relying on fluke shots and just trying to stay close. Foster was injured early in the third quarter when it looked like he banged knees with a Bomber player.
When Foster came back in with 1:59 left in the third, he wasn’t himself. He was gimping around, hesitant and trying to avoid contact.
I don’t know what was said to him (or maybe nothing at all) because eventually he just said “I don’t care, this is my moment.” He ignored the pain and scored the last five points after Guthrie was down 48-44.
He was well-deserving of the MVP award.
So at 12-1 and beating 6A powers Tulsa Union and Midwest City on back-to-back nights, I reiterate, how did this team lose by 10 to Harrah? And Harrah fans let me know why you are so good because this is not meant to be a slight on your team. I just know Guthrie played its heart out this weekend.
Other observations from the Classic
- The Tulsa Union girls looked superb each and every night. In case you haven’t noticed by now, I have a special appreciation for guards. Lady Redskins guard Destinee Frierson fits my definition perfectly. She fouled out in Union’s 52-38 win over Millwood in the final, but she was a lot of fun to watch. Always dribbling with her head up. I know that sounds elementary, but so often people look down while dribbling in traffic. Not Frierson, she knows what she’s doing. Lindsay Palmer is the unquestionable star, but Frierson stirs that drink.
- Props to the Carl Albert boys for not hanging their heads after losing to the Bombers. A solid 64-56 win over Union has to have coach Jay Price excited about the rest of the season. Harrison Dupont is a force this year, so what in the world will he be next year? Even though he doesn’t score that much, I think Joe Stoner is the key to the Titans. He brings that grittyness that only a safety can bring.
- Sad to see the Carl Albert girls without Jourdan Clark. It felt like cheating. I know there are a lot of nice pieces to that puzzle and Kylie Mayes is an exceptional player, but no Clark, that hurts.
- What happened to the Union boys? I was glad Ryan Carter stepped up against the Titans. But in his doing so, it appeared Antonio Ross could not be found. Granted, Ross was in foul trouble, but still, I don’t get it. I’m sure it was a long trip back to Tulsa, but I’m also sure coach Rudy Garcia will have his boys ready coming down the stretch.
- Closing the deal. The momentum of many games swung in the final minutes because one team couldn’t seal the deal. Edmond Memorial had Union on the ropes, but the Redskins survived. Del City had the Titans all but out of there, but CA hit the buzzer beater. Guthrie was pounding Union only to win by two. The Carl Albert girls had Choctaw reeling in the third-place game but won 36-34. Missing the front end of 1-and-1’s hurt in that one. And of course, Midwest City would love a chance to play that final minute with Guthrie again. Is the stall ball tactic becoming like the prevent in football? There’s no shot clock, so teams just hold onto it but don’t really run any offense. We all know the prevent just prevents you from winning while I think this dribbling the ball everywhere gets teams out of their rhythms.
- Players I will now keep an eye on after having watched them live: Guthrie’s Kent McDonald, MWC’s James Davis, CA’s Steven Johnson (he’s fearless, drive the lane against anybody), Edmond Memorial’s Daniel White (EM coach Shane Cowherd will right that ship. His boys were just deflated after losing to Union the way they did).
- Finally, I would be remissed if I didn’t give a special thank you to everyone at Carl Albert who tried to fatten this skinny little reporter up. Great spreads on all three days in the hospitality room. A first-class organization that did a great job of keeping the games running on time and making sure there was no unruly behavior. Now if only they would get wireless internet.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment