2009 Baylor signee Cory Jefferson, a Nike All American and veteran of Amare Soudamire's Big Man Camp did major damage last night with 25 points, 11 board and an astounding 11 blocks. Jefferson reminds me of Bill Russell in that he's old school. He blocks shots and grabs the rebound, starting the fast break rather than swatting at balls and knocking them out of bounds.
Good morning from Lafayette, LA. I caut the reddest of red eyes last night after the game, driving 450 miles & arriving at my hotel in Lafayette, LA at 4AM. I caught a cat nap at a truckstop along the way. at the risk of getting my throat cut..lol.
The much hyped meeting tonight between Texas #1 in 4A Austin Lake Travis and #6 Killeen did not disappoint. An overflow crowd of perhaps 1400 were packed in the gym. The fire marshall must have been a basketball fan because the cheerleaders were getting elbowed out on the end line by the mass of spectators.
http://www.texasbasketballinc.com/ was in the house not only blogging the game but it was also our inaugural live audio streaming of a high school game. It can be accessed for archived listening at http://www.nhsbn.com/ . When you get there, look up the game by the team names. We are tentatively being housed there until our own network is developed. (should be ready in a few days). I want to thank my broadcast partner Big Lance Carter, the former Mercer University player and coach at Colby & Fort Scott JuCo's in Kansas who also coaches with us in the Texas D-1 Ambassadors organization.
This is our first attempt at raising the bar in audio web casts , shortly to be followed by VIDEO webcasts. This will be a first on a regular basis in the State of Texas! So, please be patient with our technical difficulties as we fine tune our efforts.
THE GAME
The gym was electric, and the spotlight was on the two Texas D-1 Ambassadors summer team mates, & McDonald's All American nominess in Big Cory Jefferson, the 6'9" Baylor signee and Jordan Jahr, the 6'5" WG who has the pure stroke and the ability to mix it up inside as well.
Killeen came out like a house afire and at one point held a 10 point lead on the home squad. Killeen guards Titus Barnes & Ja'Corie Baker kept feeding the post and Jefferson had two thunderous dunks and was perfect in his free throw attempts. Needless to say, a Big who can hit his FT attempts is a valuable commodity.
The 2nd quarter saw Lake Travis gather themselves and start chipping away at the lead by a combination of Jahr's shooting and guys hitting their free throws. It was 34-31 at the half.
The 3rd quarter was a series of runs where Lake Travis did a much better job of having Jefferson catch the ball a step or two further out on the blocks. I think the Killeen giards could have shown a little more patience but they temporarily forgot what made them successful early in the game and started hoisting shots . During this stretch Jefferson got few touches. Meanwhile, Jahr kept plugging away. He did a tremendous job finishing with a game leading 30 points and 14 rebounds. Jefferson who is clearly one of the top shotblockers in the country had 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 blocked shots. He altered at least 10 more, but to no avail as the 4th quarter belonged to the Cavs.
Despite the two marquue guys monster numbers, and the solid play of Lake Travis PG David Eads, we were unanimous that the player of the game was Lake Travis' 2010 F Zach Karczewski. He finished with 14 points and 9 rebounds. The 4th guarter belonged to him as he kept working on the offensive boards as the Killeen players were running out of physical & emotional gas. Despite having his blocked 5 times by Jefferson early in the game he kept fighting, was not intimidated and ultimately was in our opinion, the difference. He was the X factor.
Props also go to 2010 PG David Eads who always seems in control and makes extremely solid decisions. I love his ability to penetrate but to always be looking for the open man. He had 8 assists, none of them flashy but everyone of them fundamentally sound. He's a good one.
Lake Travis won their 2nd consecutive State 4A football championship this year & along the way deep in the playoffs they pounded Killeen 71-9 behind the leadership of QB Garrett Gilbert who has committed to the Texas Longhorns. Before the game I saw Garrett's Pops, old friend of mine Gale Gilbert who QB'ed Cal and then the Buffalo Bills back in the day. Tonight's game was no pounding, but it did leave a few bruises.
So, these two District rivals played a great HS game tonight, and the home team held serve. In a couple of weeks they head to Killeen and don't think for one minute that half of Fort Hood won't be there rocking the Runnin' Roos house. I fully expect Killeen to take care of business at that time, likely setting up a rubber match on their way to the Region 4 Final with a trip to State on the line when they meet for the 3rd time.
I want to thank Coach Jernberg who was all smiles after the game for being such a gracious host, and to Killeen Head Man Coach Fossett who was kind to us as well. In fact, Coach Fossett was anxious to get his wife the link prior to the game so she could hear her hubby's troops compete on the web cast.
Happy Basketball
Coach Max
