Clark Secures Award With Gutsy Performance
Ron Bailey, Publisher
January 29, 2007 – Sunday’s 66-59 Bishop O’Connell victory over Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) rival Carroll did two important things - entrenching the school as the number two team in that league, and securing senior guard Jason Clark Sportsgroove/i95Ballerz.com Player of the Week honors.
For Clark, a 6’3” guard headed to Georgetown, the game produced bittersweet feelings, given the debilitating leg cramps visited upon him, pain that he suffered well after the game had been completed.
Clark only went 3-8 from the foul line, but hit two crucial ones with less than two minutes to play.
O’Connell’s coach, Joe Wootten, was not only aware of his star player’s condition, but lauded his guts, noting “I thought he battled like crazy…I was real proud of him”.
One play more or less epitomized Clark’s impact: His team leading only 57-55 with just less than a minute to play, Clark was able to steal the ball and score a fast break layup, despite being in a state of obvious pain.
“I knew we needed a bucket on that last play” recalled Jason, who will be a part of Georgetown’s basketball program next year, of the sequence, “so I fought through it (cramps) to get the ball, and he (Rodney McGruder) blocked my shot, so I got it back (and scored). Right when I came down, everything just cramped up”.
Clark’s 20 point, 10 rebound performance also included fast break dunks, baseline lay ups, stick backs, and nice cuts to the basket, much of which were supplied in a pivotal third quarter, where O’Connell turned a 26-25 deficit to start the period into 45-36 lead at its end. During the stanza, among other things, O’Connell was able to probe Carroll’s man-to-man defense before getting close-to-the-rim shots generated by motion and cuts.
“I thought we defended really well, which was huge, and after we were able to defend real well, I thought we were patient on offense” said Wootten of his team’s third quarter turnaround. “And we got some stuff in transition…and when a team gets back (in transition defense), you have to be able to not hold the ball, but make seven or eight passes to try and get a good look. I thought we did a better job of doing that tonight”.
In addition to their motion offense and Clark, O’Connell benefited from the scrappy play of Kevin ‘Jo-Jo’ Jones (8 points) and Zalmico Harmon (12 points), who rebounded and shot well respectively, plus Kendall Marshall (11 points), a guard that also logged double digits in assists.
“Basically we just had to rebound and play good defense…Our whole thing is just to rebound and play defense” said Jones of his team’s game breaking third stanza.
Carroll got 21 points from junior swingman McGruder (who has orally committed to Kansas State), a player that to close the first half had the game’s most memorable sequence, scoring three baskets in a row, all driving acrobatic layups, one right before the buzzer.
“I think we have a good chance, a real good chance, if the team believes” we can win a championship, said Jones of O’Connell’s chances of winning a WCAC title. His coach, Wootten agreed, before stressing his team’s need to improve and the WCAC’s difficulty.
Competitive or not, O’Connell seems to be playing its best ball of the season, as it’s starting to count the most. So is Jason Clark.
When told of his award, Clark said, still exhibiting the effects of massive pain due to the cramping, “It feels good. I work hard, so its something i deserve”.
So would a WCAC title.