St. Benedict's and PCA Get It On In VA
Ron Bailey, Publisher
December 9, 2006 – In the Ireton Basketball Tournament’s (Alexandria, VA) nightcap, two east coast high school powers, Progressive Christian Academy (Oxon Hill, MD) and St. Benedicts Prep (Newark, NJ) tangled, with the team from the Garden State prevailing 82-61. Future NCAA Division I players were in abundance.
Early developments - namely the hot shooting of Villanova-signee, senior Corey Stokes (18 points, 7 rebounds), turned the game in the favor of St. Benedict’s: To start the game, Progressive deployed a match up zone, as their frontcourt depth is not the strength of the team, while their opponents, coached by Danny Hurley, boast one of the best frontlines in the East.
Stokes changed Van Whitfield – Progressive coach’s- plan, with four straight three point baskets to start the game. Such a performance was expected by Hurley. “In terms of being a lead dog, that’s what a St. Benedict’s senior is supposed to do” he commented, when asked to assess Stokes’ play.
Van Whitfield, (red shirt), is seen here preparing his charges for second half battle.
Progressive’s backcourt leader, junior Jasper Williams (11 points, 2 assists) acknowledged the impact of Stokes’ shooting, stating “We started out in a zone, and had to come out of it”, thereby exposing his team to unfavorable match ups on the inside.
Having now switched to a box and one defense, Progressive would suffer its next setback, as future Virginia Tech Hokie Gus Gilchrest (13 points, 8 rebounds) would be saddled foul trouble, being whistled for four in the first half. Whitfield felt in doing so his team, already thin upfront, was severely hampered.
“That changed the entire game plan” said Whitfield of losing Gilchrest, himself a senior, for much of the first half. “Gus is a McDonald’s All-American candidate, and he showed what he can do in the second half” (where he logged significant minutes without being disqualified).
Of course much of Gilchrest’s difficulties have to be attributed in large part to the outstanding play of junior Samardo Samuels (17 points, 9 rebounds, 1 block) and sophomore Gregory Echenique (6 points, 10 rebounds). Samuels showed he is comfortable in half and open court settings, as he posted and filled lanes throughout the contest, while Echenique proved to observers his interior play will leave opponents grasping for answers during the next couple of years.
Though greatly challenged in the frontcourt, Progressive played hard the rest of the game, and that effort was epitomized by junior Ernest Watson (17 points, 13 rebounds). Normally a small forward, Watson was pressed into center duty, and despite being outweighed by over 50 pounds, battled tooth and nail.
After going into intermission down 42-24, Progressive would narrow the score to 44-34 through creating a string of turnovers. After St. Benedict’s received a long jumper from junior Zach Rosen (11 points) and Progressive’s Williams and Gilchrest responded with a jump shot and foul shot respectively, Hurley would once gain benefit from his senior “lead dog”: Stokes’ three pointer beyond what the NBA requires sparked his team to a 7-2 third quarter ending run, after which, Progressive couldn’t recover.
In post game interview, both coaches felt the game would help prepare them for future challenges. Progressive’s Whitfield shared “This is why we compete. We want to play only the best”, when queried as to the benefits of playing this game. His counterpart at St. Benedict’s, Hurley, also felt it was good competition, as he is squad “is young” and he doesn’t “know if we are what we have been the last couple of years”.
Given the talented, though youthful players his program boasts now, that’s saying a lot about St. Benedicts Basketball.
One thing is certain; both of these teams are not to be trifled with.