Two stops for Suitland on the PG 4A rollercoaster

Ron Bailey, Publisher

Rams deal with good and bad in two game span.

January 25, 2012 - Life in the Prince George's County (MD) 4A league can be trying. Just ask Suitland High School.

When the school locked horns with Laurel (MD) last Friday, the Rams were full of vigor, as the team, coached by George McClure, was affixed towards the top of PG’s 4A league, and riding the wave that has become junior guard Roddy Peters. McClure’s Rams left their gym happy, dispatching Laurel 79-51, in a contest that wasn’t really as close as the score indicated, after its first quarter.

“We’ve been trying to improve our man” defense shared McClure, when asked about a devastating 2-1-2 press backed by a man to man, near scramble in the second quarter, a defense that engendered their 28-11, second quarter, game sealing run. “For the most part this season, we’ve been a zone team, but some nights you just have to go play man. And we’ve been working on it and I thought the kids responded well to it”.

That's Roddy Peters, being doubled by Duval on Tuesday night.

Standout guard Roddy Peters led Suitland with 21 points, many of which were scored in transition, obviously caused by defensive stops. Laurel (now 2-11 overall, 2-9 in 4A play) was led by senior guard Davon Wilson’s 13 points.

At 9-3 at that point (7-2 in the PG 4A league), McClure indicated his team was coming together “slowly but surely”, yet “this isn’t where we want to peak”.

Some may assume that to be coach speak, but the next game, Tuesday’s 70-66 loss to Duval proved him prescient, as the Rams could not get the stops earned against Laurel, and themselves struggled to score in the half court, against a smaller, yet overall quicker Duval crew.

Though Peters was held to 11 points, his Rams still had a chance in the last 30 seconds to tie the ball game, as Roddy was fouled shooting a three pointer. Unfortunately the owner of a 22.3 point per game scoring average shockingly missed all three charity stripe attempts. To his credit he snared the last one’s rebound, but missed the following three ball also.

“I’ve got to hit those” said Peters afterward, clearly atempting to shake off the impact of missing those shots. McClure, his coach, recognized those misses, but felt “We didn’t get stops when we had to” in addition to missing “too many shots around the basket”.

“It was one of those games” summed the bench leader.

Duval assistant coach Lafayette Dublin shared his guys, including senior Kevin Kuteyi (26 points) plus junior guard’s Paris Jones (10 points) and Charles Ekeanyanuwu (14 points) took the challenge of Peters personally. “He had an off night tonight” said the coach, before adding “Our guys were really aggressive with him, and looking forward to that matchup”.

Duval (11-3,9-2) faces Eleanor Roosevelt on Friday, pitting teams with identical records and sharing PG 4A’s second place slot. Suitland (9-4,7-3) is now fourth in the league, and welcomes always dangerous Oxon Hill.

McClure et al get yet another chance to prove their growth, on the rollercoaster that is PG 4A hoops.

Recruiting Notes:

Suitland’s Daquan Page, a 6’5” senior forward has received interest from Johnson C. Smith of the CIAA. Page’s coach, George McClure, indicated his player has “been extremely consistent, putting up like 14 a game. He can do it”.

Kevin Kuteyi, attacking the rim.

Page can hit the mid-range shot, rebounds, and will finish. Must get in better shape, and improve back to the basket footwork.

Duval’s senior guard Kevin Kuteyi showed quickness, tenacity, willingness to defend and ability hitting the three ball. Must work on his left hand in terms of dribbling. Is vocal and confident. Howard and Morgan State have shown some interest, though assistant coach Lafayette Dublin indicated it’s nothing firm; he’s wide open, looking for options.

His teammate, junior guard Paris Jones is also quick, and being more of a pure point guard, finds people constantly. He hit several pull ups, though his shooting range is not obvious. No schools have shown interest in this tough, aggressive player.