Article via Highschoolot.com
RALEIGH — John Wall turned in another stellar offensive performance Wednesday night, but it was his defense that saved the game.
Wall registered a handful of blocks, but none was bigger than his emphatic rejection of Brian McNairs driving layup with three seconds left to seal a 72-70 overtime victory over Greenfield School. The play ended a thrilling contest that saw a constant stream of athletic, momentum-changing plays.
After a back-and-forth affair, Wall was happy to end the game when he did.
It felt good to stop them, dont let them get a basket,” he said. “I think that if they would have a got a shot to [the rim], they would have had an extra opportunity to get a rebound and make it go into another overtime.
Holy Rams coach Levi Beckwith stressed Walls leadership and team play.
Weve won quite a few games down the stretch,” he said. And I think the biggest thing has been the leadership from John. Im very pleased. I think our guys really came together as a team.
Wall also pointed to his teammates contributions.
The chemistry of the team is coming along real good,” he said. If it wasnt for team chemistry, we probably would have lost this game.
Offensively, Wall carried Word of God with 32 points, including several high-flying layups and dunks.
Greenfield countered with 26 points from McNair and 25 from Brian Richardson.
Wall and his teammates aggressively drove to the basket all game long while the Knights did their damage from long range.
Richardson was blazing hot from long distance in the first quarter, draining 4-of-5 from behind the arc. Undaunted by Word of Gods tenacious interior defense, the Knights hit one clutch 3-pointer after another, including one by Richardson with just 22 seconds remaining in overtime that cut the lead to a single point.
We talk about it, said Knights coach Rob Salter. Were very confident in our perimeter play. Ill tell you, big time players want to take big time shots. And weve got some guys that really look for that moment.”
“Theyve got three division one players,” said Beckwith. When they shoot those 3s like that — any team that shoots 3s like that is going to be tough. Those are kind of like dunks. They suck a little life out of you.
Salter knows the feeling. He described trying to guard Wall as almost an impossible task, adding I thought we did it about as well as you could. We tried, but you cant do it with one person.
The teams played at a frantic pace for the first eight minutes with Word of God leading 25-24 at the end of the quarter.
The Holy Rams threatened to blow the game open in the middle of the second quarter when they used a 10-2 run to create a nine point advantage with under three minutes remaining.
But the Knights closed the half with an 8-1 spurt and the score at the break was 36-34, Word of God. Greenfield kept the pressure on in the third and rallied to take a 51-48 lead with under two minutes left in the frame. The momentum shifted back to Word of God when they drew a charge near the end of the quarter.
After the half, it kind of took a while to get adjusted, said Beckwith. We missed a few shots. Its good to miss a few shots and still come out with the win.
The final frame of regulation saw four lead changes as the teams matched shot for shot. Overtime seemed almost a foregone conclusion.
Despite coming out on the wrong end of the final score, Salter stressed the quality of the competition.
What a great game. That was just a heck of a high school basketball game, he said. You had two teams playing their hearts out, played with a lot of class, and both teams just left it on the floor.
Duration : 0:6:13
25 Comments
23 is cold as . …
23 is cold as . What college is he going to?
Who is #23 on …
Who is #23 on Greenfield? That er can shoot the 3 like none other.
fuk every state n …
every state n da country if u wanna c some real hoopas come to da deep south Tuscaloosa Alabama
#23 & #24 on …
#23 & #24 on greenfield went to work
lmfao 5:09 - 5:15
lmfao 5:09 - 5:15
that wasn’t even …
that wasn’t even one if he top schools. duke was though. he made a good decision going wit calipari to kentucky tho.
who the is …
who the is number 23 on greenfield he had like all thier points
hahah wrong
hahah wrong
Wall gonna go to …
Wall gonna go to Kentucky cuz they got the coach he wanted to play under, Calipari. Plus Memphis losing tyreke evans. And Kentucky getting DeMarcus Cousins so they gonne be super raw next year
fuckin idiot. thas …
in idiot. thas right UK gonna be raw as glad i live in g-town only 5 miles away
lmao
lmao
u were right
u were right
funniest reply ever …
funniest reply ever on youtube lmao
lol
lol
Kentucky televises …
Kentucky televises every game and has a fan base matched by no one, plus is the winningest program in NCAA history, plus Calipari is the Man! If I were him that is where I would go. However, I wish him the best where ever he goes. He’s a great player.
lol are you …
lol are you retarded? he means university of kentucky
who would go to the …
who would go to the UK he wants to be noticed so hes gonna be in the usa
Wall will go to UNC …
Wall will go to UNC, THE CHAMPS IS HERE
who ever gets this …
who ever gets this kid is gonna have a really good team next year
hes already got …
hes already got that duke swagger. perfect fit
Duke? They run an …
Duke? They run an offense slower than New York Traffic. You just saw how fast-paced Wall plays. Plus Dukes got Nolan Smith and Seth Curry. Why he would he go there? Hes guaranteed the spot at Kentucky if he goes. Hopefully he does.
What language are …
What language are you writing in?
i hope he goes to UK
i hope he goes to UK
orton never asked …
orton never asked for release from his loi, might have a fab five next year
DeMarcus Cousins …
DeMarcus Cousins just committed to UK. John Wall will soon follow suit.