December 14, 2010
The first quarter of Tuesday night’s game was all Grand Rapids Christian. A ruthless full-court press led by Jaylin Staten and superfrosh Drake Harris turned visiting Holland over multiple times, and got Christian out to a 13-3 lead early. The second quarter too, as Matt Grasmeyer banged in four triples to extend the Eagle lead to a high of 18-points.
And then something happened. Or, rather, didn’t. The intensity that had overwhelmed Holland early on let up, and the Dutch slowly began to work their way back into the game. They worked, and they worked. Passing, screening, playing good old-fashioned team basketball until they finally clawed back to within two points with under 2:00 left to play.
Grand Rapids Christian managed to fend off Holland to eke out a 63-59 victory, but they almost let it slip away. And for a team as dominant as they were initially, that’s a concern. The Eagles are undoubtedly talented, and positioned well to succeed on the court from both the inside and the outside. But they’re also young, with only five seniors on the team and Harris playing the large role that he does, so that inconsistency in focus is understandable. It will come with time.
Drake Harris | Murray Sports Photography
Speaking of Harris, the freshman dropped 19-points against Holland without looking for his shot to any great extent. More impressive was his plus-minus rating of +22 through three quarters, and +14 for the game. The young man is talented, but he’s also young, as that drop off in the fourth quarter indicates.
For Holland, senior Colin Meadowcroft is a jitterbug point guard who held his own against some premier competition, dropping 20-points on the night. On the inside, Coreontae DeBerry is a legitimate 6’8″ powerhouse who can singlehandedly affect a game on both sides of the ball, as he did in scoring 8 of his 12 total points in the fourth. He’s still progressing as a basketball player, but as a sheer athlete DeBerry is someone to watch.
The Dutch have some good building blocks in place, and their collective basketball IQ is a very strong asset. They can be competitive against any team they play, but it’s grit that will take them the distance, instead of sheer talent.
Christian has the foundation of something special, but it’s rough around the edges, like one of those half-finished Michelangelos leading up the path to David.
Photos courtesy of Murray Sports Photography — click for the full archives.
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