Wayland's Wes Hudson lays it up | Louis Murray, Murray Sports Photography

They were one of the most inspirational stories of the season, not only for their success, but more than that for the unselfishness with which they achieved it.  While they were undoubtedly lead by point guard Wes Hudson, Wayland was the very definition of a team.  Perhaps because of Hudson’s leadership, everyone on the roster played consistently well.

Unfortunately for sports fans in West Michigan, after 23-consecutive victories the Wildcats were unable to log that fateful number 24.  But  in watching them play throughout the season, what kept popping up again and again was the intelligence and vision with which #10 played the game.  It was like he knew something that the other nine guys didn’t, and through his leadership his four teammates were given a glimpse.  It was cool.

And then I remembered the first time I saw Hudson play, at the 2009 Jam at the Van.  Regular readers are familiar with the Straight to the Pros series, where WMA compares a player to his NCAA or NBA counterpart.  Well after watching Hudson as a junior, I rightly compared him to Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns, a player to whom those same qualities could be attributed.

As the son of a coach, guard Weston Hudson has some advantages. Like so many superstar guards before him, he has grown up immersed entirely in basketball, which has led to an intuitive understanding of the game’s nuances.

Phoenix Suns’ PG Steve Nash has this basketball savvy as well. And like the two-time MVP of the NBA, Hudson uses his profound understanding of the game to anticipate the movements of teammates and opponents alike.

Like ESP, only for real.

This is how Hudson can see his teammate cutting along the baseline while he’s driving in the opposite direction. He’s as quick as a waterbug, and has the ability to whip no-look passes between defenders with uncanny accuracy, as he did over and over again against Catholic Central. Add a better-than-decent jump shot to all that, and you’ve got a heck of a point guard around which to build an explosive offense.

Like premium gasoline in a V-8 engine, Hudson powers the high-octane offense that is the Wayland Union Wildcats.

At the time that article caught a bit of flack for the comparison, but in retrospect it looks almost tame.  Hudson lived up to his billing, and we as fans were the primary benefactors.  It was a blast watching him hoop.  Good luck at Cornerstone, buddy.

(And lastly, how about a big “nyah nyah” to Shawn.)

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Derek Klein attacks the basket | Craig Powers, Powers Media

Derek Klein (Otsego) — Andrea Bargnani

• Spirit animal — Heteroptera

Typically, the skill sets present on a basketball court are divided predominantly based on a player’s height.  The tall guys tend to play the game one way — back to the basket, slow, plodding, strength and leverage, etc. — while the shorter players tend to play the game another way — facing the basket, quickness, finesse, shooting, etc.  Although they exist on the same court, playing according to the same rules with the same ball at the same time, they’re playing two totally different games.

That is, except for those players who have the height and strength of a post player, complete with defensive and rebounding abilities to match, combined with the overall skill-set of a guard.  Except for players like the Toronto Raptors’ Andrea Bargnani, and his high school counterpart, the Otsego Bulldogs’ Derek Klein.

Like Bargnani, Klein’s game is a study of two halves.

On the defensive end, Klein is a typical PF/C.  He matches up with the opponent’s biggest and best post player, while also functioning as a safety valve underneath the basket with his ability to alter shots, and then subsequently grab rebounds.  In this way his influence extends to the entire Otsego team, because his presence behind them enables them to guard their man closely, without fear of being beaten to the basket.

On the offensive end, Klein really plays more like a SG/SF.  His number-one asset is his remarkable shooting stroke, which is the keystone around which his entire game is built.  His is a quick release, launched from high over his head which, along with his 6-5 height, makes it nearly unblockable.  It is successfully launched from as far away as 25-feet on a consistent basis, forcing his defender to guard him beyond the three-point line.  Because his defender is typically one of the opponent’s taller players, his guarding Klein on the perimeter opens up the lane for all manners of Otsego drives and basket-cuts, including his own.

And seeing a 6-foot-5, burly post player juking defenders and slicing to the basket is simply a thing of beauty.

Klein is not the best player in Southwest Michigan, even though he may be on the fringes of the conversation. He may not even be the best player on his team (that honor being debatable between he and younger brother Jared Klein).

Still, he’s undeniably special.  Ultimately Klein is the kind of transcendent basketball player that changes the entire dynamic of a team because, like a rock thrown into a pond, his multifaceted presence alters the basketball reality of the rest of the court, creating opportunities that are otherwise non-existent.

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Ryan Sabin (L) looks for room against Grandville | Louis Murray, Murray Sports Photography

Ryan Sabin (Byron Center) — Manu Ginobili

• Spirit animal — Neobatrachia

A distinct difference exists in the game of basketball depending on where it is played.  And nowhere is that difference more evident than in comparing the game as it is played in America, the way with which we’re all familiar, to the game as it is played in Europe.  More than just a weirdly shaped paint and big guys with range, the European game of basketball is about versatility.  Nobody typifies the versatile, innovative European player like Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs. And by extension, Byron Center guard/forward Ryan Sabin’s multifaceted talents, tremendous understanding of the game and wonky euro-step move make him the ideal equivalent to Ginobili in the high school game.

At a lanky 6-foot-2, Sabin is built like your typical “tweener” in the high school game — not tall enough to play inside, not quick enough to play outside.  Thing is, his athleticism and even more than that his precise skill enable him to be more than effective on the perimeter, where that added height is an asset.  His handle can rival the most talented guard, and he displays quickness and agility enough to get to the rim against any perimeter defender.  Once there, his height and leaping ability allow him to finish against taller post players.

And that wonky euro-step, that progressive jump-stop that you see him doing?  Yeah, that’s pretty tough to stop, too.

The quandary that is defending Sabin is exacerbated by the fact that one is forced into playing him very close in response to the threat of his silky jumper.  And then again by Sabin’s command of the court, which aids him in spotting the open teammate anywhere on the court.  As in Ginobili’s case, when the ball is in Sabin’s hands, a defender really does not have a good option.

So logically, Sabin is often subject to defenses designed to keep the ball out of his hands.  But like Ginobili, Sabin is adept at using teammates and unwary defenders as roadblocks, making it a difficult task even denying him the ball.  Put all these characteristics together and it’s not a wonder that he averages a shade under 20-points per contest.

Considering the space available to a penetrating player in the European lane,  imagine what that number would be if the paint were triangular.

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