MIDDLE VILLAGE, NY - Unfortunately, the Christ the King Royals and the Abraham Lincoln Railsplitters don’t play each other during the regular season. The two top high school teams in New York City did however scrimmage each other on Saturday and NYCHoops.net was in the building. Here is our set by set recap along with overall analysis.
SET ONE
Both team came out off, but Lincoln jumped out the box and went on an 8-2 run as 6’4” sophomore Isaiah Whitehead and 6’5” senior Tafari Whittingham scored in transition. With 1:27 left in the set, 6’5” shooting guard Omar Calhoun became assertive on offense and pulled Christ the King to within two points. 6’1” combo guard Isaiah Lewis had a shot to knot the score as time ran out but fell short.
(8-6 Abraham Lincoln)
SET TWO
Lincoln utilized a zone defense which initially stymied the Royals who were off from the perimeter. 6’7” senior Travis Charles, who transferred from Bishop Loughlin, showed his ability to score and defend and it looked as if the Railsplitters were going to jump out in front as they did in the previous set. Whittingham would miss a dunk in transition which would result in a basket by Lewis that changed the momentum. Whitehead would tie the game at two but Calhoun would draw fouls and get to line. The taste of the rim would result in an 11-0 run. Charles would finally end the Royals run and Whittingham would get his dunk on, closing the gap to 13-6 with 2 minutes left. Solid rebounding from 6’6” junior Jordan Fuchs and 6’9” sophomore Adonis Dela Rosa and additional points by Calhoun kept CTK out in front.
(15-10; Christ the King)
SET THREE
The third set would be the battle of the benches. The score would remain close until 6'1" shooting guard Ian Vasquez drop a 3-ball with put Lincoln over the edge.
(13-7; Abraham Lincoln)
SET FOUR
The athletic Whittingham began to show his over the rim skills on both the offensive and defensive end for Lincoln. 6’1” junior Jonathan Severe who was off early on also began show his skills for the Royals as he juked Charles on his way to the hoop for two points. Another player of note was Martly Senot, a 6'7" senior showed is ability to take care of the garbage points. A steal and back-to-back scores by 5'9" junior Ethan Telfair would put Lincoln ahead, 14-8. The Royals tried to make a run but missed shots and Lincoln domination on the boards limited their opportunities. The Railsplitters would close the show as Shaq Davis scored a transition dunk off a Calhoun miss and a trey as time expired.
(20-15; Abraham Lincoln)
SET FIVE
Severe and Fuchs would lead the Royals on a 9-0 run until Davis scored Lincoln’s first bucket with 5:25 remaining. Playing catch-up for the entire set, the Railsplitters were aggressive to the hole and knocked down free-throws. Unfortunately for the PSAL squad, Lewis, Calhoun and Fuchs were just as aggressive. With 2:15 left win the set, Lincoln was still down 19-5. 6’0” senior Da’Shawn Suber added offense as did Charles and Davis and on the defensive end, Lincoln pressed full-court. Lincoln’s pressure did yield results but they could only get to within eight points.
(23-13; Christ the King)
SET SIX
Lincoln would win the second battle of the benches.
(20-10; Abraham Lincoln)
ANALYSIS:
Abraham Lincoln is a team with depth as evidenced by the strength of their bench. They also remained competitive even though both of their shooter (Whitehead and Vasquez) were off. Whittingham is very athletic but needs to learn how to better harness it. Charles had a decent game and seems to be finding his range and place on the team. Davis was the sparkplug of the team.
Christ the King started off with a poor field goal percentage as Calhoun, Lewis and Severe came up short. Calhoun to his credit, forced the issue, drawing fouls and scoring from the charity stripe. Lewis on the other hand is still trying to find his balance as a point guard who can score. Hustle points by Fuchs kept them in the hunt and Senat provided key buckets at key moments. Severe also found his voice from the perimeter which spread Lincoln’s defense. Senat and Dela Rosa did a good job of adding depth to the Royals frontcourt.
Remember that scrimmages are not actual games. Scrimmages are six sets as opposed to four quarters and often times coaches are trying out different groups of five starting players and rotations. In addition, the scoreboard is re-set to 0-0 after each set with no deficit being carried over and no one fouls out. While there are no winners or losers, evaluations can me made as to how players perform, how a team performs and is progressing as a unit and how they could potentially match up against other teams.
This post was edited on 11/26 11:03 PM by mwingate
SET ONE
Both team came out off, but Lincoln jumped out the box and went on an 8-2 run as 6’4” sophomore Isaiah Whitehead and 6’5” senior Tafari Whittingham scored in transition. With 1:27 left in the set, 6’5” shooting guard Omar Calhoun became assertive on offense and pulled Christ the King to within two points. 6’1” combo guard Isaiah Lewis had a shot to knot the score as time ran out but fell short.
(8-6 Abraham Lincoln)
SET TWO
Lincoln utilized a zone defense which initially stymied the Royals who were off from the perimeter. 6’7” senior Travis Charles, who transferred from Bishop Loughlin, showed his ability to score and defend and it looked as if the Railsplitters were going to jump out in front as they did in the previous set. Whittingham would miss a dunk in transition which would result in a basket by Lewis that changed the momentum. Whitehead would tie the game at two but Calhoun would draw fouls and get to line. The taste of the rim would result in an 11-0 run. Charles would finally end the Royals run and Whittingham would get his dunk on, closing the gap to 13-6 with 2 minutes left. Solid rebounding from 6’6” junior Jordan Fuchs and 6’9” sophomore Adonis Dela Rosa and additional points by Calhoun kept CTK out in front.
(15-10; Christ the King)
SET THREE
The third set would be the battle of the benches. The score would remain close until 6'1" shooting guard Ian Vasquez drop a 3-ball with put Lincoln over the edge.
(13-7; Abraham Lincoln)
SET FOUR
The athletic Whittingham began to show his over the rim skills on both the offensive and defensive end for Lincoln. 6’1” junior Jonathan Severe who was off early on also began show his skills for the Royals as he juked Charles on his way to the hoop for two points. Another player of note was Martly Senot, a 6'7" senior showed is ability to take care of the garbage points. A steal and back-to-back scores by 5'9" junior Ethan Telfair would put Lincoln ahead, 14-8. The Royals tried to make a run but missed shots and Lincoln domination on the boards limited their opportunities. The Railsplitters would close the show as Shaq Davis scored a transition dunk off a Calhoun miss and a trey as time expired.
(20-15; Abraham Lincoln)
SET FIVE
Severe and Fuchs would lead the Royals on a 9-0 run until Davis scored Lincoln’s first bucket with 5:25 remaining. Playing catch-up for the entire set, the Railsplitters were aggressive to the hole and knocked down free-throws. Unfortunately for the PSAL squad, Lewis, Calhoun and Fuchs were just as aggressive. With 2:15 left win the set, Lincoln was still down 19-5. 6’0” senior Da’Shawn Suber added offense as did Charles and Davis and on the defensive end, Lincoln pressed full-court. Lincoln’s pressure did yield results but they could only get to within eight points.
(23-13; Christ the King)
SET SIX
Lincoln would win the second battle of the benches.
(20-10; Abraham Lincoln)
ANALYSIS:
Abraham Lincoln is a team with depth as evidenced by the strength of their bench. They also remained competitive even though both of their shooter (Whitehead and Vasquez) were off. Whittingham is very athletic but needs to learn how to better harness it. Charles had a decent game and seems to be finding his range and place on the team. Davis was the sparkplug of the team.
Christ the King started off with a poor field goal percentage as Calhoun, Lewis and Severe came up short. Calhoun to his credit, forced the issue, drawing fouls and scoring from the charity stripe. Lewis on the other hand is still trying to find his balance as a point guard who can score. Hustle points by Fuchs kept them in the hunt and Senat provided key buckets at key moments. Severe also found his voice from the perimeter which spread Lincoln’s defense. Senat and Dela Rosa did a good job of adding depth to the Royals frontcourt.
Remember that scrimmages are not actual games. Scrimmages are six sets as opposed to four quarters and often times coaches are trying out different groups of five starting players and rotations. In addition, the scoreboard is re-set to 0-0 after each set with no deficit being carried over and no one fouls out. While there are no winners or losers, evaluations can me made as to how players perform, how a team performs and is progressing as a unit and how they could potentially match up against other teams.
This post was edited on 11/26 11:03 PM by mwingate
