026sb3.doc
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Little Big Man
Bautista carrying surprising Hillers to unthinkable heights
Before the 1999-2000 high school basketball season began, there wasn’t a single soul in the world who gave the Union Hill basketball team a chance of competing for anything this year. The coaching staff had their doubts, secretly hoping for a .500 record. The team’s followers weren’t much more enthusiastic – especially after a 40-point blowout loss in just the second game of the season.
But there was one person who kept the faith, namely the lone major holdover from last year’s team: 5-foot-11 junior guard Harold Bautista.
"With everybody else gone, I figured I had to step it up a little," Bautista said. "I had no other choice. But I thought that if I could play well, the rest of the team would follow along. People said we weren’t going to be good, but I knew as time went on, we would get better and better."
Union Hill head coach Dave Settembre had a lot of faith in Bautista’s abilities.
"I expected Harold to be the go-to guy," Settembre said. "He had no problem stepping up and taking over, especially with the game on the line. He likes being the one to take the shot, to make the big play. It’s nice to have someone who can do that. I don’t think you can teach that. Either the kid has it or he doesn’t. Harold has it."
Recently, Bautista and his underrated and overlooked teammates have been more than doing well. They are right now the biggest surprise of what has been a season of surprises, with Bautista acting as the catalyst.
After defeating Memorial 58-53 Tuesday night – avenging a loss earlier in the season to the Tigers by more than 40 points – the Hillers have an amazing 14-2 record. And Bautista deserves a lot of the credit for it.
The Hillers have won seven straight games, with Bautista averaging more than 20 points in each of the seven wins. Last week alone, the Hillers defeated Lincoln, Dickinson, Hoboken and Memorial, with Bautista tallying 24, 20, 21 and 18 respectively. He has increased his scoring average, from a respectable 13 points per game last year as a sophomore to a standout 18 points per game as a junior.
And for his efforts, Bautista has been selected as the Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Week for the past week.
Settembre believes that Bautista’s improved play has played a big role in the Hillers’ astonishing success.
"I thought Harold would be able to step it up and I was hoping he could, but he’s done more than expected," Settembre said. "In every facet of the game. He used to rely too much on taking jump shots, but now, he’s taking the ball to the basket and getting fouled more. With that, he’s getting more foul shots. He’s making teams play him more. Because we don’t have an inside presence, we have to rely on him to go inside, even if he’s not that tall."
That was clearly evident last Saturday, when Bautista went to the free throw line 10 times in the final quarter against Lincoln and nailed all 10 of his attempts, en route to a 24-point performance.
"I was thinking of my outside shot too much and not thinking about taking it to the basket," Bautista said. "When I took it to the basket, I saw that I was getting more chances. In the past, I would have gotten frustrated, with being fouled and not getting my shots. But now, I just keep playing. I don’t feel like I have to force anything. I just let the game come to me."
That’s the difference between being a shooter and a scorer. Bautista was blossoming into a scorer.
"He’s tougher inside and outside," Settembre said. "And he’s still getting his points. And he rebounds well, which has surprised me. There have been games that he’s grabbed 10 rebounds for us. Out of necessity, he does what he has to. He plays people, big and small."
Which makes him Union Hill’s version of the "Little Big Man," only much bigger than Dustin Hoffman ever was in the 1970s movie.
"He just carries himself with an air of confidence, but he does it without being a braggart," Settembre said. "He just knows he can do it and he does it on the floor. And he’s quiet about it. He doesn’t back down from anyone, but he doesn’t say much either. He’s a very coachable kid and a very nice kid who accepts criticism well."
And he’s a kid who is enjoying the nice run the Hillers are on these days.
"We’re winning and playing well, so it has been a lot of fun," Bautista said. "As long as we keep winning, that’s all I care about."
Bautista has been rated as the No. 15 junior in New Jersey by one scouting service. But Settembre would like to see what the kid could do on a national level.
"I think I’d like to see him get into the ABCD Camp [the camp run by Adidas, held at Fairleigh Dickinson] next summer," Settembre said. "I think he deserves a chance to get in there and if he does get in, he can show some people what he can do."
Bautista has already displayed those talents to Hudson County. It would only be fair if everyone else got the same chance. – Jim Hague
CAPTION
Union Hill’s Harold Bautista