After trash talk of blowouts and taunts, Marauders rout Dickinson
While the starting lineups were being announced during last Saturday’s HCIAA showdown between Dickinson and St. Peter’s Prep, Dickinson senior center Rashawn Wilson stood away from his teammates, staring, laughing and shaking his head at Prep’s junior center Brian Robinson.
Earlier in the week, Wilson had declared in a newspaper article that Robinson was "big, but soft," and that the Rams were going to "blow out" the Marauders in their crucial battle for first place in the HCIAA.
Needless to say, Wilson’s words and pre-game actions set the 6-7 Robinson off a little.
"I wasn’t angry about what he said or did, but I wasn’t happy either," Robinson said. "I knew it was all part of the game. What really matters is what happens on the court. The game isn’t won in a newspaper. But I have to say that it kept pounding in my head, ‘Robinson’s big, but he’s soft. Big, but he’s soft.’ Over and over."
Teammate Jarett Love didn’t let the comments slide.
"I thought they were very disrespectful to the whole team," said Love, a 6-3 junior. "They were saying that they were going to blow us out, that we weren’t on their level. If you think you can do it, then come and prove it. Don’t just say it."
A copy of the very boastful and inappropriate article appeared pasted to the doorway, where the Marauders entered the gym Saturday. There were bits and pieces highlighted for special attention. Robinson had it practically memorized by the time the game was set to tip off. And he didn’t give Wilson, the more-heralded and supposedly more-respected player, a moment’s notice while the introductions were being done and Wilson – in a tasteless manner – showed Robinson no respect with his mannerisms.
It didn’t take long for Robinson to get the last laugh. If he’s as big and as soft as Wilson proclaimed, then any coach in the county will take such a comfy pillow. Because Robinson flat-out dominated.
Robinson scored 15 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked three shots. Wilson scored four points. And the team that was supposed to get blown out did the blowing out, taking home a 60-45 decision that was very impressive.
And it was also a vindicating victory that had to send a message to the rest of the county. That the Marauders are definitely for real.
"I think this is definitely a convincing win, that teams have to take us seriously from now on," said Love, who added 13 points in the victory. "This win proves that we can run with the big boys."
To the Marauders’ credit, they didn’t take the win and taunt it in the faces of the Rams. In fact, in their eyes, it was just another win — but it was a win that enabled the Marauders to move into the No. 18 spot in this week’s state rankings. The Rams dropped from No. 9 to No. 19 with the loss.
"We didn’t win anything yet," Love said. "It was a real big week for us, but we have a long way to go."
"It was just our next game," Robinson said. "We left everything on the court and we’re just moving on."
It also was a brilliant coaching performance by Prep’s young mentor Joe Macchi, who upstaged his former high school coach at Marist in Bill "Red" Drennan. Macchi also served as an assistant to Drennan at Dickinson a few years ago.
Knowing that he couldn’t match athleticism with the quicker Rams, Macchi put his team in a very tenacious 3-2 zone that switched to a 2-3 zone from time to time. Dickinson didn’t have an offense to counter the defense, and the Rams just began to repeatedly misfire from the perimeter, shooting a dismal 11 of 51 from the floor.
Macchi’s brilliant coaching was culminated in one particular offensive set, where Jimmy Supple, the game’s leading scorer with 16 points, took the ball out of bounds, passed it to Ryan Carroll, then received the ball back for a wide-open 3-point attempt. Supple drained the jumper, just like the play was diagrammed. Perfect execution.
Macchi also used his bench flawlessly, calling upon Emmanuel Thompson, who scored nine points and had 11 rebounds off the bench.
"It was fortunate that they missed a few from the outside," Macchi said. "They just didn’t shoot well. If they made a few of those long ones, it would have been different. We played really well, especially defensively. But it’s a long season and one game doesn’t make us or break us. I just think that in Hudson County, anybody can beat anybody. Teams knock each other off all the time. You have to be willing to bring it to the gym every night. We did this time."
And there was one particular youngster who brought it to the gym, the one who was challenged the most.
"Brian’s not an emotional kid," Macchi said. "He doesn’t show much emotion. I don’t know what he was thinking about, but he played well. Regardless of the situation, we needed Brian to come up big. And he did."
Yep. And not a hint of softness. – Jim Hague
CAPTION
LOVE-LY JUMPER – St. Peter’s Prep guard Jarett Love drives in for a lane jumper in Prep’s stunning 60-45 victory over Dickinson last week. Brian Robinson (54), under the basket, led the way with 15 points and 14 rebounds.