Friars rely on their best asset: Defense
With T of C title on the line, St. Anthony counts on its truest staple
After junior guard Donald Copeland calmly canned his only shot of the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions finale between St. Anthony and Shabazz last Saturday at the Continental Airlines Arena, his teammates had to get back to concentrate on what they and what countless other players who’ve donned the maroon and gold jerseys proudly over the years have done best: Play defense.
A wise writer once scribed that there were three forms of defense employed in New Jersey high school basketball, namely man-to-man, zone and St. Anthony. No truer words were ever written.
In the 30 years that Bob Hurley has graced the tiny school on Eighth Street as its basketball coach, that’s the one constant that has remained throughout the three decades. The Friars simply play better defense than anyone else. Hurley wouldn’t have it any other way.
Copeland’s corner jumper swished through, giving the Friars a 48-47 lead with 3:27 remaining in the tightly played and extremely intense inner-city war. There was plenty of time for more scoring and action. But the Friars were going to do their best to prohibit the scoring. After all, it’s what they do best and better than anyone else.
So if the Friars were going to pull out the school’s seventh T of C title, they were going to do so with their strength. Yogi Berra once called it, "To dance with the one who brung ya." Old gunfighters made sure they always used their best six-shooter. The Friars were going to play defense.
"We’ve always been about defense," Hurley said. "I’ve always been a defensive coach."
Little did Hurley know that his defense would be put to the strictest of tests.
Because after Copeland hit that shot, not another single point was to be scored for the rest of the afternoon. By either team.
The next three minutes would be pure bedlam on the floor. A lot of action, a lot of intensity, just no scoring.
Each time, it came down to the Friars’ defense, because they tried to take time off the clock with their delay offense – and failed miserably, turning the ball back over to a very game Shabazz team four straight times.
"I really wondered what happened to our delay game, because all of a sudden, we just stopped playing," Hurley said. "We just kept throwing the ball all over the place. All hell was breaking loose. The ball was flying all over and the pace of the game was way too fast. There were two teams going at each other. Neither team was very cerebral in its approach. The last three minutes weren’t exactly a work of art. I guess we had to play defense to win the game."
Copeland agreed.
"Everything was happening so fast that I had no idea what was going on," Copeland said. "We just had to get back and play good team defense."
Which is exactly what the Friars collectively did for those final three minutes. And it was definitely a collective effort. Friar senior forward Pedro Cipriano made a gigantic block of a shot on the first Shabazz possession after Copeland’s shot, giving the Friars the ball back, only to watch them throw it away.
The next time down the floor, another senior big man, JonPaul Kobryn, stepped in front of two Shabazz big men to deter a driving attempt, then secure the rebound, giving the Friars another chance to take some time off the clock, only to watch someone throw it away.
Elijah Ingram, the game’s most valuable player, courtesy of his game-high 22 points, made a big steal off Shabazz point guard Robert Robinson, giving St. Anthony another possession – yet another where the ball was relinquished. Shabazz had the ball with 25 seconds left and a chance to win.
For a fourth time, St. Anthony had to collectively pull up its shorts, swallow its pride and play the trademark defense. And for the fourth straight time, it worked. With just eight seconds left, Shabazz’s Donald Harper drove the lane and missed a lay-up. Kobryn collected his second big rebound and handed the ball to Ingram, who was fouled.
Ingram is the Friars’ best free throw shooter. One would have to figure that he would can the free throws and send everyone home happy. But Ingram missed the opportunity and gave Shabazz yet another chance to score the go-ahead points.
Again, Harper drove the lane, but this time, found forward Devonne Giles wide open under the basket for what appeared to be the game-winning shot. But at the last minute, almost miraculously, Dwayne Lee stepped in to swat the ball away from Giles, just as he was about to go up for the game-winning lay-up.
The ball rolled out of bounds. There was still time on the clock, albeit less than a full second, about seven-tenths of a second. One more time for the Friars to play the trademark defense. Harper caught the ball some 18 feet from the basket and his desperation heave fell short. The Friars held Shabazz scoreless for the final 3:27 and won the unthinkable, the school’s seventh T of C title.
"The last minute or so, I found myself in a fog, like it wasn’t really happening," Hurley said. "When I heard the buzzer sound, I wasn’t quite sure what had happened. When I saw the kids jumping up and down, I guessed that we won."
Added Hurley, "We’ve won it seven times and no other school in the state has won it more than once. Yet, we always have to find a way to explain why we’re here. People are always questioning what we do. I know why we’re here. Because we work hard, have good work habits and play good defense."
It was definitely a game for the ages, one for the memory bank, for the way it finished, for the way the two teams played their hearts out.
"The game of basketball is definitely more than just a leisure activity in the cities," Hurley said. "This was a game where kids from Newark and kids from Jersey City were going at it the whole way, two cities separated by the PATH. Although it was played in the Meadowlands, it could have very easily been played in Audubon Park in Jersey City or Branch Brook Park in Newark, in a schoolyard, in a tiny gym. It didn’t matter. These teams were going to compete.
Added Hurley, "This wasn’t about a team winning and losing. We were fortunate to have won, but that wasn’t a team that lost. It was a tremendous game, better than many of the collegiate games that have been played (in the Meadowlands) this year."
Hurley was asked how this championship compared with some of the others that he has attained in his legendary coaching career.
"This is the first time that I think we’ve been able to truly enjoy it," Hurley said. "The other times, we were expected to win and you spend so much time worrying about whether you’re going to lose. I’ve truly enjoyed this and I’m ecstatic for the kids, because they’re the ones who worked so hard to get this.
Added Hurley, "It was great for us. We had to make a defensive stop to win the game. That’s what I’ll remember."
Make those six defensive stops, one after another. It couldn’t have occurred any other way, the St. Anthony way.