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Gwynn Park Jackets stay perfect at 19-0 in 78-53 route of Fairmont Heights
Posted by Michael Glick on
Feb 13 2008
at
04:00PM PST
Gwynn Park Jackets stay perfect
Gwynn Park buys into coach’s system and finds winning formula
The Fairmont Heights High School boys’ basketball team had just gone on an 8-0 run late in the fourth quarter on Monday night when Gwynn Park coach Mike Glick called a timeout and told his team, ‘‘You have to run the offense.” It took virtually all of last season for the Yellow Jackets to somewhat master Glick’s system. But by the second quarter of Gwynn Park’s 78-53 victory on the road against the Hornets, Glick’s system appeared almost second nature to the Yellow Jackets. ‘‘It took about a year for us to get it down,” Gwynn Park senior forward Chibuike Achuko said after the game. ‘‘In his system, he stresses defense, rebounding and hustle. I think we’re real close to [perfecting] his system. We just have to stay playing together.” A big reason the Yellow Jackets remain undefeated (19-0 overall, 15-0 County 3A⁄2A⁄1A) is that the players appear to be on the same page on just about everything. ‘‘When I noticed that they had learned the system, you could see the improvement,” Glick said. ‘‘They started listening to what I was trying to teach them. It took us about three-fourths of last season to all start playing together.” And through three-fourths of the 2007-08 season, the Yellow Jackets have established themselves as the team to beat in the County 3A⁄2A⁄1A League. Aside from mastering the offense, Gwynn Park’s success also is rooted in its defense. Several weeks ago against second-place Largo, a team that frequently pushes the 100-point barrier, Gwynn Park stifled the Lions, holding them to only 53 points in a 30-point blowout win. ‘‘Basically, No. 1 in coach’s system is defense,” said senior guard Sean Thomas. ‘‘We all needed to take accountability for one another on the team. On offense, he just wants us to make sure we hustle up and down the floor and take good shots. At the end of last season, I knew that we were right there in terms of mastering coach’s system.” Gwynn Park led, 16-13, after a closely contested first quarter against Fairmont Heights, but the game quickly turned lopsided in the second quarter when the Yellow Jackets outscored Fairmont Heights, 19-10, to open up a 12-point halftime lead. When Gwynn Park turned up the defense, the pressure forced the Hornets into numerous turnovers. By the time the third quarter was over, Gwynn Park led by 22. Several Gwynn Park players had big days in the victory. Leading the way was Thomas, who scored 26 points to go along with six assists. Gwynn Park senior Harold Washington had a big night, scoring 14 points to go along with six rebounds and seven assists. Achuko had 14 points and nine rebounds. Fairmont Heights fell to 13-4, 11-4 in the County 3A⁄2A⁄1A League with the loss, coupled with Friday’s setback to Friendly.E-mail Terron Hampton at thampton@gazette.net.
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