This engaging post-game speech took place back in late November of 2018, in the biting-cold confines of the Albertus Magnus College (CT) locker room.
Just 12 minutes prior to this valuable disquisition, Scotland Campus (Pa.) had stamped a convincing, hard-fought victory over a reputable Macduffie (MA) team featuring UConn-bound James Bouknight. They endured 18 points and 13 rebounds from Richard Springs, whose 12-foot jumper knotted it at 62-62 with 5:12 remaining.
A rugged 6-foot-4 guard from Brooklyn, Bouknight registered his high-profile presence with a knack for hitting tough and heavily-contested shots. It was 23 points and a go-ahead bucket from Dequarius Nicholas, however, that propelled Scotland Campus to a 76-66 upset in one of the more marquee and memorable matchups of the event.
And so the hyperactive and spirited locker room erupted, savoring two pulsating victories in their first real grit barometer of the season. This surely wasn’t heavenly hoops bedlum, but it was a high-caliber National Prep Showcase laced with credible analysts and prognosticators all projecting Scotland Campus to lose both games.
Suddenly, this ear-shattering crescendo whittles down to a pin drop quiet moment. The sea of eyes suddenly gaze up at Scotland Campus’ coaching staff.
Head coach and program director Chris Chaney soon waxes poetic about the “equal opportunity factor,” a subject that is not atypical in today’s expansive prep/post graduate basketball landscape. Prep school basketball has long been pitched and even force fed as an opportunity for maximum exposure, increased development, and an unforgiving schedule which includes a tango with a national superpower here and there.
Seedy, unconventional pop-up programs and “Academies” which are indifferent to academics and rather lawless tend to abuse these company lines (unfortunately).
Yet a lot of the time, with these slapdash prep schedules and increased number of games, starting lineups and rotations aren’t exactly etched in stone.
And so as Chaney addresses his team, he implores anyone who may have played sparingly not to let their spirits dampen.
The veteran coach is quick to cite his former player Jordan Hill, who starred at Arizona before prolonging his career in the NBA.
Chaney coached Hill while at the now defunct Patterson School in North Carolina, discovering a raw and callow kid with tremendous upside that required tapping into.
In one post graduate year, Hill underwent a massive basketball metamorphosis. It was a transformation few could have envisioned at the start of the season, when he was buried behind a gaggle of higher profile prospects.
Working diligently under Chaney and buying into all components and obstacles of the post graduate year, Hill eventually wound up playing a significant role at Patterson and cracking sustained starter’s minutes.
He would prolong his career at Arizona before being selected by the New York Knicks with the eighth pick of the 2009 NBA draft.
“At the start of the season,” Chaney recalled, turning the clock back a few years while harkening back on those uber-deep Patterson School teams, “Jordan Hill was at the tail end of the bench.”
Time and proper utilization of this time tends to change all.
“By the end of the season, he was one of our more proven, more highly-productive guys,” Chaney explained. “So for anyone who didn’t play much tonight. You guys shouldn’t get discouraged, this should be motivation for you to get back into the gym and work at your craft and get better each day.”
This story of going from also-ran to “the Man” has special resonance with this Scotland team.
Some guys who were barely 1-2 minute on court cameos during the aforementioned NPS in November have led the team in scoring during prove-it performances.
Akrum Ahemed is perhaps the best example of a yearly, Jordan Hill-esque transformation.
Known for his deft scoring touch at all three levels, knack for knifing to the rim and sidestepping defenders with thorough surges to the rack, Ahemed was a little-known commodity at the start of the year.
Against Our Savior Lutheran (N.Y.) and a core of enticing Division-I prospects, Ahemed popped off the bench to fire in a deep 3-pointer and add a nifty up-and-under move. He made the most of just a thread over seven minutes of playing time, but onward and upward the New Jersey native went.
Then against Olympus Prep, the 6-foot-5 wing morphed into the mad bomber. He exploded for 42 points on an array of 3-pointers and pull-up jumpers and corner pull-ups and drives and free throws. Just like Hill, he was soon flushed into a prominent role.
“At first I wasn’t crazy about the role of coming off the bench, but I trust coach and I trust he puts us in the best situations to be successful,” Ahemed said.
“As time went on during the season, I realized it doesn’t matter who starts the game but who finishes it. I know that I’m good enough to be a starter and I’m as good as everyone else on the team. I feel like I’ve proven that during multiple games this season. You know, proving I can pass, score, play defense, rebound, and really lead a team. Since having proved that, I’ve actually sort of relished the role of coming off the bench and giving them a spark and quality minutes.”
He did just that against Fork Union Military Academy, a 92-86 victory during the prestigious FUMA Military Challenge tournament.
Ahemed popped off the bench to turn in monumental plays, navigating a pressure cooker and simultaneously steering Scotland (33-0) out of a deficit and maddening early offensive lull. The New Jersey native instantly grabbed an offensive rebound and provided the stickback. He then deposited a deep corner jumper and got free for a momentum-bolstering three-pointer.
With FUMA’s slew of hot-shooting guards upping the defensive energy, Akrum turned in back to back traditional 3-point plays.
Such a first half performance was not only a stabilizing force for Scotland, but an embodiment of the depth factor prep/post-graduate teams of this caliber may possess.
Ahemed spent two years playing at the historic and tradition-rich Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va.
He showed flashes, but was up and down and played second fiddle to star-spangled lineups.
The product he’s put out on the court in 2018-19 is different for one reason: consistency.
Ahemed has been a routine double-digit scorer who can supply significant rebounds and second chance buckets (as he did against Beckley Prep during the FUMA tournament). Several Division-1 programs (SEMO, LIU-Brooklyn, Marshall) have shown steady interest, albeit nobody has pulled the trigger yet.
Ahemed’s ability to soar and finish with his left hand also drew notice during that particular game.
After playing meager minutes the first two weeks of the season, Chaney’s speech and Jordan Hill analogy certainly did not fall on deaf ears for Ahemed.
