Two years ago I saw these same 2 teams in this same game on this same court. Johnson won 86-78. I said it then and I'll say it again, it was one of the most exciting regular season games I have ever seen. I came prepared tonight to say that neither of these is the team that played in that game. Now, after seeing Hopkins demolish Johnson 100-74, I don't know. I mean, Johnson, sure, they're a shadow of that great team, missing Estan Tyler and Maxie Rosenbloom more than words can say.
But Hopkins? Sure, their stars, Joe Coleman and Marvin Singletary, have moved on. But this team is a lot like that 2010 team. They play at a high rate of speed, t they get up and down the court in a huge hurry. They create turnovers, they get to the rim at will and they swarm the offensive glass, and they get to the FT line. But unlike that team, they also shoot the 3-ball.
Let me repeat that. Hopkins plays at a high rate of speed and they beat you down the court. Their very 1st bucket the tone. They beat Johnson down the court and Zach Stahl scored the fast-break lay-up at 17:27, 7 seconds after a made Johnson basket at 17:34.
Hopkins creates turnovers and, more to the point, they convert. Johnson had 17 turnovers, and not a single one in the final 9:00, by which time Hopkins led 81-55. And the Royals scored 19 points off of those 17 opportunities.
Hopkins gets to the rim, they swarm the offensive glass. 16 of their 21 2-point baskets were inside of 5 feet. The Royals had 11 offensive boards and scored 12 points off of 8 of those opportunities.
They get to the FT line. Hopkins was 25-for-29 from the line, including 3 and-1s.
Finally, the shoot the 3-ball. Hopkins was 11-for-21 from behind the arc. (All of this according to my unofficial stats. The Best Buy Classic did not provide any official stats beyond than individual points on the scoreboard.)
How do you beat all of that? Well, I suppose you could ask Benilde. But add it all up and it was a lethal stew for Johnson. Granted, the Governors are 4-3 and unrated, but they've lost only to 3 AAAA teams with a combined 19-5 record and they've beaten 2 other AAAA teams, albeit with a 7-10 record.
Johnson led in the early going, as late as 8-6, and stayed within 14-13, 21-18 and 30-26 before Hopkins began to pull away. A pair of 3s by Siyani Chambers off of his own defensive rebound and sophomore Jacob Wright from Nick Jorgenson made it 36-26, and the score at the half was 40-32. Hopkins shot 45 percent in the 1st half and Johnson 50, but Hopkins was winning the possession game with 7 offensive boards and 5 turnovers to Johnson's 2 offensive boards and 11 turnovers. Hopkins was also leading 3-1 in 3s and 9-5 from the FT line.
Hopkins opened the 2nd half scoring on their 1st 8 possessions, hitting 3-for-3 from behind the arc and 6-of-6 from the line. Suddenly it was over at 60-40. But Hopkins kept on coming, scoring on 10-of-their-next-13 possessions as well, with 3 3s, an and-1, 4 2-point baskets and 4-for-4 from the line. 11 of 36 points through the 8:00 mark came off of Johnson turnovers. Only 2 came off the offensive glass but remember that Hopkins made 12-of-15 FG attempts during this run.
And, so, at the 8:00 mark it was Hopkins 83 Johnson 55. Marcus Marshall tried to keep the Governors in it, hitting 4 3s during this same period. In fact, Marshall shot 8-for-15 during this period including 5-for-6 3s, but couldn't get a stop.
Hopkins shot 69 percent from the field in the 2nd half (56 percent for the night). They committed just 5 turnovers playing at a rapid pace against a team that, like themselves, specializes in creating turnovers.
Stahl led Hopkins with 28, Siyani Chambers added 23, Demetrius Martin 16 and Jamal Davis 11. Stahl, a 6-5 senior, and Chambers, the smallish 5-11 guard (think Tyler Nicolai only a bunch quicker), are both underrated, I think. Little brother Kamali Chambers comes off the bench and contributes. A sophomore, he and fellow sophomores Wright and Stephon Sharpe represent the next generation of Hopkins state champions, I suppose. Davis is the only contributor from what must be accounted as a weak junior class.
Hopkins lost to Benilde, who lost to Eastview, so the Royals #2 ranking at this moment is well-deserved. And this team can't really be regarded as the equal to the Royals 3-time defending state championship teams until it, too, earns another trophy. But don't count these Royals out. They are at least a more versatile bunch than the one that won those state titles in 2010 and 2011.
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