Rattlers ready for prime time: Top recruits Cousins, Favors shine, but LeFlore rolls on ESPN2
Rattlers ready for prime time: Top recruits Cousins, Favors shine, but LeFlore rolls on ESPN2
Friday, January 16, 2009
By JOSH BEAN
Sports Reporter
BIRMINGHAM — LeFlore's Demarcus Cousins dribbled toward South Atlanta center Derrick Favors, spun around the 6-foot-9 South Atlanta star, and delivered an emphatic two-handed dunk.
That was just one of the highlight-reel plays that Cousins delivered in Thursday night's 78-66 victory over South Atlanta in a nationally televised game at UAB's Bartow Arena.
Cousins added a playground-style dribble over an opponent's head in the first half, and later flushed a soaring dunk in which he took off on the right side of the rim, stretched his 6-foot-11 frame and dunked the ball on the opposite side.
Surrounded by reporters after the game, Cousins refused to talk about his individual effort and stressed the importance of the victory for the Rattlers (19-2).
"I wasn't really concerned about what I did," said Cousins, who finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocked shots. "I wanted the team to win. I think I did what I thought I needed to do to help the team win.
"Hopefully, it's going to get us some respect," he continued. "Alabama is a football state. Everybody knows that. After that, it's baseball. Hopefully, after this, people will realize the basketball we have in the state."
The game drew several thousand fans, as well as Auburn coach Jeff Lebo, UAB coach Mike Davis and North Carolina State coach Sidney Lowe.
LeFlore and South Atlanta (15-2) entered the game ranked among the top 10 in most national polls, but the Rattlers broke open a close game with a 20-0 second-half run. LeFlore led by as many as 25 points in the fourth quarter.
Favors finished with 39 points and 19 rebounds, wowing the crowd with a couple of highlight-reel dunks of his own. Cousins and Favors rarely guarded one another.
But Cousins' supporting cast played much better than South Atlanta's. Darryl Woods led the Rattlers with 22 points, and Marlon Ford added 14, including a 35-footer at the third-quarter buzzer. LeFlore point guard Denzel McDaniels outplayed 6-foot-5 Auburn signee Andre Malone, who finished with only 3 points.
"My concern is that we continue to get better and grow as a team," Rattlers coach Otis Hughley said. "I think we grew some because we're so young in experience. To play like that, battle toe-to-toe with one of the nation's best teams on national TV, says a lot about Alabama basketball, what's being done in this state. It's games like this that get national exposure."
LeFlore never trailed and ran out to an 18-10 lead in the first quarter and a 28-18 lead in the second period, but Favors kept the Hornets close by making his final seven shots of the first half. The Rattlers led 36-31 at intermission.
South Atlanta cut the deficit to 44-40 on a free throw by Favors with 3:12 to play in the third period. LeFlore answered with its pivotal 20-0 run — holding the Hornets scoreless for more than five minutes — to put the game out of reach.
Woods scored 11 points in the decisive spurt, including three 3-pointers, and Ford had seven. Cousins did not score during the big run.
"I thought the difference was when their guy, No. 5 (Woods), hit about four 3-pointers in a row," South Atlanta coach Michael Reddick said. "We saw them play three times, and we never saw him do that before."
Despite all of Cousins' SportsCenter-worthy plays, Hughley said he was most impressed with his star's "patience."
"For Demarcus, I think what he did was exhibit patience," Hughley said. "He'd go four or five possessions without getting a touch, and he still made an impact. That shows his intelligence."
Friday, January 16, 2009
By JOSH BEAN
Sports Reporter
BIRMINGHAM — LeFlore's Demarcus Cousins dribbled toward South Atlanta center Derrick Favors, spun around the 6-foot-9 South Atlanta star, and delivered an emphatic two-handed dunk.
That was just one of the highlight-reel plays that Cousins delivered in Thursday night's 78-66 victory over South Atlanta in a nationally televised game at UAB's Bartow Arena.
Cousins added a playground-style dribble over an opponent's head in the first half, and later flushed a soaring dunk in which he took off on the right side of the rim, stretched his 6-foot-11 frame and dunked the ball on the opposite side.
Surrounded by reporters after the game, Cousins refused to talk about his individual effort and stressed the importance of the victory for the Rattlers (19-2).
"I wasn't really concerned about what I did," said Cousins, who finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocked shots. "I wanted the team to win. I think I did what I thought I needed to do to help the team win.
"Hopefully, it's going to get us some respect," he continued. "Alabama is a football state. Everybody knows that. After that, it's baseball. Hopefully, after this, people will realize the basketball we have in the state."
The game drew several thousand fans, as well as Auburn coach Jeff Lebo, UAB coach Mike Davis and North Carolina State coach Sidney Lowe.
LeFlore and South Atlanta (15-2) entered the game ranked among the top 10 in most national polls, but the Rattlers broke open a close game with a 20-0 second-half run. LeFlore led by as many as 25 points in the fourth quarter.
Favors finished with 39 points and 19 rebounds, wowing the crowd with a couple of highlight-reel dunks of his own. Cousins and Favors rarely guarded one another.
But Cousins' supporting cast played much better than South Atlanta's. Darryl Woods led the Rattlers with 22 points, and Marlon Ford added 14, including a 35-footer at the third-quarter buzzer. LeFlore point guard Denzel McDaniels outplayed 6-foot-5 Auburn signee Andre Malone, who finished with only 3 points.
"My concern is that we continue to get better and grow as a team," Rattlers coach Otis Hughley said. "I think we grew some because we're so young in experience. To play like that, battle toe-to-toe with one of the nation's best teams on national TV, says a lot about Alabama basketball, what's being done in this state. It's games like this that get national exposure."
LeFlore never trailed and ran out to an 18-10 lead in the first quarter and a 28-18 lead in the second period, but Favors kept the Hornets close by making his final seven shots of the first half. The Rattlers led 36-31 at intermission.
South Atlanta cut the deficit to 44-40 on a free throw by Favors with 3:12 to play in the third period. LeFlore answered with its pivotal 20-0 run — holding the Hornets scoreless for more than five minutes — to put the game out of reach.
Woods scored 11 points in the decisive spurt, including three 3-pointers, and Ford had seven. Cousins did not score during the big run.
"I thought the difference was when their guy, No. 5 (Woods), hit about four 3-pointers in a row," South Atlanta coach Michael Reddick said. "We saw them play three times, and we never saw him do that before."
Despite all of Cousins' SportsCenter-worthy plays, Hughley said he was most impressed with his star's "patience."
"For Demarcus, I think what he did was exhibit patience," Hughley said. "He'd go four or five possessions without getting a touch, and he still made an impact. That shows his intelligence."
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