Green machine gets Rocks back on track
A mesmeric display from Mychal Green led the Rocks to a 99-94 victory over the winless Guildford Heat on Sunday at the Kelvin Hall in a contest that was marred by the serious injury suffered by ex-Rock and fan favourite Mike Copeland in the first quarter.
Despite Guildford having gone 0-11 in all competitions this season both Coach Sterling Davis and guard Danny Huffor were keen to point out that the Heat were certainly not going to be taken lightly. Davis stated that he ‘disregarded their record completely,’ with Huffor adding that he knew they were ‘going to be a good, athletic team.’
Veteran guard E.J. Harrison remained out, while Sterling still wasn’t 100% fit, so yet again the Rocks were going to have to play short-handed. That being said, when you have the Green Machine playing the way he has been this season, it almost seems like you can throw anything at Glasgow and Mychal will lap it up, get on with the job and carry the team on his shoulders.
Both teams traded baskets in the early going, with neither team building a sizeable lead. The Rocks defence was posted missing on a few occasions though that led to easy points for the Heat, something that you just can’t concede against any opposition. Guildford dominated the boards too, which led to them being able to cut down the second chance opportunities for Glasgow, while ex-Eagle Drew Lasker was teaming up nicely with Tayo Ogedengbe to get the Heat rolling nicely.
With just over a minute to go in the first quarter, big Cope went down following a collision with Cranston underneath the basket. The injury looked bad at the time, and has since been confirmed as a snapped patella tendon. The game was stopped for approximately 20 minutes while Copeland, playing in front of the Glasgow fans for the first time since leaving the club after a two year spell, received medical attention on court. He left the arena to a standing ovation and was taken to a nearby hospital, undergoing a successful operation on Monday morning. I’m sure I speak for everyone associated with the BBL, in particular Glasgow and Guildford, in wishing Mike a speedy recovery.
Following a lengthy delay, the Heat claimed five unanswered points to close out the first quarter and take a 28-20 lead. Then, it was Mychal’s time to shine. In the second quarter alone, Green notched up 21 points on 7 of 8 shooting (including 5 of 5 from behind the arc and 2 of 2 from the free throw line). I can let the stats do the talking there. Simply an incredible performance, even more so when you consider that Murray was the Rocks second highest scorer with 21 for the entire game!
Green ended up with 32 points in total, and speaking to Huffor after the game, he was in absolutely no doubt that Green has taken over the role of team leader following the injury to E.J, saying that while the entire team has had to step up, Mychal has stepped up ‘way higher’ than anyone else.
When E.J. gets back from his injury that must surely give the Rocks the best guard combo in the league. You would have the three remarkable guards, each with their own unique skills to bring to the table. Huffor is a defensive specialist, Green the offensive weapon, while Harrison has all the intangibles that don’t get noted in the box score with his leadership and knowledge of the game. That, of course, is not to say he doesn’t contribute considerably on the score sheet.
Green’s second quarter heroics turned the tide massively in favour of the Rocks, and it was to stay that way for the remainder of the game. A four point half-time lead became eight going into the final quarter. Although the Rocks were never able to put the game beyond doubt until the last few seconds, they did hold the lead for the entire second half against a very resilient and determined side, who despite now being 0-12 were certainly no slouches.
Both teams, in actuality, played fairly similar games with a high tempo offence that was geared to score points. Defensively, the Rocks in particular, and rather uncharacteristically, allowed numerous open looks from down town and perhaps a more lethal team would have taken the two Championship points away from Kelvin Hall, but the Rocks ultimately did enough. Mark my words though, it’s only a matter of time before Creon’s team get into winning ways.
One pleasing note for the Rocks was that they hit 9 of 18 from behind the arc, significantly better than their season average, and what arguably lost them the game last week against the Eagles. If they can keep up stats like that, then they will be even more difficult to beat.
Next week the Rocks have a tough double header away at Worcester and Plymouth, but Huffor, who tallied 18 points on Sunday, and was one of four Rocks players to nail 50%, or more, of their shots, is relishing the challenge, believing that back to back games ‘make us more prepared, we go into the first game and we’ll play really well and I know the second game is going to be even better, that’s just how we are.’ I’m sure all Rocks fans will be hoping that Danny is spot on!
Before the game on Sunday, there was a minute applause in memory of James Lay, a giant of the Scottish basketball scene, who sadly passed away on Friday.
