Re-Visiting Madison Central vs. Holmes - 3/8/13

**JokersWild24** · August 20, 2013

Slow day and work was unexpectedly cancelled this morning, so I had a chance for the first time to sit down and watch the entire Madison Central vs. Holmes classic from this past Sweet 16.

My observations:

First of all, I’d like to say that I really enjoyed the commentary and analysis from Lea Wise Prewitt. Thought she was on point for the entire game, and could listen to her call action all day.
Madison Central started off very slow-- particularly, the 1st quarter and initial portions of the 2nd quarter (when Ken-Jah Bosley hits a big 3 to get Central and the crowd back into it) were very sloppy on the Indians' part. Dominique Hawkins did not have a very good first half, though he did show some flashes. The second half (more later), was obviously a different story.
Thought James "Beetle" Bolden came out very assertive, and looked like his quickness and fakes really kept Central off balance. With that said, there were some things I saw with his game that I think will really hinder him at the next level unless he continues to work on his weaknesses. It's been said a million times on here, but wow, the kid is pretty one handed with the ball. At this level, because of his natural ability, he's able to get away with some things that I just don't see being there at the next level.
Speaking on his career at the next level, unless Beetle develops his right hand further and/or gains some muscle on his frame, it's going to be somewhat tough for him to be as effective as he might need to be if he's going to get serious clock on a high-major squad. Some instances of this would be how Bosley was able to slow him down some when switched onto him in the second half. There were a few times where I felt he would begin to take Bosley left, get cut off because Bosley would be sitting on his left hand, then play him to his right hand, but Bosley would sit back and wait for him to come back to his left hand. One instance that comes to mind in when he got picked clean on a right-to-left crossover near the halfcourt line that led to an uncontested fast break for Madison Central. With that said, being only a sophomore, he has time to improve. Also thought that Bolden did a little too much dribbling. I thought his ability to dart into the lane and get rebounds was something that might have been a little understated on here. His effort in doing that and some other smaller things like hustling to lose balls, saving deflections, etc. only furthered his effectiveness.
Dominique Hawkins owned the second half. For a high school point guard, he showed great poise and maturity. He's got a nice basketball IQ, and uses his body well when going to the rim. He also showed a nice understanding of when to go all the way to the goal, pull up and shoot a floater, or, late in the second half, see that the defense was sagging and rise up and hit the open trey if it was there. Also liked his ability to hurt teams with weak-side rebounding. Since his state tournament performance has probably been recapped more than any (except possibly Bolden), so I'll leave it there.
Was impressed with Quinton Chames' athleticism and ability to rebound the ball. The kid seemed to play hard and didn't make a lot of mistakes, and I saw why the person I spoke with after the game felt like he was a little underrated. He did a really nice job against Quan Taylor, and was instrumental in basically taking him out of the game offensively and getting him into foul trouble (Taylor got his 4th personal midway through the 3rd quarter). Taylor tried to establish himself in the post early on and they were looking to try to get him some touches with the offense struggling, but Chames really seemed to limit much of what Taylor seemed to want to do.
Was impressed with the play of Daquan Palmer. The senior’s ability to work off the ball when others sat high screens for Bolden was instrumental in keeping the defense honest. He showed a nice understanding of what Holmes seemed to want to do offensively.
Thought Chris Englemon being banged up during the game (an ankle, at least what was alluded to when listening to the commentary) might have limited his effectiveness.
Got the impression that Rashawn Coston probably didn't have his best performance in this one, especially getting in a rhythm shooting the ball.
Central's Hunter Stocker seemed to be somewhat of an overlooked member of the Indians, but one who was a "glue guy". Did a lot of the little things that might not show up in the box score to help them get the win. There were a number of times he came out high to reset the offense, tapped a ball out, chased down a rebound, made a smart foul, etc.
Central's George Walker started out somewhat out-of-control and erratic, but settled in and logged some very, very important minutes in the second half with Taylor on the bench in foul trouble.
Both teams seemed to leave some crucial points at the line late, and there were some times that Central seemed to have the game almost wrapped up, but couldn't land the kill shot.
Overall, it was a great game to watch. Just a hard fought battle between two good teams, and it kind of hurt you as a fan to see that one would have to go home so early.

**PurplePride92** · August 20, 2013

Didn't Bolden have a triple double or close to it this game? I was traveling back from Japan so I had to get the recap of the game and don't remember much of it other than it was the second best game of the tourney.

Where did you find video of this game at?

**JokersWild24** · August 20, 2013

Kentucky High School Athletic Association | iHigh.com - The Global Youth Network

KHSAA BOYS? SWEET 16® TOURNAMENT LIVE ON iHIGH.COM | Kentucky High School Athletic Association Boys' Basketball | iHigh.com

With a few clicks, either of the above will give you a treasure trove of KHSAA championship event videos.

There's a link for the 2013 tournament. If you look through the archived broadcasts, each game and the post game press conference should be available. Forewarning, it's the feed of the game that's shown on the videoboards in Rupp, so be prepared for lots of ads and replays.

Still nice to see that you can check out the games anytime, and the features of the video format are pretty friendly as far as pausing, scrolling, etc. go.

Here's what should be a direct link to the game itself:

2013 KHSAA BOYS SWEET SIXTEEN: MADISON CENTRAL VS HOLMES | Kentucky High School Athletic Association Videos | iHigh.com

*Looks like you need Silverlight installed (that or something similar).