Georgetown relying heavily on speed

Nov 06, 2009 Sports

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By Edison Jefford

Georgetown will heavily rely on their quick players to give them the impetus against a balanced and ‘big’ side from Linden in the senior All-Star game with the further short-listing of 11 players from their initial 15-man squad yesterday morning.
From the faces of the 11 players, from which one will be excluded, it was plain that Georgetown would employ speed against their longstanding nemesis and defending champions, Linden in the important All-Star Championship game Sunday.
National Senior and All-Star point guard, Ravens’ Darcel Harris was named the City’s captain in a move that was attributed to experience, basketball knowledge and general skill. Harris will lead Georgetown as he had led his club and North Ruimveldt.
The guard is quick, sharp and has a deadly three-point jumper that he often unleashes whenever a need to do so arises. Harris is sure of his game and knows the players that will be given to him to the extent that there will be immense ball distribution.
The Georgetown lead guard will get support from Ryan Stephney, Rodwell Fortune and Stephon Gillis, also in the guard positions. Those three players bring a different range of skill to the game in a way that could be beneficial for the team’s plan.
Stephney rose to prominence when he took apart the Washington DC Jammers point guard at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall in 2007 after he made his national senior debut. He has had constant progression since and has showed some maturity.
He has become more of a team player, understanding his role in a brutal combination of personal skill that he connects to a general purpose. Georgetown has no other aim than the one to overhaul the Linden team that has beaten them consecutively.

Stephney will continue the learning process in a talented field of guards that Fortune, who is in a class of his own, is expected to support. There is no other guard in Guyana that has the versatility of Fortune and that will electrify the Sports Hall.
Fortune is a ‘little big man’: he runs the court, has wicked crossovers, jump shots, take rebounds and if you give him a fast-break, he will throw down a dunk. The guard is definite ‘Showtime’, a figure that Linden will struggle against in the game.
Gillis completes a balanced field of guards with his sharp shooting ability and occasional aptitude to penetrate. The national shooting guard has had a fair year as opposed to his previous eminence, but the All-Star Weekend could be his resurgence.
Gillis will defend his three-point shooting title Saturday night, and a win there could greatly help his confidence. He will be a nightmare for Linden once he finds his range, which will be warmed from the night before at the three-point shooting contest.
From all indications, Georgetown has the advantage in the front court with their guards while the Linden line-up has the edge in the backcourt with their ‘big men’-four players over 6’3″ that they have gone to in a defensive technique against Georgetown.
National forward, Royston Siland has his work cut out for him; he is certainly a chief presence at the bottom for Georgetown with his leaping ability and skill on the boards. Siland has developed a jump shot that will add to the team’s diversity.
Siland and Harris will work in tandem from top to bottom with Ryan Gullen also helping Siland on the inside along with Darren Thomas. Gullen is a beast in the paint, but his height could be a shortcoming. However, he will not be intimidated.
Gullen lives basketball and that has given him the necessary All-Star brains. He is big on boards and has an outside jumper if he is cut off from penetration. The Ravens’ forward has his role on a diverse team that definitely has their work cut out.
Thomas brings that energy and aggression to the individual skill and flexibility of Siland and his younger counterpart, Gullen. Thomas was not initially included, but raised eyebrows when he led Scorpions to the final of the Kevin Worrell Memorial Sunday.
His dominance impressed the Georgetown hierarchy and he was subsequently added to the All-Star cast for the big show. Thomas’ hands are sure and he is a strong competitor that will take a lot of pressure to shift once he is fixed in his position.
Courts Pacesetters’ national senior forward, Naylon Loncke, who has also adopted the swingman role (playing all five positions) is the man in the middle on this Georgetown side. Loncke will be the man to connect the positions for a unified approach.
He is a toss-up between the guards and ‘big men’ of Georgetown. Loncke knows that he has the tools to glue this team together because of his character. He was selected primarily because of his brains, with his personal skill the secondary factor.
The other players that complete the 11 on the Georgetown All-Star senior squad from which one was reportedly sent packing yesterday are Pepsi Sonics’ Richard Braithwaite, Travis Foster and Maccabbees’ leading point guard Hodayah Stewart.
Whoever is sent home from those three will definitely have minor but yet important roles to play on a decent Georgetown team that is expected to pace Linden with speed in an effort to reverse a course of history and return the title to the Capital City.

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