Tilton opens haunted-house
- On Sunday afternoon, the Tilton School Rams arrived at the NERR National Prep Showcase to take on the Kiski School and from the time they came out for warm-ups, they flat-out transformed the gymnasium into a haunted house. First, the Rams turned lay-up lines into the Royal Air Forces Waddington International Airshow and then, when the game began, the lights went out, the high-def, 3D big-screen was pulled down, glasses were passed out, and instead of a ball-game, Tilton dropped an 80's horror flick all over the #NPS. From the get-go, Tilton, who started with an all-BABC starting five of Bull, Selden, Noel, Okonoboh, and Niang, sprinted away from Kiski like a prommer from a skunk. When the 1st half buzzer sounded, the Rams took a 51-19 lead into the locker room. Tilton was led in the first half by that familiar duo of Georges Niang, who had 21 points on 9/12 shooting and had 5 rebounds + 2 steals. Typical. Noel had 13 points on 6-7 shooting, and took 9 boards + 4 blocks. With Tilton playing a lot of reserves, the second half was much more back and forth than the first, with Tilton outscoring Kiski 28-21 to take home a season-opening 79-40 victory. For the game, Niang, who played only a few minutes in the second half, finished with 21 points and 9 boards. Noel came away with a masterful double-double-and-a-half with 20 points (9-10 fg), 10 backboard swipes, and 5 blocks. Also, Dartmouth-bound Kevin Crescenzi had 11 efficient points off the bench, shooting 4-5 from the floor and 3-4 from 3-point land. KC is going to be an invaluable weapon this season as the captain of the Tilton Sniper Squad.
Notes
- Regardless of class, Nerlens Noel is flat-out the best player in America. First off, because of his unique game-changing defensive ability, the comparisons to Bill Russell will always be a fun and relevant conservation topic...but the similiraities don't end there. The other trait that reminds of Russell is Noel's genuine unselfishness out there on the floor with his teammates. In terms of his game, his perimeter skills have arrived. He spent a large part of the game playing the 3-spot and looked more than comfortable handling the ball and facilitating offense for his teammates. He also had one crazy move where he crossed over from right to left from the top of the key, explosively changing directions to get by his man before uncoiling his cobra frame into a George Gervin finger roll...Kentucky Head Coach John Calipari watched this one from the front row. Seated behind him was AC Orlando Antigua while sitting beside him was the medium Dunkin Donuts hot he was treatin' himself to...Missouri-bound Nique Bull did a nice job for Tilton running the show from the point. Curious to see him go up against some of the better point guards in New England this winter...Although Wayne Selden didn't have his best afternoon offensively, he looked 100% healthy and bouncier than ever. In fact, on more than a few occasions, when attempting to finish at the basket, Selden appeared to surprise himself by the altitude attained off his hop. As he gets his timing back and becomes more comfortable with his extended length, Wayne will get his sophomore assault goin' in a hurry...Freshman John Witkowski was one of the first guys off the bench and he came in and did a nice job as a glue-guy on the vaunted Tilton front-line...Goodluck keeps gettin' better and better as his skills and understanding of the game continue to develop. He looked real good playin' the high-low game with Nerlens and he also had a sick breakaway dunk where he took off with 2 feet to throw down a 2 hand monster jam off a leap which would have allowed him to rock it through on a 12 ft rim. As Goodluck's game continues to rise on the elevator towards his Cumulonimbus potential, the idea of a Noel/Okonoboh package deal to an institution of higher-learning seems more and more like the hottest ticket in 2013 Town. Can you say Lennon & McCartney?...Georges had a nice and-one poster job on Kiski defender in the first half. Place went nuts.
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