The shot blocker is the most intimidating player on the basketball court. There is no debate. Just ask one.
“I blocked a shot one time, and when I hit it I said, ‘Give me that!'” said Tyner’s 6-foot-9 Michael Bradley, whose defensive skill is a key reason he’s headed to play at the University of Connecticut. “The ball landed in the first row and he went over there and got it, then came back and tried to hand it to me. That blew my mind.”
With Bradley being the most high-profile, the Chattanooga area appears rich in shot blockers this season. Tyner, Dade County’s boys and Northwest Whitfield’s girls have pre-eminent blockers. Is it a coincidence each of those teams is in first place in its league?
Blocked shots aren’t usually large in number and can be lost among a game’s statistics. But ask players who’ve had their shots slapped several feet behind them how anxious they are about attacking the basket the rest of a game.
“When somebody throws a shot, it can have an effect on a whole team,” Tyner boys’ coach Gerald Harris said. “Not only does that person think twice about going back inside with it, his teammates will think, ‘I don’t want that to happen to me, either.'”
Bradley didn’t begin playing basketball until ninth grade, but right away he seemed to have the knack for protecting the rim.
“I was taller than everybody else, and it was something I could do,” he said.
Bradley has since learned there is more to defense than being tall. He said he tries to anticipate where the ball is going, rather than taking a swing at where the ball is.
He said he gets most of his blocks playing “help-side” defense covering for teammates, mindful his man might score if he strays too far. Bradley is averaging nearly four blocks per game but also knows stats don’t tell the whole story.
“A guard that’s good at penetrating has got to have a little confidence that he can get around the guy guarding him,” said Harris, a former standout guard at Tyner and Middle Tennessee State. “You get by, take those last couple of steps and start to go up, then all of a sudden you see a 6-9 kid that’s coming after your shot. What do you do? You alter your shot. If you take a shot you really don’t want, that works for us.”
The Dade County boys’ success stems in large part from their end-to-end defense that produces turnovers that lead to scoring chances. Adding to opposing offenses’ difficulties, the Wolverines can put 6-9 junior Andrew Reid at the back of their press. He blocked six shots in limited playing time in Tuesday’s 108-60 victory over Calhoun and averages 3.3 per game.
“I just do what I have to do to make the team better,” said Reid, whose season high in blocks is 10. “Our guards are unbelievable. If it means blocking shots is what they need from me, then that’s what I’ll do.”
Northwest Whitfield girls’ coach Margaret Stockburger is blessed to have “twin towers” in 6-5 junior Quaneisha McCurty and 6-3 senior Christy Robinson. McCurty, who has already committed to Louisville, averages 2.1 blocks per game.
Stockburger said blocked shots tend to be more significant in the boys’ game because generally they’re taller than girls and have greater leaping ability. McCurty plays in the back of both of the Lady Bruins’ presses, but Stockburger said her post players are coached to come up the sidelines at times and try for steals. McCurty would likely have more blocks if she played between her girl and the basket, but Stockburger feels the Lady Bruins are better defensively when they front the low post and try to deny entry passes.
“Ninety-nine percent of the time we play man-to-man defense,” Stockburger said. “She gets her blocks when a girl comes into the lane and she’s in help position. She moves extremely well.”
Marion County’s Cody Henegar, another in the 6-9 range who’ll be taking his talent to UNC Greensboro, is the current leader among boys in the Chattanooga area with an average of six blocks per game. Hamilton Heights’ 6-4 junior Jordyn Wolcott tops the girls at 4.3 per game.
Wolcott’s brother, Nick, a recent Hamilton Heights graduate, is a near-7-footer and one of many in a string of prominent shot blockers to come through the Hawks’ program, which is in its first year in TSSAA. Coach Duke Stone said in the program’s 12-year history there’s been a boy at least 6-6 on the team every season.
Stone’s sons, Michael, who at 6-9 averaged eight blocks per game as a senior, and 6-7 Stephen were among them. Jake Dockery, 6-8, is pacing the Hawks this season with a little more than two blocks per game.
“One thing that helps us and our shot blockers is we play a lot of zone defense, and we try to steer things toward them,” Coach Stone said. “Because we’re a small school — we only have 70 students — we don’t have the quality of depth, so we have to play a lot of zone defense. We’re not quite as athletic as the schools we’re playing against, so we’re not looking to fastbreak a lot. We have to be fundamentally sound and execute better. We treat the block shot as just a turnover for us.”
Good shot blockers are predominantly tall. Having long arms and good leaping ability are pluses. Timing and reacting quickly are other essential traits.
As for learned particulars, Bradley said it’s a priority knowing where the ball is at all times. Reid said it’s important to learn to be in proper position. He doesn’t finish fastbreaks; he starts them.
“That’s my role,” Reid said. “I’m fine with that, as long as we win.”