City of Basketball Love

Michael Bullock (@thebullp_n)
--

Remarkably loose the moment he bounces on the basketball court — whether he’s drawing a starting nod or hopping off the bench at some point — little seems to bother talented Martin Luther King sophomore Jihad “Squid” Watson.

Not the guys on the other side.

Not the situation he’s suddenly struck with.

And not even the circumstances he and his Cougars teammates are embroiled in, be it a date in an unfamiliar city against a powerful opponent at some regular-season showcase or smack dab in the middle of trying to win some sort of championship.

Bottom line is the 6-0 wing guard just goes out and plays the game because he enjoys competing and he loves basketball. More important, however, is he makes plays.

Meaningful plays that typically have an impact on the eventual result.

Such was the case Saturday at Philadelphia’s High School of the Future, where the 15-year-old Watson was in the middle of things down the stretch as King churned out a 62-58 victory over Del-Val Charter that propelled the surging Cougars (20-7) into Thursday’s Philadelphia Public League championship game at St. Joseph’s University’s Hagan Arena.

Watson netted seven of his eight points in the fourth quarter, the first four on driving finishes at the rim and the final three at the foul line — all of them in the final minute — as King bested Del-Val Charter for the first time in three tries this season.

Ironically, Watson played last season at Del-Val Charter (20-6) and was looking on intently as the Warriors collared the Pub title. And that fact wasn’t lost on him.

“I was in the championship. I was with Del-Val, but I didn’t play,” a grinning Watson gladly shared following King’s blue-collar victory. “It really is satisfying. I’m just hyped.

“I can’t believe I beat my old team.”

Well, Watson did just that ... in a number of ways.

Watson’s first hoop came with some two minutes gone in the fourth quarter when he slashed to the bucket and put a ball high up on the backboard that somehow splashed through, bumping King’s advantage to four points (46-42).

“Practice that all the time. That’s just my game,” admitted Watson, who added two rebounds and four assists to the eight points he scored. “Watch Kyrie Irving do it and I’m doing it in the gym and it’s working again.”

His second finish came just past the midway point of the fourth quarter, another score at the bucket extending King’s lead to nine points (57-48).

"Squid, he’s our motor off the bench,” said junior lead guard Denelle Holly. “He comes in and gets points. We needed it.”

Sure did.

Yet while Del-Val Charter promptly responded by rattling off seven straight to make it a one-possession affair, Sean Colson’s Cougars never yielded the lead.

Watson would not let them.

Sent to the line with 36 seconds showing on the clock for a two-shot look — and with King clinging to a 59-57 lead — Watson failed to convert either attempt.

Nerves? Hardly.

“The first ones, I was shooting the ball too hard,” Watson said. “Then I thought about shooting it soft — and it just went in.”

With King still clinging to its tenuous two-point advantage (59-57) and just 24 seconds showing, Watson knocked down a pair to make it a two-possession game.

Del-Val Charter was able to convert one-of-two with seven seconds to play to make it 61-58, but Watson locked up the win by canning the front end of his final two-shot look. Moments later, the Cougars were celebrating wildly on the Future court.

“I’m just hyped,” Watson cracked.

Might have been the only time his heart rate cracked 50 or his blood pressure spiked even slightly. Otherwise, Watson is just Mr. Cool on the court.

“Squid, he’s a guy who’s from North Philly where I’m from,” Colson said. “I love him that he has no care. I don’t think he realizes how important these things are. He plays like he’s playing in the schoolyard, he doesn’t care there’s [important stuff in play].

“Sometimes, it’s a little, ‘Oh man, careless passes, all this.’ But it’s also there’s no pressure to him. He treats every game like we’re just in the neighborhood and we’re just playing. That’s rare that a kid in 10th grade that’s 15 responds to pressure like that.”