City of Basketball Love

Michael Bullock (@thebullp_n)
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As they worked out religiously during a handful of off days stretching back to the beginning of the week, one particular phrase was repeated over and over and over again every time Imhotep Charter gathered for practice.

“The job’s not done. The job’s not done.”

Still miffed and burned up about not advancing deeper in last season’s Philadelphia Public League playoffs — and not having a chance to claim the Pub championship — Daron Russell and his driven Imhotep teammates are determined to not let a similar fate strike them this time around as they continue their quest for a title.

And late Saturday afternoon in the second of two semifinals at Philly’s High School of the Future, with a solid crowd looking on, Andre Noble’s remarkably effective Panthers ran their winning streak to 14 games by uncorked a clinical first half that led to them running over, through and past Math, Civics and Sciences 89-57.

“We didn’t play in like four or five days, so the hunger was definitely there,” Russell said.  “The main focus was to get to the championship game and win the championship, so that just kept us motivated in practice.

“We just keep telling each other, ‘The job’s not done. The job’s not done.’ We’ve got to get to the championship and finish the championship.”

Saturday was just one more impressive step toward accomplishing that objective.

Russell banked 21 of his 26 points in the opening half as Imhotep wheeled to a commanding 50-21 halftime lead that put them in splendid position to stretch their sparkling winning streak to 14 games.

“What it looked like today, that’s when Imhotep’s playing good,” Noble said. “We’ve just got to be able to produce that consistently. … I thought we played really well.”

Up next for Noble’s Panthers (24-2) is a matchup in Thursday’s Public League championship game with a Martin Luther King squad (20-7) that’s won its last eight. No. 8 came earlier on Saturday when the Cougars downed Del-Val Charter 62-58.

Robert Morris recruit Koby Thomas added 16 points and eight boards off the bench for Imhotep — and Jamil Riggins tossed in 10 — which through the first three quarters shot just under 56 percent from the floor (29-for-52) and 45 percent from the arc (9-for-20).

By then, all of Imhotep’s regulars were parked comfortably on the bench.

Impressive might not comprehensively cover how effective the Panthers were, although imagine winning by 30-plus points with South Carolina recruit David Beatty winding up with just two points. Beatty’s props come following his first-half defensive effort as he limited MCS’ Malik Archer to just three points — all from the line.

Archer still wound up with 25 points — and Anthony McFall pocketed 15 — but the 6-3 senior totaled 17 of those in the third quarter. And by then, it was way too late.

In fact, the closest Dan Jackson’s Mighty Elephants (18-9) got in the third was 25 points (63-38) following two Archer freebies. Moments later, Imhotep led 74-40.

“I felt like it was gonna be a big game, because I don’t want to go home,” a serious Russell admitted. “That’s how I came out. I was playing desperate. Last year, Del-Val got us and I didn’t want them to get us this year.”

Let’s just say Russell playing desperate was mighty, mighty special for everyone in Imhotep red — along with those marveling from the bleachers. Russell canned eight of his 13 shots in the opening half and was 5-for-9 from beyond the arc.

In several cases, several feet beyond the arc.

“Fatts is the best point guard in America,” a grinning Beatty exclaimed during a momentary pause after emerging from the locker room.

“We expect that from him every game. We expect him to be really, really good every game,” Noble said of his two-time all-state backcourt star. “The alarm is when he’s not playing well and what the hell’s going on. We expect it from him.

“I tell everybody, ever since his sophomore year, I know we’ve got a lot of good guards in this area but I really think he’s the best in the state,” Noble continued. “And when he’s going like that, I’ll take him over everybody.”

Yet with Russell going like that, Thomas netting 12 of his 16 before the halftime break and Donte Scott splashing a couple of deep treys and controlling the backboards, City of Basketball Love’s top-ranked Class 4A side was on one of those high-octane rolls.

Throw in Beatty’s D before the break and there was a lot to like.

“Oh my goodness,” Russell mentioned. “He had a lot of defensive lapses in other games, so we just talked to him like, ‘Defense, Dave. Defense, Dave.’

“He wanted Malik Archer this game, he said he got him and he said he was gonna shut him down. That’s exactly what he did.”

Noble certainly wasn’t surprised.

“David Beatty has been selfless about this basketball team,” Noble said. “For a kid that’s as good a player as he is, when he’s selfless like that and just focused on winning … he was happy coming out of the game today. When you’ve got players and really good players that are focused like that on winning, you’re gonna be successful.

“I thought he did an amazing job on Archer and that’s what we asked for him to do and to get to the rim,” Noble continued. “Some of the plays that didn’t work for him were what he wanted to do offensively, but he’s been great all year for us and been a great team guy — whether he scores 20 or he scores four.

“He really doesn’t care and that’s a credit to who he is as a person.”

Saturday, Beatty’s selflessness was merely one part of an impressive Imhotep performance that had to rank as one of the Panthers’ best thus far.

Can they play better?

“I would love to say we can,” Russell said of an Imhotep club that committed just three first-half turnovers while forcing nine. “We made a couple defensive mistakes that we need to tighten up, but on the offensive end we just shot the lights out of the ball.”

After all, the job’s not done.