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Constitution's backcourt chemistry developing

12/12/2017, 11:00am EST
By Josh Verlin

KeShaun "Champ" Hammonds and Constitution improved to 2-1 on Monday night with a win at West Catholic. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Watching the ball zip around the Constitution backcourt, it’s clear this is a new year and something of a new era for the Generals.

The past few years, Constitution has been able to rely on a singular, talented lead scoring guard to pace the team, like Kimar Williams in 2014 and 2015 and then Tamir Green the last two years. It’s not like those two didn’t have plenty of help -- Williams’ teammates included his current Rider teammate Ahmad Gilbert, after all -- but they were both lanky score-first guards who could get off a tough shot late in the clock when needed, even if it meant throwing their bodies at the rim a la Allen Iverson.

Only problem with having such an offensive reliance is that the rest of the players get too comfortable with playing passive.

“No slight to Tamir Green, because I loved coaching him,” Moore said, “but when he got the ball, everybody would stop and stare.”

In Constitution’s 74-71 win over West Catholic on Monday night, there was no such watching and waiting.

The Generals’ backcourt of KeShaun Hammonds, Jahmir Marable-Williams, Hakim Hudson, Tyree Mitchell and more had the ball zipping around the court at West Catholic, with each collecting multiple assists for a team that knocked down eight 3-pointers, almost all of which came in rhythm.

“There’s a lot more communication, setting screens for each other, getting each other open, working together,” said Hammonds, a 6-1 sophomore who goes by the nickname Champ. “Tamir left, so everybody’s got to step up.”

Hammonds led the way in the win over West Catholic, dropping 23 points as the Generals improved to 2-1 on the season. He also dished out four assists and came away with a few steals as well.


Jahmir Marable-Williams (above) is in his first full year at Constitution after transferring from Carroll midway through last season. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Marable-Williams, a 5-11 senior, had 18 points, going 12-of-14 from the line, plus five rebounds and four assists. Hudson, a 6-0 senior, had four points, four rebounds and four assists. Tyree Mitchell, a 5-11 senior, came off the bench for nine points and a couple dimes; 5-9 junior Abdul Riggins had seven points off the bench as well.

“Between Champ, Jahmir, Tyree, Jihad, Hakim...we have guys that can hit shots,” Moore said. “I think that’s one of our biggest strengths, our guard play and our ability to hit shots. And the fact that we should be able to defend and put some pressure on them with the guards we have.”

As a team, the Generals were 8-of-21 (38 percent) from 3-point range and 26-of-37 (70 percent) from the foul line, numbers that will bode well for a successful season if they can maintain them.

And the Constitution backcourt is only about to get stronger. Sitting on the end of the bench Monday night was 6-0 senior Damon Wall, a Philadelphia native and Division I target who had previously been attending Doane Academy (N.J.).

Moore said Wall, who had his first day of class at Constitution on Monday, was still waiting on his paperwork, but they’re expecting him to be able to play later in the week, perhaps as soon as Wednesday’s game at La Salle.

Having the pieces is a good start, but the Generals still have things to work on if they want to avenge last season’s loss to Sewickley Academy in the 2017 PIAA Class 2A championship game.

Leading 66-44 heading into the fourth quarter on Monday, Constitution watched West Catholic -- led by junior guard Imere Harris (27 points) -- chip away over the course of eight minutes to get it down to a one-point game with 10 seconds to play.

Marable-Williams saved the day, hitting two foul shots with 9.7 seconds remaining to push the advantage back to three. Two West Catholic game-tying attempts hit rim.

“It’s good to have these kind of games early in the season to know what we have to work on,” Moore said. “We have a lot of talent, but we have a lot that we have to work on to get better. As a team, they have to be able to look at this stuff, and see individually, as a team, how we kind of folded in the fourth quarter.”

Moore has a healthy corps of seniors to lean on in crunch time, but one in particular comes in with some high-level experience.

Marable-Williams began his high school years at George Washington before going to Archbishop Carroll as a sophomore. He left Carroll midway through last season and came back to Constitution, though Moore didn’t play him until the state tournament run.

After a full offseason with the team, he knows that his experiences in the PCL have him prepared to handle anything the Pub can throw at him, and he’s trying to share his experiences with the younger guards on the team.

“[I’ve] got to be a leader, stay composed and poised, keep a good mental state,” he said. “Can’t get out of control when another team is coming back, trying to take the lead from us. Just have to stay yourself and stay positive.”


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