BASKETBALLghana.com columnist Shafic Osman explains OWASS was fundamentally sound during the 2015 Sprite Ball finals after picking bronze.
It is axiomatic that basketball is not as popular as football in this country and thus the level of skills and technique displayed at the high school level of basketball is sub-par to that shown on the international front.
Watching a Whitney Young High School (former school of current Duke University standout, Jahlil Okafor) or St Vincent- St Marys High school (LeBron’s Alma matter) basketball game might lead you to think it is an
NBA game. The same cannot be said of the high school games here in Ghana. However, a few schools are gradually getting the basics of the game right and producing athletic and exciting players, some of whom have been recruited by prep schools and colleges in the USA.
This has been the domain of schools like Mfantsipim and Presec Legon who produced Julian Morgan and Samuel Adjei respectively.
One other school which has been having a steady progress in its basketball program and churning out great players is Opoku Ware Senior High School.
OWASS came into this year’s Sprite Ball championship after having lost in the finals of the Ashanti Regional qualifiers to Prempeh.
Paired in the same group with GSTS, Pope Johns and Temasco, they (OWASS) were highly tipped to break into the quarter finals. And they did not disappoint in this regard. Sweeping off all the teams in their group with convincing wins, OWASS went on to exact revenge against their arch-rivals Prempeh, in the quarters by winning by a 14 points margin. Sadly, their campaign was curtailed by the defending champions, Ketasco.
They however went on to win the third position in another hotly contested game against Bompeh Senior High.
OWASS’s impressive run unlike most other schools’ was not heaped onto the shoulders of one star play but was a collective effort of the entire system.
All starting five players could have easily won the MVP award if the team had eventually won the championship.
Their bench was technically sound and up to the task at all times in the game.
From the sports director, head coach to one indulgent parent, you could always here instructions being hurled at the Akatakyie boys from their bench.
THE STARTING FIVE
- Playing at the point guard position was a diminutive and unassuming 5 foot 4 tall Opare. With amazing dribbling skills and high basketball IQ for a freshman ( form one student), Opare led the offense, distributing no-look passes to the wings, feeding the post and occasionally driving to the rim for a floater. Whenever he was on the ball, you are reminded of Steph Curry. And he was a “Curry” and defence too. Defending the perimeter as best as he could and occasionally stealing the ball from the offense. He averaged 3 steals each game.
- At the shooting guard position and occasionally switching to PG was Adomako who was also a good handler of the ball but better at driving and finishing at the rim.
- The two forwards were Harris and Agyemang whose excellence at cleaning the board cannot be over-elaborated. The pair dominated on both the offensive and defensive ends when it came to bagging in the rebounds stats. Harris was also good with the jump shots and occasionally attempted some good shots from beyond the arc.
- Appiah or as he was affectionately called Khalifa proved that the centre position is not dead. Even though he does not have a towering and imposing figure, he was always present in the paint on both ends, either sitting on an offensive player or posting up on a defensive player. His foot works were reminiscent of the great bigs of the days gone (Olajuwon and Mutombo)
GAME IDENTITY
After an inbound pass ends up in the hands of Opare, he dribbles down the court and feeds it to Adomako who either drives down the lane if it is uncrowded or feeds Appiah who has posted up on a defender.
Agyemang makes a cut and is fed the ball. He either finishes at the rim or kicks it out to Harris who takes a jumper or attacks the rim. Harris sometimes makes the cut instead of Agyemang. On fast breaks, Adomako or Harris usually go all the way to the rim. Finishing was the Achilles heel of this team as their layups were not as crisp as their plays.
COACHING
With how good this team played, of course we cannot overlook the technical bench. Coach K-T deserves to be credited with putting together such a good. His chaps were much disciplined and did not usually get into early foul troubles like most other teams did.
So even though OWASS were not the eventual winners, they impressed all who watched their games with their brilliance and finesse. Considering the fact that only two of their starting five players will be graduating this year ( Adomako and Appiah) with two out of the remaining three being freshmen (Harris and Opare), it is safe to say they are favourites to win next year’s championship. But it is early days yet!
