Team-By-Team: Hooyah & Harden Up

By Damon Lowery.‍

Round 7 Edition

Author’s note: These opinions are mine and mine alone. It’s NEVER personal and always about the basketball.

A Hooyah is given for exemplary play and standout performances so if you get one - bask in the glory.

A Harden Up signifies an underwhelming effort or poor play so if you get one of these - cop it and just move on.

Defeated New Zealand, defeated by Brisbane

DOUBLE HOOYAH ALERT

HOOYAH – John Jenkins III: I’ve seen the movie Return of the Living Dead. Now, I’ve seen the Return of the Jumpshot. I’ve been watching you shoot the leather off the ball since your college days at Vanderbilt, so I didn’t overreact when you were in a slump. I knew your stroke wasn’t dead, and it returned in New Zealand, with 4 made triples on your way to 21 points. For the opposition teams, it’s a spooky sign of what’s to come.

HOOYAH – Bryce Cotton: You channelled your inner Freddy Krueger and it was A Nightmare on Cotton Street for the Breakers. Every time you show up in NZ you bring terror. You had 18 heading into the last quarter and then hit back-to-back 3s late in the game to seal the deal and finish with 31 and 6 dimes.

HARDEN UP – Your three-ball: It betrayed you at home against Brisbane. You guys couldn’t hit the side of a barn with a sack full of Halloween candy. 6/32 is not “wassup”.

Defeated by Cairns, defeated Adelaide

DOUBLE HOOYAH ALERT

HOOYAH – Rio Bruton: You not only made your NBL debut, but also made history by becoming the first third-generation player. As you’ve probably heard countless times around the dinner table, your grandfather Cal is an out-and-out legend and Hall of Famer, and your old man, CJ, is a six-time NBL champion and Hall of Famer. Congratulations, young man.

HARDEN UP – Turnovers: Will Weaver was ready to SCREAM watching the disrespect you guys showed for the basketball against Cairns. You’re not going to win many games turning the ball over 25 times.

‍Defeated Brisbane, defeated by Melbourne

HOOYAH – Reyne Smith: The iconic R&B group New Edition sang “Can You Stand the Rain” and that’s what was playing in my head watching you do what you do best. Shooting 41 per cent from downtown qualifies you as a certified sniper. 24 minutes was all you needed to pour in 20 with 4 made triples. Brisbane couldn’t stand the Reyne!

HARDEN UP – Defence: It was lethargic and lifeless, almost zombie-like. You’re all but guaranteed to lose if you give up 113 points and commit 18 turnovers, and that’s exactly what happened when Melbourne came to town and made you guys look like the Walking Dead.

Defeated Perth

DOUBLE HOOYAH ALERT

HOOYAH – Road wins: You haven’t been able to protect your house (it might be haunted like the Amityville house), but when you guys go on the road, you play with more heart. You travelled out west and stunned the Wildcats. Can you win 2 in a row?

HOOYAH – Johnny Narkle: Love the energy, poise, and fearlessness you play with. Coach Tatum subbed you in during crunch time and you rewarded his faith.

HARDEN UP – Pass.

Defeated Cairns

HOOYAH – Josh Oduro: You came into the Cairns game shooting 67 per cent, then proceeded to shoot 8/9 from the field on your way to 26, 6 boards in just 27 minutes. Mr Efficient.

HARDEN UP – Cole Anthony: You stared down the barrel of the camera post-game and with some fruity language, all but demanded the referees show some consistency. When all the refs see that, I don’t think it’s going to help you get some of the calls that you want. Serenity now.

Defeated by Adelaide

DOUBLE HOOYAH ALERT

HOOYAH – Carlin Davison: In The Usual Suspects, Verbal Kint had everyone fooled and by the end of the movie we found out that he was the evil Keyser Soze. I thought you were just a freakishly athletic defensive forward, when you’ve actually been a point guard all along! You had your fourth double-figure assist game this season finishing with 16, 5 boards and 11 dimes. You convinced the world you didn’t exist!

HOOYAH – Charles Bediako: You’re figuring it out. Foul trouble was not an issue, so you got 30 minutes of court time. The 16 points was hard earned, but the 5 block shots were Child’s Play. Great job!

HARDEN UP – Mojave King: Coach Gordie Herbert gave a scathing assessment in his post-game media conference saying the effort was so bad in the first half that he couldn’t play some people. I noticed you only played 14 minutes and managed 5 points. I could be wrong, but he might be talking about you. Bounce back, my man.

Defeated by Sydney and Illawarra

HOOYAH – Brandon Knight: It’s obvious to me you’re now comfortable in your new surroundings. Even though it wasn’t enough for the win, your 27 points, 5 boards and 4 assists against Sydney was evidence of your class.

HARDEN UP – The first quarter: Every team has dished up bad quarters, but your first quarter against Sydney was Insidious. You guys couldn’t stop a runny nose and sat back and watched them hit their first 10 shots, including 7 triples. The quarter ended with the Kings going 13/14 from the field and having a 16-point lead.

Defeated Adelaide

HOOYAH – D'Shawn Schwartz: Now we’re talking. There’s a certain expectation when you’re an import. 27 points on 63 per cent shooting was your season-high and I don’t see a reason why you can’t have many more games like this.

HARDEN UP – Jordi Hunter: Okay, big fella, you had 7 points, 4 boards and 2 blocks in 12 minutes. But you fouled out for the second time, which is too many. #protectyourself

Defeated Perth and Tasmania

HOOYAH – Kendric Davis: That is exactly how you bounce back after a subpar game. I had a feeling you were going to snap against Perth. Your first quarter was perfection; you hit all 7 shots for 16 points. When it was all said and done, you had 24, 7 boards and 9 dimes.

HARDEN UP – Xavier Cooks: I saw something I didn’t think I would ever see: you were on the floor for 32 minutes and only took 2 shots! I couldn’t believe it. You finished with 2 points and luckily walked out with the win.

Defeated by Sydney, defeated South East Melbourne

HOOYAH – Playing with heart: Your roster is currently made up of a handful of players, injury replacement dudes, duct tape, and pure heart. That win over a full-strength Phoenix after you played 48 hours earlier was one of the gutsiest I’ve seen in a while. The MINERALS!

HARDEN UP – David Johnson: You were having a fantastic season averaging 17 a game off the bench. Friday night in Hobart, the injury bug bit when you injured your calf. Now you’re moving like Jason Voorhees. Hopefully, it’s not too serious and you don’t miss much time.

HOOYAH – Competitiveness: What makes the NBL so great is that anyone can win, on any given night. This season is shaping as another all-timer with so much tension and unpredictability. Every away team has won so far this round which is incredible.

HARDEN UP – Andrew Gaze and Derek Rucker: For not dressing up on Halloween. You left my man, Felix, on an island – like Shutter Island. He strolled out dressed as Austin Powers but was the only one in costume. Also, well played because it was good TV.