Chasing Amy

with "Amy" being Eric Wallace, sophomore phenom and '07 standout who supposedly already possesses a UNC offer.

So, yeah, last night Jimmy, Joel and I went to check out Wallace and his Glenn team take on Durham Hillside, the No. 3 ranked team in 3-A. The game was at Hillside, and the season was on the line for both teams as it was the sectional final.

As an aside, the high school basketball culture here is so different than back in the Centennial State. I couldn't believe that the gym wasn't packed (it's the freaking PLAYOFFS), and the student bodies were almost completely lacking. It was eerie compared to what I'm used to. That's not to say it wasn't intense--just different. Cheerleaders sitting in the stands and utilizing them as noise-making devices, the band playing cool, hype music (and paying attention to the game), parents standing up and yelling at each other, chants (YOU!.....YOU!......YOU!) and taunts--all that stuff was new and fun. And Jimmy warned me that a brawl was possible, and though it didn't really come close to that--it was easy to see how the escalation could occur.

Anyways, on to the game and Wallace. What a fantastic high school game. Glenn won on a tip-in right before the buzzer, vindicating themselves after nearly getting screwed out of a win by an egregious call by the official. Up 5 with 3 minutes left, two Glenn rebounders grabbed a missed shot, and the ref called a jump ball -- but nobody from Hillside was even touching the ball. Hillside promptly drained a 3, and got a quick basket, and the game was tied with just over 2 minutes left. Wallace missed a key PAIR of free-throws, and Hillside proceeded to kill 2 minutes of clock in order to take the last shot. The plan kind of backfired when they were called for traveling at half-court (after a total play breakdown) with 6.7 seconds left, setting up the exciting finish. Wallace was double-teamed on the inbounds, and couldn't get the ball. The point guard took it, got to the basket but had to throw up a tough shot, which ended up working out when one of Glenn's big guys rose up out of the mass under the basket to tip it in at the buzzer (it was clearly good). At which point everyone on Hillside's team began ripping off their jerseys and collapsing to the floor in tears (I honestly felt really sad for them). The refs ran off the court as Hillside's coach sprinted and profaned to the middle of the court in hot pursuit of them.

Wallace's unofficial line: 7-13, 15 points (1-1 from 3, 2-5 FT), 4 rebounds, 1 block, 2 steals, 0 assists, 1 sick dunk. (He also had a really good game in the semifinals, looking at the stat line)

I have to say I was more impressed by Wallace than the last time I saw him. Clearly, he is far ahead of his peers athletically, and he possesses lots of tools that could make him great. I don't see him as an elite, can't-miss prospect at this stage, though. On the other hand, he's only a sophomore and has plenty of time to improve. He's got as good a chance as anyone, but he'll have to improve.

His line was made somewhat less impressive by the fact that after a fast-paced first quarter, both teams went into bog-done zones and the game slowed noticably. So, scoring 15 points, which was about a third of his team's total, and being the leading scorer even when he wasn't the first option (Glenn's post players were totally domming Hillside's undersized, weak frontline), was actually pretty impressive. He had 12 at halftime, though, so he didn't do much in the second half. That's one of the enigmas about Wallace I have trouble with. He's not very assertive, NEVER trying to get the ball. On one hand that unselfishness is laudable, but I'd still like to see him demand the ball a little more. Like, it was nice to see him convert a crucial 3-point play (his only second half points) to answer a momentum-changing and lead-grabbing run by Hillside. That might have been the most important play of the game. He needs to do that more often.

His shot is decent. It seems like it could be refined a bit, but it is far from unorthodox. Just slightly...weird. His body isn't square to the basket and his arm gets a little loose, but the potential is there. He definitely needs to improve his ballhandling and bring his dribble down a little bit, but he did show a good burst in getting into the lane under control and finishing smoothly. He does everything well and would be an ideal 3 in the ACC -- and with a reliable jumpshot compares to a less-tenacious, unpolished Josh Howard. One area he clearly has problems with is his decision making. He can get his shot when he wants it, but that often leads to him taking poor shots, at inopportune times, or trying to dunk EVERYTHING. This gets him into trouble and really is the only glaring weakness in his game.

So, to resume, he changed my mind last night. He can be really good, I am convinced of that now. But he's not there yet, and won't get there without more work. We'll see over the next two years if he puts in the work necessary to distance himself from other players in his class or if they start to close the gap on him.

If y'all have any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them.