Live from Chester, PA: Austin, Imhotep Fall Late to #1 Chester (Video)

Rondae Jefferson and Chester hadn’t lost a game against a team from Pennsylvania since March 2010, and they were on the ropes on Friday night, trailing Future Friar Brandon Austin and Imhotep by 12 mid-way through the third quarter.

Chester (ranked #1 in Pennsylvania and #10 in the country according to MaxPreps) is the defending Class AAAA champions and defeated Imhotep (defending Class AA champs) by 20 at the Pete Nelson Classic a year ago.

Friarbasketball.com was on hand as the two met in this event once again on Friday night.  An electric crowd in Chester saw Jefferson make an impossible reverse layup with seven seconds left to break a 61-61 tie and complete the comeback in a terrific game.

Imhotep led throughout the second half, with Austin making a leaner with two minutes left to push the lead to three, but turnovers in the final minute combined an inability to keep Chester off of the offensive glass throughout was their undoing.  They had the final possession of the game, but were unable to get a shot off as the Chester fans rushed the floor as the buzzer sounded.

It was my first opportunity to see Austin in person, and he was steady, if not spectacular, in scoring 18 points to go along with eight rebounds and four assists.  He finished the day 5-12 from the floor, 6-6 from the free throw line and hit a pair of three pointers in the first half.

Looking for a player comparison, he moves like former St. John’s guard Malik Sealy.  Austin spent a good portion of the game manning the point for Imhotep.  He had a few turnovers, dribbling the ball off his foot once and losing his footing on a spin move on another, and he took two or three ill-advised shots, but the PC-signee showed a flawless shot at the free throw line along with a nice touch from beyond the arc and on midrange jumpers.  Perhaps his prettiest shot came when he made a pull-up along the baseline late in the second half (included in video).

Showing versatility, Imhotep posted Austin up at times in which he wasn’t playing the point – looking to take advantage of his length at 6’6.

There were instances in which he could have shown more assertiveness, but as you’ll see in the video below Austin has a well-developed skill set that he showed in spurts on Friday night – with the best coming when he drained a pair of three point shots and got to the line off of a crossover/spin move combo that swung the tide of the game early.  Austin has fine form on his jump shot, and a terrific hesitation dribble that he used effectively throughout.

Rather than make a highlight reel strictly of Austin’s finest moments, I created this video to give fans a sense of how the game flowed – showing both Austin’s highs, but also any struggles on the night.  I believe I captured nearly all 12 of his field goal attempts here.  Like our “PC in 7” videos, this one condenses the game into an eight minute reel to give viewers a sense of how the game developed, versus just focusing on Austin’s top plays.  At times, seeing only the positive can set unrealistic expectations for a young player coming in.

He’s #1 in red, while Jefferson, the left-handed Arizona commit, is #23 in white.  The tip dunk Jefferson threw down in the first half (3:00 minute mark) was one of the best I’ve seen in covering these games.  Amazing.  Jefferson finished with a team-high 18 points for Chester, who also features point guard Conrad Chambers who had 10.  Chambers is a high-level recruit as well, getting mentions with Providence this past fall.

39 Comments

1. 

   Brandon

   December 31, 2012 at 11:31 pm

   that backcourt violation call was incorrect on Imohotep’s second to last possession, they got screwed.
2. 

   FriarFan

   January 1, 2013 at 3:56 am

   How’s is this kids comparable to Malik Sealy at the same stage?!?! Sealy coming into St. John’s was a PF/SF working to expand his game. Sealy was 6’8″/6’9″ front court player with an expanding face up game. He barely shot 3’s (at a low % in college I believe) and was most certainly not a regular primary or secondary ball handler for the Johnies.

   Sorry, I haven’t seen Austin live, but I don’t see that one at all (other than a slender body type obviously).
3. 

   Kevin Farrahar

   January 1, 2013 at 1:15 pm

   FF, I never said his game was comparable at the same stage. Just said “moves like” him. Similar looking jump shot, similar build.
4. 

   Kevin Farrahar

   January 1, 2013 at 2:57 pm

   The Jefferson dunk at the 3:00 mark was #2 on SportsCenter’s top 10.
5. 

   Joe

   January 1, 2013 at 3:47 pm

   big time travel with that dunk

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