Varsity Boys Basketball Shatters Pre-Season Expectations - 3/5/2007
In retrospect, the Midlands high school hoops scene seemed to miss something about Hammond’s 2006-2007 Varsity Boys Basketball squad. But now that all is said and done, one fact is clear; the Skyhawks were superb. Need proof? The varsity boys ended the season with a record of 22-7 overall clenching the 2007 State Runner-Up title. In their region, the boys boasted an 8-2 record, seizing the Regular Season Championship which was reinforced by winning the Region Tournament Championship.
Head Coach Jimmy Braddock saw his team’s potential early in the season, saying “I thought [a championship] would be possible, but we’d have to play just phenomenally…a lot of kids have played above their ability.”
Another factor in Hammond’s success has been the development of a bench. During the season, the Skyhawks evolved from a squad with little depth to one that uses 11 players.
“As the season has progressed, the starters have all improved, but the biggest thing has been our bench,” Braddock said. “Any one of the guys can come in off the bench and keep doing what we like to do.”
Individual honors were awarded to Junior Daniel Bailey who was named the Region Player of the Year and Head Coach Jimmy Braddock, named the Region Coach of the Year.
In other Hammond hoops, the Varsity Girls (17-14 overall, 7-3 region), Junior Varsity Boys (15-5 overall, 7-3 region) and Junior Varsity Girls (11-10 overall, 5-5 region) posted winning records and the Middle School Girls (3-9 overall, 1-7 region) and Middle School Boys (6-8 overall, 1-6 region) exhibited a resilient character throughout the season.
In retrospect, the Midlands high school hoops scene seemed to miss something about Hammond’s 2006-2007 Varsity Boys Basketball squad. But now that all is said and done, one fact is clear; the Skyhawks were superb. Need proof? The varsity boys ended the season with a record of 22-7 overall clenching the 2007 State Runner-Up title. In their region, the boys boasted an 8-2 record, seizing the Regular Season Championship which was reinforced by winning the Region Tournament Championship.
