Thomas Jefferson's Thaddeus Hall and Boys & Girls' Leroy (Truck) Fludd have both guaranteed victory in Saturday's PSAL Class AA final.
“For whatever reasons, he’s been a Boys High killer since last year,” Jefferson coach Lawrence (Bud) Pollard said. “They seem to bring the best out of him.”
Fludd has enjoyed a remarkable season in his own right, leading the Kagnaroos back to the Garden as their only returning starter. He improved his jump shot over the summer and has remained a fierce rebounder and finisher, leading Brooklyn AA in points and rebounds during the regular season.
“He’s been there all year. I think he’s the Player of the Year in the PSAL,” Boys & Girls coach Ruth Lovelace said. “He doesn’t get credit, but also he’s guarding the best offensive player on the other team and he’s a constant on the boards. … He has the best all-around game [in the city].”
Hall feels he is in already in Fludd’s head, just by how much he is talking. Soft-spoken and somewhat reserved, Fludd has responded to Hall’s boasts, saying he can’t guard him and he should be Player of the Year no matter what happens.
“He’s doing it because I’m doing it,” Hall said. “That’s an advantage for me. He’s gonna try to guard me and he’s gonna get cooked again, like in the boroughs.”
Either way, history will be made at the Garden. Either Boys & Girls (23-6) will win its third straight title for the first time in program history or Jefferson will claim its first crown since 1954.
“We’ve come too far and been through too much to lose this game,” Hall said. “I know for a fact we’re gonna win this game.”
Make no mistake, the Hall and Fludd matchup will be the game inside the game, the two skilled wings matching up at both ends of the floor. But Boys High coach Lovelace said he won’t depend solely on Fludd to limit Hall. Rashad Andrews, a long 6-foot-4 forward, will see time on Hall, along with guards Tyliek Kimbrough and Wesley Myers.
“We’re not gonna change anything,” she said. “I’m not into gimmicky things. We have to play team defense. I think our defense last five, six games has really stepped up.”
The Kangaroos, indeed, have played exceptionally well on the defensive end in the postseason, holding stars such as Gompers’ Carlos Galan, South Shore’s Terrence Samuel and Shamiek Sheppard and Lincoln’s Isaiah Whitehead to well below their season averages.
Hall’s big performances, anyway, would’ve been moot had Boys High held onto large leads in the last two matchups, Lovelace said. Missed free throws and turnovers were the Kangaroos’ downfall.
“We didn’t close out those games,” she said.
Jefferson is a second half team. A large portion of its victories have been of the comeback variety. It was down eight points to Wings Academy in the second half in last Saturday’s PSAL Class AA semifinals and was four behind in the final minute before rallying for the dramatic victory, with Hall scoring five points in the final 7.7 seconds regulation.
Hall has been calling himself the best player in the city for a while, and he’s backed up that talk. He’s averaging over 27 points per game in six playoff contests, led Jefferson to its first Brooklyn AA and Brooklyn borough crowns and recently picked up scholarship offers from St. John’s, Maryland and Hofstra, among others.
“There’s not a player in the city better than him,” Jefferson coach Lawrence (Bud) Pollard said. “There’s nothing he can’t do right now.”
Fludd has the advantage of playing in the Garden before, each of the previous two years in fact, and knowing what to expect while this is a completely new experience for Hall
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