His name is Andre Iguodala (pronounced Ig-woo-DAH-la), and you’ll be hearing a lot about this splendid 6-foot-6-inch forward from Springfield Lanphier.
Get to know the name. He can play all five positions on the court with equal dominance, and most dangerous of all, he is the point man on Lanphier’s 1-2-2 full-court press.
“We tried to attack the press with passes, but Iguodala created all kinds of havoc at the front with his long arms,” said Thornwood forward Melvin Buckley after he and his teammates were beaten 66-50 by Lanphier in the Class AA quarterfinals Friday night.
Lanphier (31-1) will play Centralia (26-5) in Saturday’s semifinals.
Iguodala ignited a press that forced 13 Thornwood turnovers en route to a 34-20 halftime lead. Iguodala’s steal and dunk early in the third quarter put the Lions ahead by 20, although Thornwood (27-5) cut the deficit to 53-42 after three quarters behind Buckley (16 points) and David Moss (11).
But Lanphier’s role players proved too much to handle, and an 11-0 run at the outset of the fourth quarter put the Lions ahead by 22.
Concentrating on containing Iguodala (17 points, 8 assists, 3 steals) and Richard McBride (14 points) left the rest of the teammates wide open. Point guard Tony Smith responded with 21 points and three steals, and Niccos Scott added 10 points.
“Iguodala and McBride are very special players,” said Thornwood coach Kevin Hayhurst. “They have big, strong bodies and are very difficult to guard. One on one, you have to give all kinds of help, and that creates opportunities for their teammates. They get the ball to the open man, and those guys were able to finish.”
Thornwood was finished after failing to handle Lanphier’s defensive pressure, especially Iguodala, who may back out from signing a letter of intent with Arkansas after the Razorbacks bought out the contract of coach Nolan Richardson. Kansas was a close second in his college decision.
“Springfield attacked us with that full-court press, and that was one of the weaknesses we had this year,” Hayhurst said. “Our kids tried to spread the floor, but Springfield’s quickness and ability to anticipate passes really created some easy baskets. All the turnovers and putbacks they got were too much to overcome.”
Lanphier forced 20 turnovers, including 12 steals, and dictated the game’s tempo.
“We can put that kind of pressure on any team,” said Iguodala. “We play hard and put a lot of pressure on the guards.”
