Team-By-Team: Hooyah & Harden Up

By Damon Lowery.‍

Round 5 Edition

Author’s note: These opinions are mine and mine alone. It’s NEVER personal and always about the basketball.

A Hooyah is given for exemplary play and standout performances so if you get one – bask in the glory.

A Harden Up signifies an underwhelming effort or poor play so if you get one of these - cop it and just move on.

Defeated Tasmania

HOOYAH – Bryce Cotton: You took the braids out, rocked the afro and gave the JackJumpers the business with 35 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Beware “Afro” Bryce.

HARDEN UP – Nick Rakocevic: 13 points and 8 boards was great, but what’s going on with the free throws, my man? 5/13 from the stripe ain’t it. You don’t want teams to initiate Hack-a-Rak!

Defeated South East Melbourne

DOUBLE HOOYAH ALERT

HOOYAH – Mitch Norton: You started as a ball boy for your home team, the Townsville Crocs, and now you’re a captain and two-time champion. Congratulations on 400 games – only the 54th player to reach that milestone. You celebrated with 11 points, 9 boards and the all-important win. You’re one of the good guys.

HOOYAH – Max Mackinnon: You’re only 23 and you’re having a helluva rookie season. You opened a can of “whoop ass” on the Phoenix and damn-near had your first triple-double with 24 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists. Rumble, young man, rumble!

HARDEN UP – Crowd: The Bullets are playing some elite, entertaining ball under Will Weaver and deserve more support. The fans have just gotta find a way to get to the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Boondall and get behind this team.

‍Defeated by South East Melbourne

HOOYAH – Jonah Bolden: This is the version of you I knew was lurking inside – you just needed good health and the right environment. 17 points, 5 rebounds and a couple of dimes was big-time.

HARDEN UP – Losing the absolute plot: To say the game against the Phoenix got away from you would be a gross understatement. After leading at quarter time 35-27, you scored just 48 more points, gave up a crazy 28 offensive rebounds and 115 points.

Defeated Melbourne

HOOYAH – Makur Maker: I’m riding shotgun in the Makur “Mak Truck”. That was some of the best 20 minutes I’ve ever seen. You showed off your impressive skillset, knocking down mid-range turnaround jumpers, 3-pointers, and fell out of the sky with multiple dunks. Then you proceeded to hit the go-ahead 3 to secure the win. My Man!

HARDEN UP – Lamar Patterson: It’s great to see you back in the League getting your first start, but not great watching you go scoreless. You left me no choice; rules are rules and STARTERS MUST SCORE.

Defeated by Illawarra

HOOYAH – Cole Anthony: I know you’re frustrated by the whistles. I’m also frustrated and feel ripped off anytime you’re on the bench for an extended period. You only played 26 minutes due to foul trouble, but those minutes were scintillating. Scoreless in the first quarter, you managed to rack up 24 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. #unguardable

HARDEN UP – Malith Machar: You’ve been providing consistent impact all season so it hurts me to give you this, but I’ve got a job to do. STARTERS MUST SCORE! I know you’ll bounce back.

Defeated Sydney, defeated by Tasmania

DOUBLE HOOYAH ALERT

HOOYAH – Sam Mennenga: The Kings had no one to guard you, so they double-teamed you the whole game, which is the ultimate compliment. But that didn’t stop you from giving them the business with 27 points and 13 rebounds. Then you went to Tassie and had a massive 36 points and 11 boards.

HOOYAH – Carlin Davison: It’s clear you’ve studied at the Parker Jackson-Cartwright Point Guard School during the many training sessions you’ve had together. Filling in for the injured “Lil Big Man”, you exploited the Kings’ defence and made history by becoming the first Breaker to produce 20 points, 14 assists and 4 steals. Then you went to Tassie and notched up another double-double with 17 points and 11 assists.

HARDEN UP – Kouat Noi: I know you’ll take this the right way. You started the season underdone, but it’s been 8 games now and you haven’t shown that instant impact that earned you a Sixth Man of the Year. 4 points and only 1 rebound in 12 minutes begs the question: When will “Big Shot Kouat” show up?

Defeated by Sydney

HOOYAH – Dylan Windler: Missing Kristian Doolittle and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr, you had to shoulder a much bigger load and you didn’t disappoint with a near triple-double, 19 points, 8 assists and 8 rebounds.

HARDEN UP – Elijah Pepper: You had one helluva run, my man: 4 straight games with 25 points will likely stand for a very long time. I knew the streak would have to end, but I didn’t think it would end with a big fat jam-filled donut. 0 points in 22 minutes on 0/7, damn!

Defeated by Brisbane, defeated Cairns

DOUBLE HOOYAH ALERT

HOOYAH – Jordi Hunter: Fatherhood suits you. A couple days after welcoming your son, August, you turned in a classic “Dad game” with a big double-double, 19 points and 11 rebounds.

HOOYAH – Nathan Sobey: Coming off an embarrassing loss, you were an emotional catalyst and dominated with 29 points, 8 boards and 6 assists.

DOUBLE HARDEN UP ALERT

HARDEN UP – Yannis Morin: I’ve got an endless supply of “Harden Ups” and you’re leaving me no choice but to slap another one on you for that 2-point, 3-rebound game in Brisbane. I know you were only out there for 15 minutes, but you’re better than that. You proved yourself against Cairns with a solid 11-point, 10-rebound double-double.

HARDEN UP – Defence: The 39 3-point attempts you’re averaging is no longer an issue for me; it’s your team defence that’s been “holier than thou”. You let the Bullets treat you like traffic cones on their way to 115 points.

Defeated by New Zealand, defeated Perth

HOOYAH – Torrey Craig: You finally exploded and showed off your arsenal against the Breakers. You gave ’em turnaround jumpers, step-backs and 7 threes on your way to a team-high 28.

HARDEN UP – Bench mob: You guys hung the starters out to dry. You played a combined 38 minutes against the Breakers and went 1/8 for just 4 points. Brian Goorjian was probably thinking, “Can you help a brother out?”

Defeated by Adelaide, defeated New Zealand

HOOYAH – Taran Armstrong: In a League dominated by import guards, you reminded everyone that you’re the real deal, racking up your first double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 assists. Then you gave the Breakers your career-high 32 points.

HARDEN UP – Foul discipline: This is desperately needed on the island. You put the 36ers to the line 29 times and they converted 20 of ’em. Stop hacking!

HOOYAH – Competitiveness: You can throw a blanket over a bunch of teams who can win it this year. Eight teams are just one win apart. This season is as tight as I can remember. After each round the ladder almost gets turned upside down.

HARDEN UP – The social media curse: To the social media team that pumped up Elijah Pepper and called him “Mr Consistent” after he had 4 x 25-point games in a row – you did him dirty! The curse is real because he went out and had a big donut versus the Kings.