Chess vs Checkers Equals Victory For Cimarron!

Cheyennes’ checker style play was no match for Kevin Olekaibe 40 point out burst that echoed throughout the gym with an upset victory, Checkmate!

Kevin “50″ Olekaibe was short of 50 but 40 points was enough to beat Cheyenne.

Walking into the Cimarrons’ gym for the first time I was feeling awsome. I just purchased a ticket for 5 dollars to see one of the best teams in the Vegas valley, Cheyenne and the kid that they call “50″ aka Kevin Olekaibe. By the end of the first quarter Kevin lived up to his name 50 but Cheyenne looked like they were running around on the track and dropping the baton on every hand off. Cheyenne let Kevin get off to a great start by letting him touch the ball anytime he wanted. Which led to 12 points in the first quarter and a large lead that they were never able to recoup from.This game was an intense game with two different styles of play. Cheyenne played athletic and Cimarron played IQ ball. The game was a simple chess vs checker game and here is my terminology for the phrase.

Checkers: Is when you roll the ball out on the court and let the talent run as fast as they can north and south and throw the brown-orange ball in the 10 foot circular area hoping for positve outcomes.

Checkers: is when you scratch your head and say, “Jalen Henry signed with Eastern Washington, give him the ball on every play and cut and move out the way!

Lots of fast breaks with horrific decision making led to the consequences of a painful loss for the visiting team. Playing Checkers for the whole game is great for stats but not so great when you don’t take advantage of the mismatches on the floor.

Chess: Is when you set up plays for your top players and what typically happens is you get less turnovers and more conversions. Whalaa!

Understanding who can do what is very important for the team to be organized especially down the stretch.

Check: Coach Boyack implemented some simple effective sets with counters to top heavy pressure which lead to back doors and cut thru’s to the the week-side in which Kevin showed how effective he is moving without the ball which led to Kevin “50″ Olekaibe scoring 15 points in the 4th quarter checkmate!

For Vegas hoop heads, if you haven’t seen this kid play check out this link to see a few of his shakes and looks. Here is a breakdown of Kevin “50″ Olekaibe game. Please notate, this highlight is only from one game. He could have had an off night! Sorry bad banter.

“PoP” Scouting Report:

Kevin Olekaibe: Very effective first step, excellent body control on his finishes, loves to hit the deep three which gets him going, awesome confidence, lights out shooter on the dribble and from the catch with quick release, shot the ball going left and has a counter hesitation that is tough to stop. Knocks down free throws, has a winning demeanor and loves to compete. Doesn’t run away from the ball. Commanded the ball the from the start of the game. Primarly a 2 guard in the game but has the IQ to play th point in college along with a great shake handle. Not much of a passer but thats not his role on this team. Plays the whole game so he gets a few breaks on defensive while they sit in a zone match up which confused Cheyenne. He definitely has the foot speed and the agression to play pressure man to man. My last notation is that he is a winner before he is a scorer. He choose to pass up several shots to only get the ball back on a few ball rotations and drill the three or catch a back door cut. Kevin “50″ Olekaibe is a player that is an explosive offensive machine.

PremierBall would like to give thanks to Cimarron Coach Steve Boyack for access.

The game was a fantastic game to watch from both sides. It taught you or reminded you the “rules of basketball.” The best talent doesn’t win all the time! Its the best team that wins most of the time. Second the team that plays better chess with there talent is the team that gets to say Checkmate, game over!

Cimarron 71- Cheyenne 63!

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