Jabarie Hinds of Mt. Vernon (NY) is a 5'10 freshman point guard, but he sure doesn't play like your everyday freshman. Hinds hit the game-winning free throw with three seconds left in his squad's at the Prime Time Shootout against Roman Catholic (PA). Jabarie knocked down one of two, and his team slipped by with a one-point victory. I caught up with the superb freshman not too long after his late game heroics.
NB: So you’re only a freshman. You had the game on the line with three seconds left. How’d you focus on the free throws, . . . and not let the pressure get to you?
JH: Well I didn’t really have [any] pressure. . . . [Head] coach [Bob Cimmino] called a play for me and I just executed, and got to the free throw line.
NB: How about at the line? What did you do to not let the pressure get to you and knock the . . . shot [down]?
JH: I was just thinking about making a free throw because it was a tie game. I just wanted to make the free throws.
NB: When you hit the first, . . . what was your thought process [about the second shot]?
JH: I still wanted to make the second one, but as long as I made one, then we had to play defense.
NB: When the second one rimmed out, what did you guys draw up in the huddle to try to counteract their inbounds play?
JH: Guard number 10 [Maalik Wayns].
NB: Wayns had a great game against you guys. In the first quarter, he had . . . five threes. You guys really shut him down from the second quarter [on]. He really slowed down some more in the second half. What did you do to neutralize him?
JH: We wanted to make him get as few touches as we [could], keep the ball out of his hands, and just play defense.
NB: How helpful is it for you being on such as good team, having the upper-class talent that you guys have, with Sherrod [Wright] and Kevin [Jones]? How does it help you to develop?
JH: Well, they push me in practice, always working hard. They [are] always on my case, so I’m getting better as the season goes on.
NB: You’re only a freshman, but have you started thinking about colleges yet? Any schools [that] you’ve always wanted to go to? Any schools sending you mail?
JH: Yeah, it’s Seton Hall and Marquette, that’s it. They [are] the only ones that sent me [anything]. I’m not thinking about what school I want to go to yet.
NB: [Are you] just focusing on high school?
JH: Yeah.
NB: How are you liking it so far, [with it] just being [your] . . . freshman year?
JH: It’s good.
NB: Do you have any goals for this season and then [in the] bunch of years left . . . while you’re in high school?
JH: Just play hard, just play hard.
Hinds was without a doubt one of the premiere players in the class of 2011 at the event. This is evidenced by the fact that he was on the court with the game on the line, and that he took matters into his own hands by driving to the rack as the clock ran out. Jabarie did not crack under the pressure despite his youth. Hinds' game-winner at the stripe was an impressive feat, displaying that the freshman can come up big in the clutch. My hunch is that is won't be the last time you hear about a key play from Jabarie Hinds.
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