Last year, the graduation of Nick Hunter, Jonny Katz, Russell Fisher, and Muze Beale presented numerous issues for the Bruins. At the conclusion of last season, I highlighted the concerns that Geffen basketball would face with their lack of interior size and the array of new, unproven faces that would be inevitably promoted to the varsity team. For the first three games of the year, those concerns looked like they were more than warranted. The team lost their first three games by a combined eighty points. The only offensive stability Geffen Academy had was in the form of Junior Stevan Markovic. Offensive rebounding, transition defense, and ball security were all massive problems. All signs pointed towards a shift back to the past, to the seasons when Geffen Academy basketball was little more than an afterthought. Back to where the Bruins' athletes were praised for the "dedication" and "commitment to the team" at the end-of-season awards banquet.
What has happened to Bruins basketball since they fell to Sherman Oaks on a windy Wednesday at the end of November has been nothing short of remarkable. They've won their last five contests by an average of thirty points. Stevan Markovic has put up some of the greatest performances in Geffen Academy history. Nathan Muhumuza has returned from his stress fracture and looks just like himself. Ethan Hong, Geffen's defensive wizard last year, has taken the next step offensively. The arrival of Mason Sugimoto has given Geffen Academy some firepower off the bench, or another complimentary piece in the starting lineup. Perhaps the most impressive part is that both Jordy Ohebsion and Noah Saucedo have been essentially non-factors, with Ohebsion's finger injury sidelining him for the last couple of weeks (and reportedly through early January) and Saucedo getting off to a rough shooting start from the field.
It would be malpractice if I didn't point out that three of these five wins came against Avalon, Lennox, and Lakeview, games the Bruins knew they'd win when they walked into the gym. But their one-point win at De Toledo was perhaps their best win in a long time, at least since I've been covering the team. (Especially considering Geffen Academy had just gone 1-3 on that same court a fortnight ago). And their victory today, over the Wildwood Wolves, was as important as any. The Willows Community School had been a house of horrors for Geffen in the best, and while Wildwood was short their top player, the Bruins blew the Wolves out of the water. Muhumuza had 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. Markovic had 24 points and 10 rebounds. The Bruins expect, and need, those two to produce on a night-in, night-out basis. Who the "third guy" will be has typically rotated so far this year: Connor Branch, Sugimoto, Saucedo, and Matthew Yoon have all done it so far. Tonight, it was Ethan Hong's 13-point effort (with three three-pointers) that supplemented Muhumuza and Markovic's scoring. The Bruins, after falling behind 5-2, never trailed again and beat Wildwood 74-38.
After the final buzzer sounded, Coach Devon McNairy pulled his players into a huddle and told them, "You're the scariest [expletive] team in this goddamn league." He's got a point. At 5-3, the Bruins look as scary as they've ever been. They'll look to make it six in a row against divisional rival Vistamar on Wednesday at 5:30 at UCLA's Student Activity Center.
Note: For those interested, I'm including links to the stat sheets at the bottom of each article moving forward. It contains each player's name, jersey number, points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, and team turnovers.
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