Freire's Booker: 'We'll be back . . .'

It wasn't hard for Octavious Booker to choose to look forward.

After all, he's only a freshman and there will by many happy moments on basketball courts. And, he assures us, no more bouts with knuckleheadism.

The 6-4, 200-pound forward is a budding star at Freire Charter. He was having a pretty good season, but now the past tense must be used.

The end came last night at Norristown High as the Dragons fell to Reading Central Catholic, 54-45, in the second round of the PIAA Class A state tournament. You could say, however, that this was more of a stoppage than an end, seeing as how Freire's nine-man roster includes nothing but underclassmen.

"This was our taste," Booker said. "Over the next few years, we'll be back and we'll really know what it takes."

For Booker, who's already built rather well, one thing it'll take is more strength.

"Next year, I'll be hitting the weight room," he said, smiling.

He then gave it some thought. "Maybe tomorrow."

Booker's main opponent last night was Colin Naugle. At 6-6, he's taller. And he's strong enough to be mistaken for a farm boy.

Though Booker did snag 13 rebounds, continuous nudging by the crafty Naugle sentenced him to 0-for-8 miseries from the floor and he did not score a point, his one and only, until sinking the front end of a one-and-one with 55.3 seconds remaining.

The assorted goings-on did not much matter by that point because RCC was in command. But getting off the schneid meant a lot to Booker and, in time, so will the entire evening and the events leading up to it. Some already do. Especially the off-the-court variety.

Because he had problems attending school, and then behaving on those days when he did so, Booker was forced to spend time in a discipline school.

Now he's considered a model citizen and earns Bs in the classroom.

"The Freire people gave me a chance to better my life and I'm taking advantage," Booker said. "Acting crazy. Not showing up. Disappointing people. That's not going to get you anywhere.

"I was able to get to Freire because of basketball and now my coaches are showing me how to become a player. I'm still learning. Every little thing they teach me, I try to do it."

Unfortunately for Freire, one thing Booker got to practice early and often was catching the ball as it swished through the net after yet another RCC three-pointer.

In all, the Cardinals went 10-for-23 on threeballs and the by-quarter breakdown was 3-2-3-2. They notched just eight regular field goals and scored the rest of their points at the line (all in the fourth quarter).

Freire coach Lawrence Threadgill began in a standard zone and later switched to a box-and-one with the deficit at 19-13.

"I didn't see them in person, but did get two reports," he said. "They said this team had very good shooters, so we did know that. The thing was, I was told it was even more dangerous to play them man-to-man because they were so good at screening and working away from the ball."

Said Booker: "We had trouble getting to their shooters. And they were definitely hitting."

The Dragons did have their moments. A trey by Jarrod Denard (17 points) vaulted them into a 23-21 lead and, just before the half, Antoine "Blueberry" Singleton turned a steal into an easy layup and a 25-21 score.

The Cardinals soared to 22 of the next 31 points. Shykee Brooks, Rysheen Dorn and Victor Pomales, in that order, did well while stalking Matt Ashcroft (four early treys), but three of his teammates combined for five longballs of their own.

Freire, despite the long odds, opted not to fade. Dorn's three-point play and Denard's bucket, which followed a Singleton steal, almost immediately reduced the deficit from nine to four.

Then came a killer that was actually kind of funny.

Standing in the right corner, RCC's Brendan Riley used both hands to push the ball high toward the rim in entry-pass fashion. Swish! Unbelievable.

"We got a lot out of this season," Booker said. "We did well in the Public League [advancing to the semifinals as the Class A champion] and played two games in the states. We're all coming back and we're all in this together."

Said Threadgill: "Experience. That's what we take into next year. And watch, we're going to do something with it."*