But the main attraction was watching 6-foot-3 Harbor senior Colin Gruber, who ended up totaling 39 points and 14 rebounds. Next year, he'll be on scholarship at Northern Arizona.
He plays for his Dad, Mike, who is retiring after 28 years at the helm of the Pirates and that 'son of a coach' connection is evident.
The younger Gruber plays with no wasted motion -- every movement has a purpose. "Show time' isn't in his vocabulary.
One play in particular stood out. After a steal, Gruber came down court on a dribble-drive against a solitary defender. As the opponent retreated to just about under the net, Gruber stopped, took advantage of the wide open look and popped a jump shot from eight feet. 99% of others in today's hoops world would have gone all the way to the rim.
He chose the jumper rather than face the possibility of a charge. Gruber's shot missed but he then grabbed the rebound due to the defender being out of position and scored on a shorter shot.
Also keep in mind that Harbor loses if Gruber is off the court for any period of time. Not that he was in foul trouble at any point in the game but he seemingly calculated all this, resulting in his choice of shot.
Gruber will need to add strength -- as do most freshman entering college basketball -- but Coach Mike Adras run a guard-oriented style and a number of other D-1 coaches are going to rue the day they passed on Gruber. For one, he would be perfect for Stew Morrill's system at Utah State.
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