Hinds goes out a winner, leads Mount Vernon to 'AA' crown (original) (raw)
Mount Vernon celebrates the title. (an rong xu)
ALBANY – Jabarie Hinds’ was lifted to the sky, an MVP plague in his hands as adoring teammates, family and friends surrounded the senior star.
His final moment in a Mount Vernon basketball jersey was one he will never forget. The same goes for his final game.
The West Virginia-bound guard scored 14 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter and overtime of Mount Vernon’s thrilling 84-78 victory over Christ the King in the New York State Federation Class AA final at the Times Union Center.
“I couldn’t ask for much more than winning a state and Federation [championship] my senior year,” said Hinds, co-Mr. New York Basketball with Achraf Yacoubou. “Ten years from now, I can say my senior year I won the state and Federation titltes. That’s a great feeling.”
The title was Mount Vernon’s fifth Federation crown, which leaves them one short of Rice for the most in tournament history, and first since 2006. Hinds, the 6-foot southpaw guard who has been on the varsity since the eighth grade, made sure to go out on top after recent playoff failure.
“I guess he decided he wanted to go out a winner,” Mount Vernon coach Bob Cimmino said.
His unselfishness enabled teammates like Khald Samuels, Randy Stephens and Isaiah Stephens to gain confidence throughout the year and he took over when the opportunity presented itself. Against arguably the best backcourt in the city – George Mason-bound Corey Edwards and highly recruited junior Omar Calhoun – Hinds was unstoppable. He scored off the bounce, he sank long jump shots and he made 7-of-9 free throws.
In Saturday’s semifinal victory over Boys & Girls, Hinds only scored 17 points, but got the game’s biggest two, a leaning bank shot that pushed a two-point lead to four with 1:02 remaining.
“He’s the real reason we were even in the game; he took over,” Samuels said. The two have played together for several years, so Samuels wasn’t suprised by the performance. He’s gone one-on-one with Hinds in practice for years.
“He can do a lot,” Sanuels said. “If you try to play close on him, he’s going to go right by you. If you back off on him, he can shoot the jumper. He just has a lot of tools.”
Beyond his well-chronicled ability, what separates him from other great players, Cimmino said, is Hinds’ poise. He doesn’t show emotion on the court. When things aren’t going well, he remains focused on the task at hand, refusing to let a missed shot or turnover adversely affect his defense or next offensive possession.
“He doesn’t bury himself when things aren’t breaking his way and he’s able to then step it up when the time is right,” Cimmino said.
Hinds was going down as an all-time great at Mount Vernon before this weekend, or even the PHSAA tournament the weekend before, for that matter. But the last two weeks, Cimmino said, solidified his legacy, how he willed his team back to the top of the state. In 17 years, Cimmino has coached many great players, Mr. New York State Basketball honorees, top Division I talent and even an NBA guy in Ben Gordon. Hinds, the coach said, is up there.
“It’s one and two,” Cimmino said. “Him and Ben Gordon and I don’t know the order.”