July 21, 2008
Watch out for the Glue Guy
It may not be a glamorous title but every team needs and values a Glue Guy. You know, the player who doesn’t necessarily fill up the stat sheet or create Kodak moments but willingly takes on the tasks necessary for a squad to perform at its best. It’s someone who provides intangibles. As has been noted recently in the media, the Detroit Pistons’ Tayshaun Prince and his selection to the United States 2008 Olympic basketball team exemplifies this.
Chris Head is just such a player -- at least for now.
Chris Head
We often come away from a game mesmerized by a high-flying dunk, dramatic shot-block or a long-range trey. These memories become imprinted in our consciousness because of the athletic and skill display surrounding them and also due to television highlights almost exclusively focusing on such feats. But in doing so, we often fail to see what preceded the highlight occurence such as the the seemingly effortless pass, the overlooked defensive anticipation leading to a steal or the mundane dribble-drive prior to a kick-out pass.
A member of the ultra-successful St. Mary’s (Berkeley) High School team, he has received far less media attention than his teammates, including the brothers Brew and Lee, and because Aalim Moor is ahead of him as the lead guard. But Head’s fine with that because his prep team just completed a marvelous 33-2, 15-0 season with next year looking just as good, and he’s being noticed by some schools anyway. Plus, he’ll be seen throughout the summer in various tournaments across the country as a member of the Oakland Soldiers II team.
But basketball wasn’t always his sole sports endeavor. "I tried every sport," he said, "soccer, football, baseball -- you name it -- but basketball won out. I like the constant individual challenge of it." Bloodlines may or may not have been influential as James Head, Chris’ father, played college hoops at Georgia some time back.
When asked about what he does best on the court, the 6-foot-1, 175 pound senior-to-be offered, "Playing good defense is my top asset but I can also pass and be creative." Conversely, he is working on improving his shot, his ballhandling and his confidence level.
The latter is already blooming in the classroom as Head boasts a 3.45 grade point average. So, this proud native of East Oakland is already performing in the classroom and expectations are a larger exhibition on the court is forthcoming.
Here’s basketball trainer and Slam-N-Jam organization member Carl Foster on Head: "He is the most underrated point in northern California but he plays at a school loaded with five Division I-bound teammates. Chris is super aggressive, athletic, a good on-the-ball defender and attacks the basket well on dribble-drives and after receiving a pass."
But what may be the most interesting on-the-court aspect of all is that Head will play his final year of high school basketball as a 16-year-old senior -- thus providing whichever college basketball program he chooses a larger window than usual regarding the extent of his down-the-road potential.
This Glue Guy may very well morph into someone who displays much more in college than as a high schooler.