Zoe Collins Rath
Dec 5, 2021
Tsunami's Fields and Fuller made landfall on the Brunswick Wildcats at the Sussex Invitational on Saturday night and they are just getting started with their damage.
Junior Chris Fields Jr. and senior Bernard Fuller combined for a total of 48 points of the Wave's 82 points on the night. While everyone else was involved in the Petersburg Crimson Wave boys basketball team's 82-44 victory over the Wildcats, the bigs from the block made a lasting impression.
The Wave's season was shortened last year due to COVID and the team came out firing on all cylinders with a 10-0 run to make up ground for this year. Two back-to-back dunks, including one from Fuller, started the Wave's energy to keep pushing.
Reaching their crest on the game was inevitable.
Fuller used his long limbs to save loose balls or shots with a little bit too much from the knees. He was under the basket fighting a Wildcat or two for a chance to see the glass. If he was fouled, he would make up for the miss on the line.
The 18 points Fuller would put up from first and second-chance shots gave the Crimson Wave more time to work on their offensive set and have another chance on defense to get another play. Fuller had nine rebounds on the night. Head Coach Ryan Massenberg is a defensive coach and his teachings were front and center.
"We tried to create turnovers, not trying to gamble...," he said after the game.
Creating turnovers and getting steals was what Fuller was trying to do. He and Fields reached for the ball to disrupt a dribble and eventually steal. Fuller had two steals during the game.
"I was more impressed with his hustle play than scoring," Massenberg said of the second-year varsity veteran Fields.
With a double-double (28 points- 16 rebounds) Fields made his presence known on the court by helping the defense. Like Fuller, he would score a lot of points on second-chance shots. But down on the block, the post player went to work.
Fields got the ball low and bodied his defender. Taking a dribble to prevent a travel call and move his defender, Fields would fake one way and drive the opposite. Fields would draw a foul almost every time since his defender would try to block his shot from behind, rather than from the front.
Defensively, Fields' hands found the ball and did all he could to save it. To make sure a ball didn't go out of bounds, with sheer effort and practice from drilling it, he dove.
Many times, full body extension.
"Diving for loose balls is something Chris normally doesn't do," Massenberg said. "But he's getting better.
While some attempts were more successful than others, Fields left his mark on the court that night with his effort and showed a different side of what he can do. He if was able to steal (he had four) he would channel the abilities of senior guards CJ Claiborne or Tylik Lawrence.
Fields would snag a steal and dribble up the court, move defenders by changing direction, and bounce the ball behind his back. After securing the ball again he would either take his defenders or pass.
The effort from the two bigs created scoring chances for the Wave in transition. Once Fuller or Fields got the rebound, they would push it to Claiborne or Lawrence for a quick bucket in transition from them.
Or, Dunk Squad members, Fields and Fuller, would slam the ball.
The Wave put away the Wildcats with the help of Fields, Fuller, and effort from the rest of the squad. In the closing minutes, junior Rayjuan Traynham came off the bench to score three of his four attempts from the arc. The bench erupted that one of the younger players could take over that quick.
The tsunami that was Fields and Fuller proved difficult to stop from Brunswick because both bigs showed they are dynamic basketball players. Both have shown great promise in generating turnovers and being able to score in transition.
Since the season goes until March, both Fields and Fuller have the ability to build on their success because there is still work to be done to reach their goal. If the Wave wants to go to state there will be more strong performances by Tsunami F^2.