Jacksonville, Fla.–North Florida Prep’s Moise Balungu took a hard dribble and bulled his way into traffic, circumventing defenders and levitating over a helpless rim protector.
The 6-foot-5 Balungu then glided his way to the layup, giving the Myrmidons a 45-40 lead over Orange Park HS with 2:28 remaining in running clock regulation on Saturday afternoon.
Seizing a bolt-quick rush of momentum moments later, Balungu leaked out in transition and floated up a lob pass which 6-foot-10, 225-pound behemoth Zaquien Whitehead turned into an emphatically loud dunk.
With that, NFP sealed a dizzying pre-season 49-45 Potter’s House Fall League victory over a gritty, young Orange Park team at Potter’s House Christian Academy. Balungu and Whitehead’s flair for the end game was made possible by draping one on one defense from Chicago native Jaquwan Payton.
Payton laid down and took a vital charge against Orange Park point guard Bryan Falcon with 23 seconds remaining.
It is only September. Some post grads haven’t even kick started their day to day workouts yet.
For North Florida Prep, however, head coach Chris Harris expects his patchwork and still gelling core to closeout tight road matchups in crunch time.
“We’re learning how to finish games and how to play ahead, we know in this environment, everyone is going to give us their best shot,” Harris said.
“I try to tell these guys to play like we’re down 15 points the whole time, that mentality echoes. It’s a matter of staying focused, having a killer mentality, and really trying to be as Kobe Bryant-like as possible in terms of putting your neck on people.”
This killer mentality is a prerequisite for those who play for Harris, as animated and entertaining a sideline coach as you’ll find in this hothouse post grad landscape.
And this weekend, it was a requirement for staving off a spirited rally from Orange Park.
While the Myrmidons closed out the first half on a 14-4 run, Orange Park came roaring back from the deficit. They made it a two possession game during the final three minutes.
Orange Park’s Class of 2025 off guard Keion Brown bagged a pair of tape measure 3-pointers that pumped life into the comeback bid.
The 5-foot-7 Brown buried a contested 3 from NBA range that cut it to 43-38 with 4:52 remaining, triggering a NFP timeout.
Orange Park’s Class of 2023 wing DeAndre Dickerson hit a 15-foot jumper and carved his way to the rim to cap an 8-0 run.
Ultimately, the crude rim protection from Whitehead (who had 10 blocks in two games Saturday) fortified North Florida’s defense.
“He’s come a long way, he’s got an even further way to go,” said Harris of Whitehead, a baseline to baseline big with ferocious above rim athleticism and a Big East build.
“I feel like the foundation has been laid out for (Whitehead). Now it’s just a matter of, ‘will he take that next step?’ That next step entails really developing an outside game and elevating into a future pro, possibly. He has that potential.”
