Down Under Dominance
Northside Neighbor, December 15, 2004
By Mike Rieman, Northside Neighbor Sports Editor
This year could possibly be the finest boy's basketball season Atlanta International has ever seen.
The team, currently 7-1, is just one game shy of their total win mark from a season ago.
The team's best season to date came in 1998 when the Eagles finished 16-8.
So how excited are the players?
"Everyone is extremely excited," said AIS head coach Clifford Waddy. "There is nothing like winning."
AIS athletics director Hal Fairbanks said this is the best team the school has ever had.
"This is the best team ever and you can quote me on that," he said.
A big reason the Eagles are experiencing so much success this season has been the play of seniors Robert Doster and Kallem Brooks.
Doster, who is coming off a season in which he averaged 17 points a game, has upped his average to 22 points per game this year.
"He is still shooting as well as normal," said Waddy. "But, he is [also] putting the ball on the floor more and is taking it to the basket. He will be vital to the success of the team this year."
Another reason Doster's average has increased has been the play of Brooks, a transfer student who hails from Queensland, Australia.
Brooks, a point guard who is averaging 28 points per game, has been able to push the ball in the open court, which in turn has created opportunities for his teammates.
"He opens things up for his teammates," said Waddy.
Waddy also attributes the teams' success to having numerous upperclassmen on the roster.
In addition to Doster and Brooks, the Eagles have also gotten solid play from junior 6-foot-8 post man Nick Moise.
According to Waddy, Moise has been working very hard this season and has continued to improve every year he has been on the varsity squad.
This season Moise is averaging five points, six rebounds and one block per contest.
On offense the Eagles are operating out of a four guard offense, which leaves just Moise in the post.
Waddy said he decided to run the four guard offense again this season after experiencing some success with it towards the end of last year.
On defense, AIS prefers to play a 2-3 zone, which Waddy said is effective if you can limit teams to only one shot.
"If we limit them to one shot then we can get out and run," he said.
According to Waddy, losing to Southwest Atlanta Christian by 15 points (the team's only loss of the season) helped his squad realize their potential.
"Our team played with poise and hustled," said Waddy about the game. "We hit some deep threes in that game and only trailed 37-32 at half time."
Waddy explained the reason for the loss was their inability to operate in a half court set as well as their inability to connect on the free throw line.
"We turned the ball over 26 times and missed 16 of 24 free throws," he said. "Our focus after the game was not to throw the ball away."
That focus has seemed to work as the Eagles have gone undefeated since.
AIS most recently blew past Mount Zion-Carroll by the score of 84-37.
