ALL-AREA MVP: Red Devil rim rattler
5 months ago | 1860 views | 0 
| 8 
| 
| 
| 8 | |
Before his senior season, Darious Moten was excited about the possibilities of the Bowdon High School boys basketball team’s new up-tempo style and the potential for him to complete some fast breaks with dunks.
But even Moten, the 2009-10 Times-Georgian MVP, was surprised by how much he was able to rattle the rim in leading the Red Devils to a 20-5 record and a runner-up finish in Region 6-A.
By his own estimation, Moten threw down about 30 slams in his final season for Bowdon. His other game-altering talent besides scoring that confounded opponents was his shot-blocking.
It was most on display when he recorded a triple-double with 18 points, 18 rebounds and 10 blocks in a 61-45 Senior Night victory against Darlington on Feb. 8. And with how commonplace his dunks became, the blocks turned out to be some of the most enjoyable plays for the senior leader.
“I like blocking shots more than I like dunking because (with) dunking, I guess you could say, it’s kind of gotten old for me because it’s something that’s expected,” Moten said.
Those blocks also ended up being a major help in allowing Bowdon to run the kind of pressure defense that allowed it to speed up the pace of the game.
“When he was in the game, we were allowed to take chances,” Red Devil coach Vic Coggins said. “And we were going to try to trap people and try to force them into some bad plays, knowing that if they were to beat us that we had Darious standing back there.”
Even more than that, though, Moten brought a great measure of leadership to Bowdon, growing into a starring role.
“He was our leader. Darious really grew up over the summer,” Coggins said. “He had the chance to play in AAU tournaments, and he worked on his game just all-around.”
One area he particularly worked on to polish his game was his jumper, which certainly showed as his mid-range game took off in his senior year.
“People know I’m athletic, but most people don’t think that I can shoot ... it usually gets me a lot of my points because it surprises people,” Moten said.
With that improvement lifting his game even more, Coggins said his leader had few weaknesses by the end of his high school career.
“Darious is a smart player. He kind of knows his limitations, and he understands what he can do,” Coggins said. “And, you know, (there’s) not a whole lot that he can’t do right now because he really developed his shot over the summer and just kind of became more of a complete player.”
Moten’s high school career didn’t get off to a fast start when he played mainly on JV his freshman season, but he stuck with it and kept getting better.
“From the start, it didn’t seem very bright. But I guess as the years went on, I started playing more,” Moten said. “I started to realize that I could really do good things, especially because of AAU.”
As for the turning point in really making it a special senior year, Moten looks back at something his mother said that motivated him after a 75-60 loss to Villa Rica in the Dec. 30 championship game of the Haralson County Invitational.
“She told me that if I stayed aggressive that I can do just about anything I want to,” Moten said.
He took that to heart, particularly realizing the need to be aggressive no matter who the opponent was after at times feeling like he didn’t need to do much in early-season blowout victories.
“It’s hard sometimes just to turn that on and off when you really need it,” Moten said. “The best way is to just play that way the whole time.”
One of the best memories of his final season, though, will be getting to play in Bowdon’s new gym.
“I’ve been waiting on this forever,” Moten said. “I didn’t think we’d actually get to play in it.”
He hopes people remember him for more than his blocked shots and dunks, though.
“They just see me on the court, but I’d like to be remembered that I was a smart athlete who was also good in the classroom, just as good as he was on the court,” Moten said.
That’s the kind of kid Coggins will remember when he thinks about Moten.
“He was just a key to our team. Great year. Darious is just a great kid, does a great job in the classroom,” Coggins said. “And he’s got a really bright future ahead of him.”
2009-10 Times-Georgian All-Area
Boys Basketball Team
Most Valuable Player
Darious Moten — Bowdon
Newcomer of the Year
Anthony Rounds — Central
Coach of the Year
Vic Coggins — Bowdon
First Team
Sharad Drayton — Villa Rica
Dee Thompson — Villa Rica
Cam Holt — Central
Cedric Strickland — Bowdon
David Love — Carrollton
Second Team
Shermod Cochran — Carrollton
Christian Heard — Mt. Zion
Louis Hudson — Carrollton
A.J. Barge — Carrollton
Kendall Lawson — Temple
Special Mention
Seth Houston — Oak Mountain
Honorable Mention
Terell Thornton, J.B. Stephens (Bowdon), Dylan Morgan, Matt Parker, Jake Rooks (Bremen), Josh Barge (Carrollton), Rashad Rowe (Central), Cody Maria (Haralson County), Dianta Henson, Drew Norton (Mt. Zion), Dee Clayton, Tony Ross (Temple), Nic Shackelford (Villa Rica)
But even Moten, the 2009-10 Times-Georgian MVP, was surprised by how much he was able to rattle the rim in leading the Red Devils to a 20-5 record and a runner-up finish in Region 6-A.
By his own estimation, Moten threw down about 30 slams in his final season for Bowdon. His other game-altering talent besides scoring that confounded opponents was his shot-blocking.
It was most on display when he recorded a triple-double with 18 points, 18 rebounds and 10 blocks in a 61-45 Senior Night victory against Darlington on Feb. 8. And with how commonplace his dunks became, the blocks turned out to be some of the most enjoyable plays for the senior leader.
“I like blocking shots more than I like dunking because (with) dunking, I guess you could say, it’s kind of gotten old for me because it’s something that’s expected,” Moten said.
Those blocks also ended up being a major help in allowing Bowdon to run the kind of pressure defense that allowed it to speed up the pace of the game.
“When he was in the game, we were allowed to take chances,” Red Devil coach Vic Coggins said. “And we were going to try to trap people and try to force them into some bad plays, knowing that if they were to beat us that we had Darious standing back there.”
Even more than that, though, Moten brought a great measure of leadership to Bowdon, growing into a starring role.
“He was our leader. Darious really grew up over the summer,” Coggins said. “He had the chance to play in AAU tournaments, and he worked on his game just all-around.”
One area he particularly worked on to polish his game was his jumper, which certainly showed as his mid-range game took off in his senior year.
“People know I’m athletic, but most people don’t think that I can shoot ... it usually gets me a lot of my points because it surprises people,” Moten said.
With that improvement lifting his game even more, Coggins said his leader had few weaknesses by the end of his high school career.
“Darious is a smart player. He kind of knows his limitations, and he understands what he can do,” Coggins said. “And, you know, (there’s) not a whole lot that he can’t do right now because he really developed his shot over the summer and just kind of became more of a complete player.”
Moten’s high school career didn’t get off to a fast start when he played mainly on JV his freshman season, but he stuck with it and kept getting better.
“From the start, it didn’t seem very bright. But I guess as the years went on, I started playing more,” Moten said. “I started to realize that I could really do good things, especially because of AAU.”
As for the turning point in really making it a special senior year, Moten looks back at something his mother said that motivated him after a 75-60 loss to Villa Rica in the Dec. 30 championship game of the Haralson County Invitational.
“She told me that if I stayed aggressive that I can do just about anything I want to,” Moten said.
He took that to heart, particularly realizing the need to be aggressive no matter who the opponent was after at times feeling like he didn’t need to do much in early-season blowout victories.
“It’s hard sometimes just to turn that on and off when you really need it,” Moten said. “The best way is to just play that way the whole time.”
One of the best memories of his final season, though, will be getting to play in Bowdon’s new gym.
“I’ve been waiting on this forever,” Moten said. “I didn’t think we’d actually get to play in it.”
He hopes people remember him for more than his blocked shots and dunks, though.
“They just see me on the court, but I’d like to be remembered that I was a smart athlete who was also good in the classroom, just as good as he was on the court,” Moten said.
That’s the kind of kid Coggins will remember when he thinks about Moten.
“He was just a key to our team. Great year. Darious is just a great kid, does a great job in the classroom,” Coggins said. “And he’s got a really bright future ahead of him.”
2009-10 Times-Georgian All-Area
Boys Basketball Team
Most Valuable Player
Darious Moten — Bowdon
Newcomer of the Year
Anthony Rounds — Central
Coach of the Year
Vic Coggins — Bowdon
First Team
Sharad Drayton — Villa Rica
Dee Thompson — Villa Rica
Cam Holt — Central
Cedric Strickland — Bowdon
David Love — Carrollton
Second Team
Shermod Cochran — Carrollton
Christian Heard — Mt. Zion
Louis Hudson — Carrollton
A.J. Barge — Carrollton
Kendall Lawson — Temple
Special Mention
Seth Houston — Oak Mountain
Honorable Mention
Terell Thornton, J.B. Stephens (Bowdon), Dylan Morgan, Matt Parker, Jake Rooks (Bremen), Josh Barge (Carrollton), Rashad Rowe (Central), Cody Maria (Haralson County), Dianta Henson, Drew Norton (Mt. Zion), Dee Clayton, Tony Ross (Temple), Nic Shackelford (Villa Rica)
post a comment
comments (0)
no comments yet