It’s easy to conjure images of Charles Barkley when you see Eli Acker leading a fast break.
At 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, Acker probably has a half an inch at least on the former Auburn great and NBA All-Star. Acker also is significantly lighter than Barkley was in his hey day when he was affectionately known as the “Round Mound of Rebound.”
“Big guy” will do just fine for Acker, who is showing he can play an integral role for the Heritage Academy boys basketball team.
Acker scored a game-high 20 points Saturday to lead four players in double figures in a 63-51 victory against West Lowndes in the final game of the two-day Heritage Academy Shootout.
“It feels great,” said Acker, who missed the 2016-17 basketball season due to a back injury. “I was rusty just around the basket finishing. It took probably two weeks and my shots started falling again.”
Acker showed the ballhandling ability of Barkley in the third quarter when he led a fast break and fed Jared Long (11 points) for a layup. Acker didn’t high step like Barkley or take the ball coast to coast, but he looked comfortable handling the ball in an up-tempo environment.
Acker also appeared to be in his element on the low block when he caught a pass on the left side of the lane, sealed his defender, and stepped back and drained a jump shot with soft touch. For those basketball aficionados, the shot didn’t have as much follow-through as Barkley’s fadeway jumper, but it was just as effective.
“I have worked on moves like hat every day in practice,” Acker said. “A lot of it came back to me once I started working back with it.”
Said Heritage Academy coach Russ Whiteside, “He knows how to play the game. He is big in there, but he is really coordinated for a big guy.”
Acker, a sophomore center, also had 20 points Friday in a 48-44 loss to Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 6A DeSoto Central. Whiteside said Acker is part of a sophomore class with Long, Carter Putt (14 points), Steele Altmyer, Adam Koussih, Reid Huskison, and Jack Kizer that is making up for the loss of junior Moak Griffin, who is out with a leg injury.
“It hurts losing Griffin, but I have a great group of kids that are working really hard,” Whiteside said. “I like them. We’re young, and it shows at times. Our decision-making is not always as good as it should be, but if we get that ironed out and find some consistency in what we’re doing and be a more consistent team, I think we have a chance to make a run in the playoffs.”
Senior guard Dontae Gray and forward Josh Neal also have raised their levels of play to help the Patriots (6-4) adjust without a point guard like Griffin who could take over games, according to Acker.
Acker agrees Heritage Academy has potential to be a dangerous team if it continues to come together. He admitted the team struggled at first without Griffin, but he said the team gained confidence from its close loss to DeSoto Central on Friday night. Acker said the Patriots will have to keep working on ballhandling to make sure they have enough players who can handle the pressure against tough defenses.
Acker will continue to work on his dribbling skills, too, because you never know when a coach might need a center to run the show. If Whiteside doesn’t call on him to play the point, Acker is comfortable down on the block, as shown by his work on the block in the fourth quarter that led to a basket and assistant coach Carter Holmes to call out, “That’s pretty good big man.”
Whiteside said Acker’s footwork is a key to his ability to be so effective in tight spaces.
“He’s a heck of a player,” Whiteside said. ‘He really is just ow getting back to where his game is improving, and it is improving every game. He is tough to handle in there. He has good footwork. He has good ball skills.”
After playing up front as a member of the Heritage Academy football team, Acker is used to being called a “big man.” On the basketball court, it is a little more special, especially after a year away from the game.
“I do like being called a big guy,” Acker said. “There is not much difference from being called a big guy in football. Just like playing tackle, a lot of it is the same footwork.”
Dalen Rogers led West Lowndes with 14 points. Jaylen Brewer added 12, while Qua Sanders had 10.
n In the girls game, Marvaysha Seals had 24 points and Takara Givens had 10 to lead West Lowndes to a 63-57 overtime victory against Heritage Academy.
West Lowndes’ Averi Sanders hit two free throws with 1 minute, 27 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Lady Panthers the lead for good, 59-57. Seals was 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the final 8.7 seconds to seal the deal.
Bailey Harris (team-high 24 points) hit a 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left in regulation to force the extra four-minute period. Sydney Adair had 15 points and Anna Acker had six for the Lady Patriots.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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