Up five points with 128 seconds remaining in their game against the defending 3A State Champ Garfield, the Eastside Catholic Crusaders defend man-to-man, but Jacob Cofie is sagging.

It’s been a tough second half for the top 100 recruit: He began the third quarter getting beat badly by Garfield’s only returning starter, the exquisitely named Legend Smiley, and ended it with a flurry of fouls that left him on the bench for the first four minutes of the fourth quarter.

Back in the game for its final minutes, Cofie is no longer tasked with guarding Smiley. Instead, he defends the diminutive guard who has brought the ball up court, a non-shooter who passes the ball off to a larger guard at the top of the key.

When that pass is made, Cofie is already eight feet off his man, a full step inside the foul line, just to the right of the paint. As the new ball handler dribbles to his left, Cofie retreats further, both feet now in the lane, his eyes following the ball handler.

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