Hopper Afman boosts Philip Simmons’ basketball championship hopes

Hopper Afman made an immediate impact as a member of the Philip Simmons High School boys’ basketball team.

 

Afman, who transferred from Oceanside Collegiate Academy, is determined, physical, and talented and will have a key role in the Iron Horses’ bid for a Region 6-AA championship and a deep run in the postseason playoffs.

 

The 6-foot-4 wingman had an impressive performance in the region opener against Burke High School, one of the chief obstacles standing between the Iron Horses and the region championship trophy. He went 4-for-4 from the 3-point line and added an exclamation point with a slam dunk to help the Iron Horses gain a 75-36 victory over the Bulldogs. He finished with a season-high 14 points.

 

Coach Garrett Campbell was impressed with the junior when he enrolled at Philip Simmons in September. Afman hasn’t done anything to change Campbell’s first impression.

 

“His transfer was seamless,” Campbell said. “He’s a Daniel Island kid, so he knows the system. He knows the players. Once he came back, from Day 1 on, I knew he was going to be a big contributor.”

 

Afman is averaging 7.5 points for a team that has good depth and plenty of scoring options. He leads the team shooting 75 percent from the free throw line and is also one of the top 3-point threats, He also averages 2.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per contest.

 

Afman, who moved from California to Daniel Island in time for the seventh grade, said he wanted to send a message to the coaches at the first practice of the season.

 

“I just wanted to set the tone at that practice,” Afman said. “I wanted the coaches to know that I work hard, am competitive and want to win. I want to win more than anybody. I want to win whether it’s at school, on the court or even playing video games.”

 

The addition of Afman makes Campbell’s cast of basketball characters more impressive. The team is big and physical thanks to Hudson Hatch and Blake Darby, a pair of 6-9 rebounding machines. Campbell can also count on Kolten Kellermann, Corbin Driggers, and Afman.

 

“He has good size, and he has that competitive drive,” Campbell said. “He has good passing skills and can stretch the court. He was on fire against Burke with 4-for-4 from behind the line. It was his best game of the season.” 

 

Campbell added, “He’s ramping it up just in time for region play.”

 

The Iron Horses defeated Academic Magnet 63-39 on Jan. 17 for their fifth victory in a row to push their record to 10-5, including 2-0 in league play.

 

Campbell said Burke is still one of two teams that should challenge his team for the region crown. Burke played the Iron Horses without its best player. The two teams play again on Jan. 31 at Burke. Campbell also predicts Woodland High School is better than its 4-9 record because the Wolverines played a tough non-region schedule.

 

Afman is ready for the challenge.

 

“Out of all the teams I’ve played on, this group has the most potential,” he said. “We have a great group, and we’ve improved a lot since that first game of the season against Charleston Math & Science. We want to win the state championship.”