What's it mean to lead the league in scoring?

I looked at the Post Dispatch boys basketball stats on scoring (points per game) and there are some pretty fantastic numbers being posted by high school athletes every week.  But I got to thinking about the tremendous pressure that goes with those lofty numbers.

Here's the top ten scorers:
Scoring leaders (min. 10 games played)

Name	Pts	Avg
Jayce Catchings, Liberty	504	28.0
Terrell Cannamore, Roosevelt	454	26.7
Chris Hill, Brentwood	311	25.9
EJ Bellinger, Fort Zumwalt South	253	25.3
Jeramy Shaw, Valley Park	386	24.1
Korey Carlock, Metro	423	23.5
Avery Taggart, Eureka	400	23.5
Luke Kasubke, Chaminade	396	23.3
Sam Richardson, Hancock	343	22.9
Ikel Sevier, Gateway STEM	458	21.8

from the Post-Dispatch

I have to admit, I have only seen a couple of these outstanding athletes perform in person, but I have seen a number of them on Twitter posts from Earl Austin, Jr., Prephoops, 314 Hoops and others.  

What you don't see is the tremendous pressures these young men face on a nightly basis as their team's floor leaders.  Each one of these guys has a BIG target on their back.  When a player scores 25 or 30 points a game, they are contributing 40 or 50% of their team's offense.  Stop that player and you shut down the team.  So a lot of opposing coaches are plotting strategy on how to cool these guys off.

Some of the tactics are fair and square.  Whenever "he" touches the ball, "we" double team him.  Sometimes, coaches put a defender on the "playa" from the inbounds pass on the far end of the court, dogging them up the court, only to be joined by a second defender as soon as the player touches the ball.  These guys are good though.  They know how to get around, not just one but, two defenders, juking and jiving for a jumper or driving to the basket.  They know where to find their open team mates for easy baskets and as they pile up a lead, through teammates, the defense begins to crumble and they get their points too.  These magical players also have creative coaches that use double screens and trick plays to get their main men open shots.

There is a uglier side to this strategy too.  It doesn't happen as often, but some teams think the best way to defend the "playa" is to get them out of the game, one way or another.  The defenders are holding, jabbing, pushing and shoving the top player, trying to get a reaction, trying to get an altercation that might get the star to retaliate or foul the defender by pushing back.  Pile up the fouls until they foul out.  Get them ejected.  Get them out of the game.  Any way you can. Luckily, there are a lot less coaches (and players) taking this approach, but it must take tremendous discipline for these top scorers to rise above the fray with much patience and restraint.  

These are all fierce competitors.  They all want to win.  They have a scorers mentality.  Nobody can stop them.  But how do they bottle up that competitive emotion when the opposition is calling  names, excessively hand-checking and jersey grabbing every time up the court?  They have to be above it all or their team will surely suffer.  It is a tremendous weight to carry every night on the court.

So when you look at these scoring stats, think about the achievement.   It's pretty remarkable to score 25 points in a game.  It's even more remarkable to do it night after night, knowing there is a target on that guy's back and some kind of strategy planned just for that guy.  Wow!