Scouting Reports: Riverside vs. East St. John (Video)
I only caught a glimpse of Riverside vs. East St. John after checking out Chalmette vs. Jesuit (Video) earlier that night and the game was well in hand. The Rebels were up 70-51 with 5 1/2 minutes left and coasted…
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Continue ReadingI only caught a glimpse of Riverside vs. East St. John after checking out Chalmette vs. Jesuit (Video) earlier that night and the game was well in hand. The Rebels were up 70-51 with 5 1/2 minutes left and coasted the rest of the way for a 91-68 victory on Thursday (Dec. 22).
Riverside claimed 3rd place in the Country Day Classic with the win and also moved to 8-3 on the season while East St. John fell to 8-9. Here’s a couple of quick takeaways plus some video from the matchup below:
Riverside Rebels
2018 PG Jared Butler — Butler only had 7 points against ESJ but he’s the name to know here. He was likely playing the role of distributor as 3 Rebels scored at least 15 points and two others scored at least 7 (excluding Butler). The 6-foot-3 prospect looked sharp in the few minutes I saw him on the floor and if you need proof of his scoring prowess, just check out his highlights from the Allstate Sugar Bowl last year below — the kid was on FIRE. Butler was also named to the Country Day Classic All-Tournament team.
2018 G Jeremiah Bingham — I saw Riverside a few times last year and I don’t recall seeing this kid at all and he certainly wasn’t a significant contributor. It looks like that may change this season as Bingham poured in 26 points against ESJ, which included 3 3-pointers. I only caught his final bucket of the night, which was a smooth layup for an and-one that put Riverside up 74-55.
2018 W Jalen Banks — Banks will be the man in the middle for Riverside this year doing the dirty work, which is similar to the role he played last season. He was the 4th man for the Rebels in 2015-16 behind the All-State trio of Butler, Malik Crowfield and Herb McGee. A few more opportunities should come his way this year with Crowfield now at VCU and McGee at South Alabama and it looks like Banks is ready for the extra responsibility scoring 10 points with 2 3-pointers against ESJ.
2018 G Garland Robertson/2019 G Kash Foley — Robertson and Foley are two undersized guards that will be key contributors for Riverside this year and both received a good bit of playing time last year as well. They both scored 15 with a 3-pointer a piece and in a lot of ways, they’ll determine how far Riverside can go this year. Butler will be a force game in and game out but big contributions from one or both of these two could put Riverside over the top.
East St. John Wildcats
2018 W/F Javon Antonio — Antonio is a stud on the football field at tight end and safety and it doesn’t take long to notice he’s spent a good bit of time in the weight room. He’s 6-foot-5 and appears to be pushing close to 225 pounds now and he can make his presence felt on the basketball court as well. He works best from the free throw line and in but he’s a good enough ball handler to get by on the perimeter at times as well. Antonio only had 6 points against Riverside but was still named to the All-Tournament Team.
Players To Watch — The guard trio of 2017 Korey Lee, 2019 Brandon Davis and 2020 Kyle Albert will be worth keeping an eye on as the season progresses. They appear to be a quick and aggressive group that likes to attack the rim and Lee knocked down 3 3-pointers en route to an 18-point performance against Riverside. Davis had 19 with 2 3-pointers and made all 5 of his free throws while Albert finished with 11.