Ten Best: Lawrence North vs. Lawrence Central
Heading into the half, Lawrence North was down 26-30. Lawrence Central held LN to only 5 points in the second quarter. However, the second half of the game was a rout and Lawrence North outscored Central 48-26 to win the…
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Continue ReadingHeading into the half, Lawrence North was down 26-30. Lawrence Central held LN to only 5 points in the second quarter. However, the second half of the game was a rout and Lawrence North outscored Central 48-26 to win the game by 18. Kevin Easley, a 6’6 junior led LN with 18 points. Wesley Jordan and Donyell Meredith each had 14 points for Lawrence Central.
MVP: Kevin Easley (Lawrence North)
This was a performance you needed to see out of Easley. He, at times, can get a little shot happy and let it fly but tonight he was locked in and didn’t really force the issue. He got setup really well for a lot of his shots and on the ones that he had to make a play to get off, he was solid and didn’t run himself into a turnaround fadeaway elbow jumper. He was also really big on the boards. Lawrence Central gives up a lot of size outside of Wesley Jordan on the floor and Kevin did battle with him down there and only allowed him to have 4 rebounds all night. Easley finished with 18 points on 6/13 shooting, 7 rebounds, and 3 block.
Sequence of the Game: Ra Kpedi (Lawrence North)
The best play or sequence of the game was by Ra Kpedi. The 6’8 power forward had been sped up all game and rushed but he finally got into a high-ball screen that he came off and rolled to the basket, catching and finishing with a dunk. On the following defensive play, he was defending Jordan who posted up in the mid-range and Kpedi came around to deflect the ball away resulting in a turnover. When he is slowed down and thinking, Kpedi can be really good and for him, he has come a long way in that regard. He can provide plays on either end of the court. Tonight, he had 9 points on 4/7 shooting to go a long with 4 rebounds.
Best Offensive Performance: Wesley Jordan (Lawrence Central)
This 14-point performance by Jordan was very impressive, especially when you factor in that a lot of the time he was being defended by Ra Kpedi (6’8) and Kevin Easley (6’6). At 6’6, he was going against legit size and had a few moves that really impressed as well as going out and showing his mid-range touch with an elbow jumper and the next time down the floor a jumper from the free throw line. He’s a back-to-the-basket guy first and then he stretches it out. It wasn’t until the third quarter that you saw him start to face up. This is how a lot of bigs should play but choose not to. Jordan accepted the challenge and excelled. He had 14 points on 6/7 shooting and 4 rebounds.
Best Defensive Performance: Antwaan Cushingberry (Lawrence North)
While the stats don’t show Cush’s production on the defensive end, he was a key player in really shutting down Daveon Bell and keeping Lawrence Central at arms length in the second half. He helped to create 6+ turnovers from Lawrence Central’s backcourt. He also did really well to stay in front of Bell and not let him get into the lane. Antwaan’s speed is deadly and on the defensive end, he can match that speed as long as the size is within range which gave him a big advantage facing Daveon Bell (5’8) and K.J. Davis (5’9). He finished with 14 points on 5/12 shooting and 3 rebounds.
Best Guy Off The Bench: Jared Hankins (Lawrence North)
The guy that really stood out from the bench was Jared Hankins. He was another guy that really showed something on the defensive end of the floor. His strength and size allow him to matchup with most guards and that versatility was useful for Lawrence North. He even gave them a little bit of offense scoring 5 points on only two shots and a couple rebounds thrown in there. He’s going to be a player that can really impact the game and should have a productive career for LN.
Best Intangibles: Donyell Meredith (Lawrence Central)
I really love what Meredith can bring to the table. He’s big, he’s strong, and he’s so smooth that sometimes it comes off as passive. However, if you feed him the ball when he is locked in he can put up some points in a hurry. That was evident tonight when he hit back-to-back triples in the middle of the game. He hit 3/5 from long range tonight and had 14 points in total on just 9 shots. Outside of his scoring, he is one of the better passers in the state and sees the floor really well. He’s an able rebounder that has a big enough body to bang in the post with the size of a Lawrence North. He has a lot going for him and it showed up tonight.
Best Under-The-Radar Performance: Dexter Shouse (Lawrence North)
The guy that surprised was Shouse. We’ve known who he is for a while and have seen some of his better performances in AAU but have yet to see it at the high school level. He had a rocky freshman year for Lawrence North but the game against Marion was a good one for him and now he backed it up with 11 points on 4/6 shooting and 4 rebounds against Lawrence Central. His talent is easily noticeable and the frame is stellar, you just needed to see some production. He did that tonight and was smart about it, playing within himself.
Best Underclassmen: Michael Saunders Jr. (Lawrence North) – 10 points, 3/7 FG
The best underclassmen not mentioned to this point is Michael Saunders Jr.. The freshman point guard had a few plays early to kind of tease what he could do and then showed up big time in the fourth quarter making a few big time shots. He was 3/7 from the field and 2/3 from behind the arc. He won’t have to do a ton on the ball as they already has Cushingberry to kind of play the point which should let Saunders grow into the role over the next couple years but you could see that he has speed and handles and clearly can make a shot.
Best Player From JV Game: Tony Perkins (Lawrence North)
We got in the gym early enough to catch part of the JV game and Perkins stood out. He even got a little run in the second half of the Varsity game too. Tony is a big guard who overpowers with his physical nature. Lawrence North is a deep program and getting into the starting rotation, let alone the varsity roster, is tough. Perkins is another good one to watch out for that could see his minutes increase a bit over the course of the season and definitely going into next year as this team loses Dalen Davis and Ra Kpedi.
Best Storyline Moving Forward: The thing to watch going forward is the consistency of this Lawrence North team. If there is one thing over the last few years that has stood out it is their inability to be the same team every game. They have lulls and peaks but it isn’t ever known what team will show up for any particular game. To this point, they have been good in each of their first few games but that will be tested as they face Fort Wayne North, a very good team, this weekend in the Forum Credit Union Tip-Off Classic at Southport. The pressure will be on then.