Fab 5: Archbishop Alter at Chaminade-Julienne
Friday night in downtown Dayton, Archbishop Alter visited Chaminade-Julienne for a rivalry matchup between undefeated teams in the Greater Catholic League (GCL). Although Chaminade-Julienne’s quick guards frustrated their opponents early and blazed out to a 15-6 first quarter lead, Alter…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingFriday night in downtown Dayton, Archbishop Alter visited Chaminade-Julienne for a rivalry matchup between undefeated teams in the Greater Catholic League (GCL). Although Chaminade-Julienne’s quick guards frustrated their opponents early and blazed out to a 15-6 first quarter lead, Alter would be the team to come away with a blow-out victory.
Alter, led by a dominating performance by 6’6” senior Dominic Laravie, went home with an 71-50 victory. Chaminade-Julienne now sits at 9-5.
Laravie was one of the three surefire college prospects on the floor. The other two, Christian Montague and P’hariz Watkins, did all they could for Chaminade-Julienne to stay close, but this game came down to supporting casts. Alter’s role players settled into the game and found ways to maximize Laravie’s skillset on both ends of the floor.
On the other hand, Watkins and Montague were able to penetrate, they just didn’t have any knock-down shooters to kick it out to. Due to this dilemma, Alter’s 2-3 zone thrived and eventually earned them a convincing win in a tough environment.
Now, let’s expand on some individual performances with this game’s Fab 5.
MVP: Dominic Laravie (Archbishop Alter)
Yeah, we will go with the guy who posted a stat-line of 23 points, 14 boards, and 7 blocks. Laravie would have been the MVP even if his team would have lost. The truth is, Laravie doesn’t have that much help, and his team just improved to 11-2 against a legitimate schedule. Just take a look at the team stats according to Cincinnati.com.
Laravie put the defense on their toes by attacking quickly once he caught the rock in the high post, often dropping shots in off the glass. On multiple occasions, he was slapped on the arm and didn’t get the call, otherwise he could have had 10 more points.
Best offensive performance: Christian Montague (Chaminade-Julienne)
Montague finished with 20, with most of his baskets coming on seemingly difficult shots. The agile guard was able to draw separation with a quick move at any time, which led to some off-the-dribble jumpers.
The most impressive play came in the first half when the 6’0” senior drove middle from the right wing and finished with the opposite hand on a 12-foot floater before Laravie was able to help over for the contest. Montague made it look effortless, but that left-handed shot was excellent.
Best defensive performance: Dominic Laravie (Archbishop Alter)
He dominated the paint, including the boards. Besides fast-breaks, Chaminade-Julienne didn’t attempt an uncontested lay-up all night. There were a multiple occasions when Laravie rejected a ball when it was about 11 feet in the air.
Best under-the-radar performance: Connor Bazelak (Archbishop Alter)
When Alter was struggling in the first quarter, it was because their guards weren’t proecting the basketball. Bazelak, along with Robby Ruffolo and JP Schimpf, eventually flipped the script and everything fell into place for Alter. Bazelak also showed an ability to shoot the ball on possessions where Alter moved the ball from side-to-side. This 6’4” sophomore guard is a prospect to keep an eye on as he develops.
Other: P’hariz Watkins (Chaminade-Julienne)
The 6’1” senior guard is a lot more athletic than PHO once thought. Watkins had a few nice transition finishes. But the athleticism really shined on the defensive side, when he quickly double-teamed whenever he noticed a slow crossover coming from an Alter dribbler. With that being said, Watkins showed some great defensive instincts Friday night.