Five Takeaways: West Lafayette vs. Harrison
In the best first round matchup of the Franciscan Health Hoops Classic on Tuesday, we saw a battle between West Lafayette and Harrison. Harrison got out to a 12-9 lead after the first quarter but Matt Krause and West Lafayette roared back before holding off the Raiders for a 76-63 victory. Matt Krause of West Lafayette lead all scorers with 25 points and 9 rebounds. Benito Munoz scored 25 points and grabbed 6 rebounds to lead Harrison.
Benito Munoz About To Turn The Corner
In the last year, you have seen the Lafayette area start to come alive with talent. Most at the younger age levels but some key seniors are heading the way. Harrison’s Benito Munoz is one of those guys. On Tuesday, he showed just what he could do as a scoring threat. He put up 25 points, most coming in the first half when Harrison was playing really competitive. Harrison needed him to take a lot of shots in the second half and most of those came at the rim where Munoz will have to get better. However, it was good to see him being more active. If this is more along the player he could be, driving into the paint and mixing up his perimeter game with some mid-range options, his stock should increase. It was a good display of a guy making that next step.
Harrison Has Solid Young Duo To Look Forward To
Harrison was a fairly older team but they played some younger guys into their rotation and especially at the end of the game we saw those guys have success. Sophomore Jordan Walters and freshman Max Jacobsen are two guys that will be a big part of this team for the next 3-4 years. Jacobsen is a 5’10 guard that showed some toughness and scoring ability. He added four points in the game but looked like he was plenty capable of having a bigger role. He played confident and without too many mistakes. Walters is a 6’4 wing forward that only scored two points but grabbed 5 rebounds in the game. He has the frame to get bigger and stronger and could be more of that inside presence to compliment Jacobsen on the wing.
Matt Krause Is A Dynamic Forward Prospect
One of the keys to victory for West Lafayette last night was Harrison’s inability to stop senior forward Matt Krause. The 6’5 forward showcased everything in his arsenal last night as he posted a 25 point outing hitting four three pointers in the process. He’s really an undersized stretch forward who is adept at influencing things on the defensive end in the post. He can defend the rim against guards and has the mobility to rotate as well as come out and hedge on the perimeter. On offense, he can score down low but his corner threes are nearly unstoppable off the catch. He’s a guy that should be playing college ball and his interest should pick up as the season goes on.
West Lafayette Has Chance To Make Noise In March
West Lafayette hasn’t been the powerhouse of the Tippecanoe County area. They don’t tend to get but a guy or two that has talent maybe every other year. This might be the best group they have had in a while and their best player is a forward that can dominate games. Come March, this team is setup to have a decent shot at a run into the state playoffs. Their Sectional isn’t too difficult with their only real competition being, maybe, Northwestern. After that, their Regional could look something like Culver Academies and then Griffith. Now, Culver will be difficult but if they are somehow upset, the Regional Championship would be very easy and then you could slip into a Semistate birth that would likely end them back up at Lafayette Jeff. A lot would have to happen between now and then but the path is there with only one very difficult obstacle in the way.
Purdue Football Commit Karlaftis Entertaining To Watch
2019 Purdue Football commit George Karlaftis is really, really good at football. But, he is also really good at basketball too. Not necessarily a DI talent but he sure is entertaining. Playing like a bull in a china shop, nobody can really stop him but himself. He had a few post touches at 6’5 where he turned the ball over. However, most of the time you had to basically tackle him in order to slow him down. While his basketball career doesn’t matter, he does play like he cares and it’s so much fun to watch defenders try to stop him.