Rockhurst vs Lee’s Summit North: What we learned
Rockhurst looked very strong in Tuesday night’s 71-51 victory over Lee’s Summit North. Most thought this would be a good match-up, but the size, speed, and athleticism from the Hawklets was no match for the Broncos.
- The Hawklets are loaded with talent and might possibly be one of the better teams in the state of Missouri. Lee’s Summit North lacked a few things that made this game look ugly quite quick, and one major point would be the size. The Hawklets have some solid Bigs this year, and they have plenty of them. Darrius Hughes coming off a pretty strong summer with Team Rush looked great in the post. He had no trouble getting by defenders and also added a few monster slams! A.J. White looked like a grown man playing against boys on the court. He is a very aggressive big man who has a nice shot inside of 10 feet. The 3rd big Junior that turned in a good night was Dalen Ridgnal (pictured right), who you will find hustling towards loose balls and hitting the boards. He has the ability to shoot around 17 feet, but can also play above the rim.
- Not only did the starting 5 for the Hawklets look strong, but they are extremely deep with talent this year, and this is mostly due to some major experience from a season ago. Dalen Ridgnal as mentioned above, is one of the big guys on the team standing at 6’6″. He will provide a big spark on the offensive end, but can really clean house on the defensive side with his blocking and rebound abilities. Glen McClintock would be starting for most teams and will play a key role for the Hawklets this season. He is one the better ball handlers on the team and has a solid pull-up game. 6’9″ Jack Murphy, probably a player not on everyone’s list, played pretty well and was able to impose his size quite easily. Jack gave the other bigs a breather and played some solid minutes for the Hawklets. He showed some great footwork when having the ball, and was very unselfish.
- Both teams are quite loaded with shooters and players who just have the ability to score. While Lee’s Summit North didn’t have a strong shooting night, we could see very well that this team will more than likely light up the scoreboard on most nights, bu they are also going to live and die on perimeter shooting. Javaunte Hawkins (pictured right), Mikel Henderson, and Logan Jenkins were able to connect on a few threes and showed that they will and can shoot it from anywhere. On the other hand, Rockhurst also has some great scorers, and they shot pretty dang well. Senior guard Xavier Rhodes is the leader on the team and while he doesn’t take a lot of threes, he definitely has the ability to. Standing at 6’1″, he is very lengthy and athletic, and those combos help you out on both sides of ball. Tyler Nelson is another one of those Junior players for Rockhurst, and he is poised for a breakout season. Nelson was shooting the ball with confidence from the outside and can jam it with ease. Lastly, the senior guard Jake Thompson showed that when left open from deep, he is knocking down the shot. He adds another deep threat to this already dangerous Rockhurst team.
It’s great that the basketball season is now upon us, and watch out for both of these teams this year. Although, North struggled tonight, they are a dangerous team and should be fine as the year goes on. As for Rockhurst, don’t be surprised if they find themselves deep in the State tournament this season. With the kind of intensity they showed tonight paired with their roster depth, they will be a very difficult beat for any team.