Five Takeaways: St. Pete at Pinellas Park
St. Pete took a commanding 21-point lead after three quarters of play. However, the Pinellas Park home crowd acted differently.
The Patriots fans chanted “overrated” at St. Pete senior guard and Ole Miss commit Serrel Smith the entire fourth quarter. When Smith exited the game with three minutes left, a trio of starters Harlow Babb, Tai Strickland and Terell Strickland greeted him with overrated chants and clapping as they mocked the Pinellas Park crowd and Smith chuckled.
St. Pete improved to 6-0 on the young season and 5-0 in Class 8A-District 10 play with a convincing 91-60 win over Pinellas Park.
Here are five key takeaways from the outing.
Tai Strickland is hard to slow down
After guiding St. Pete to a 62-61 win over Countryside on Tuesday night with a bucket with 10.7 seconds left, Strickland played very well again on Thursday. He led the Green Devils with 17 points and simply made it look easy on attacks to the rim. He didn’t have the most effective night from beyond the arc, but he handled the ball with ease and made smart decisions.
Ahke McMichael is a playmaker
McMichael carried the Patriots on his back with a game-high 26 points. The junior guard had 15 points at the half, routinely getting inside for lay-ins and connecting from long range. He had four 3’s in the game and gave Pinellas Park momentum in spots. McMichael is the top all-around piece for this Patriots team.
Serrel Smith is a nifty passer
Smith didn’t have to do much offensively with 16 points as he was out of the game for much of the second quarter and late in the fourth quarter. His passing was his best attribute in this one as he set up his teammates inside, in transition and on outside jumpers time and time again. Smith’s game translates well to the Division I level.
Terell Strickland got going
All 11 of Terell Strickland’s points came in the second half. He didn’t find much space on offense in the opening half, but he hit from outside twice in the third quarter and kept pushing the ball on the break. He’s getting better with time and I think playing next to his brother Tai and Smith is boosting his confidence.
Quick thoughts on both teams
St. Pete – The offensive split between Tai Strickland and Smith is a good one. The two ballhandlers attack when needed and are unselfish as well. Terell Strickland is coming together while 2018 forward Jaylon Holland is a tough athlete and 2019 forward Harlow Babb is gritty inside.
Pinellas Park – Outside of McMichael, the Patriots didn’t have enough consistency. 2019 guards Jared McGarrity and Jacquez Reed showed flashes while 2020 forward Lawrance Toafili had some bright moments. Pinellas Park just didn’t hit enough shots to stick around.