Gonzaga College HS vs St. Frances Academy : 5 Takeaways
12-2-17, Catonsville, MD. Campus of UMBC
The Gonzaga vs St. Frances game was the finale of the Charm City Challenge. Gonzaga’s win evened up the 4 game Showcase between the Baltimore BCL & Washington, DC DMV Athletic Conferences which are 2 of the best in he nation. The BCL & WCAC teams each won 2 games. In this game Gonzaga jumped to a 25-12 lst quarter lead & at halftime lead 45-21. The Eagles were never challenged & won by the same halftime margin of 24 points.
Gonzaga College HS 81 St. Frances Academy 57
Gonzaga fights thru adversity & injury with sophomores & a freshmen & more.
Gonzaga Head Coach Stephen Turner & his great staff entered their opening game for 2017/18 without 3 key players. As we wrote in the preview Prentiss Hubb (ranked #50 by Prep Hoops nationally) will miss the season with a torn ACL. 2019 fast rising 6’5″ Wing Anwar Gill who we predict will become a national recruit, broke his foot last week in a scrimmage. The good new is Anwar is expected back in early January. 6’3″ senior sharpshooter & rotation player Will Turgeon is out with mono. A casual observer may have thought Gonzaga had no chance. However, we knew different since we are very familiar with the Eagles entire roster, system Gonzaga’s excellent team chemistry. Coach Turner’s message to his team was & will be, “We need 5 players to the ball” & his Eagles followed his orders to perfection. Gonzaga was much quicker to the ball & came away with the 50/50s. Going into the game we knew Chuck Harris & Josh Watts would start, & either Allin Blunt or Myles Stute start or receiving heavy minutes. Every player & Coach stepped up & adapted to the new lineup. Gonzaga totaled 81 points with 55 coming from sophomores Terrance Williams (22), Chuck Harris (15), Myles Stute (6), Carlos Hubb (2), Josiah Hardy (2) & 8 from freshmen Malcolm Dread. Malcolm played like a seasoned veteran &he is one the top freshmen on the east coast. Malcolm is younger brother of Myles Dread & player we will hear about for years to come on the national level. Senior starters Myles Dread & Allin Blunt pictured left scored 7 & 8 points respectively while juniors Josh Watts pictured right & John Marshall added 8 & 2 points. Each player did so much more than score. Coach Turner added, We do not want to adjust to other teams, we want them to adjust to us.” Over the last few years we have watched Gonzaga very closely & in every game Coach Turner’s players are very disciplined, fundamentally sound,tough team players who follow his instructions to the greatest detail
Terrance Williams begins 2017/18 where he finished last season
By the end of last season Terrance’s freshmen season we predicted he would become a key starter this season. He played with great poise last season & became a major contributor as the season progressed. After the game we chatted with Coach Turner who said, “Terrance began this season where he finished his freshman year.” For the last year we watched Terrence improve in almost every facet of his game to the current. He has earned & deserves his top 25 national ranking for 2020. Last night he scored his 1st points on a 3 pointer past the key, but played much of the game on the blocks. Throughout the game Terrance would bully his way inside for numerous scores & controlled the paint with fellow sophomore Myles Stute. Both Terrance & Myles are knockdown shooters, but both sophomores powered their way inside with hustle & determination. Gonzaga was much quicker to the ball & came away with the 50/50 balls. Terrance displayed a superb second jump & relentless workhorse mentality inside. He then would pop out to the perimeter for pick & rolls, & hit jumpers, attack the rim or facilitate. He played superb defense along with Myles Stute & Eagle help side defenders shut down the St.Frances Bigs to just 7 points. Terrance was named the Game’s MVP.
Sophomore PG Chuck Harris excels in a starting role
We were & are very confident 6’2″ 2020 PG Chuck Harris can be the floor general for Gonzaga this season & play at a high level. We have scouted him numerous times & predicted Chuck would be the staring PG the next 2 seasons before Prentiss was injured. We called Chuck the point guard in waiting who we predicted see good playing time off the bench this season. On Saturday, Chuck was handed over the keys & ran the show for Gonzaga. He played a superb game overall totaling 15 points & controlling the games tempo playing a beautiful floor game. Chuck let the game come to him & played excellent defense & preformed the intangibles. His ball handling was superb, tight, compact, with precise cuts using both hands. Chuck scored from all 3 levels, attacked the paint, facilitated superbly with many assists & hockey assist. He may have been the 2nd best player on the court last night & is poised for a breakout season. He has all ready attracted heavy interest from colleges.
Gonzaga players Impacted the game without scoring
Every Gonzaga player understood & played their role to perfection & sacrificed for the team. 6’5″ senior Myles Dread (pictured left) scored 7 points, but had a big game everywhere else. He provided verbal leadership, energy & toughness. At 6’5″ Myles ran the point when Chuck Harris rested & displayed an excellent handle that he did not utilize last season when Chris Lykes & Prentiss Hubb were the primary ball handlers. Additionally, last season Myles scored primarily from the mid range, & played bully ball in the paint. However, we always liked his jumper which he used on occasion last year. Through hard work & desire Myles has developed an excellent handle & a tremendous 3 pointer he can hit on & off the dribble. Last night he broke down defenders off the dribble & got into the paint playing PG. Myles delivered superb passes from all 3 levels & he has always been an excellent ball mover, defender & intangibles player which he showed last night. If there was a player last night who could guard 5 positions, it is Myles who is an extension of Coach Turner on the floor. 6’4″ junior Josh Watts played a splendid game & locked down whichever St. Frances player he guarded. Like Myles he can guard multiple positions at a high level. Josh impacted the game, rebounding, passing, & performed every intangible. 6’7″ senior Allin Blunt played a great error-less game, & whie he may have been quiet, but his Coaches & teammates noticed he was key player playing well on both sides of the ball. We believe that Gonzaga can continue to play at this high level, but the will face some tough games this weekend in the Gonzaga DC Classic which we will be covering.
St. Frances must find & get better production form their Bigs
Last night St. Frances played poorly overall & on the Panther front line totaled just 11 points if you in 6’6″ junior WF Bassirou Diop‘s 4 points. We know the Panthers will bounce back & make adjustments & get solid play from their front-line players. 6’8″ senior Koran Moore remains an excellent prospect but he must become more consistent. At times he shows some high level flashes & potential to play both sides of the ball. 6’9″ junior Jason Murphy is adjusting after moving up from the MIAA B to playing up into the BCL /MIAA A. He shows a lot of promise but his lateral movement needs to improve. Last night we could see his Jason’s upside & we believe he will see more pt & improve continually this season. 6’8″ freshmen Detwan Montague played very well this summer & is a player to watch who is currently going through some growing pains. We predict Jason will see more PT as the season moves on & are impressed by his excellent upside.
SFA will rebound from their 1st loss of the season & look to bounce back vs Mt. Carmel at home on 12-4-17. The Panthers maintain a 5-1 record which includes huge win over John Carroll & a convincing win vs Spalding. The Panthers backcourt is one of the best in MD which includes 6’0″ sophomore Captain Ace Baldwin pictured right. 6’3″ senior Captain Elijah Epps (#54) 6’3″ junior Rajeir Jones(#25) pictued right & 6’3″ sophomore Jordan Toles ( #17) .Senior 6’5″ Wing Edward Ferguson played very well last scoring 9 points off the bench
SFA game scoring totals: Rajeir Jones 12, Ace Baldwin 10, Jason Murphy 5, Elijah Epps 5, Joran Toles 6,Edward Ferguson 9, Koran Moore 2, Bassirou Diop 4, Kai Royster 4