Battle at the Bay: Five Takeaways
Mission Bay High and head coach Marshawn Cherry played host to its inaugural Battle at the Bay showcase, featuring some of the top teams and players in the San Diego Area.
The marquee game was a No. 1 vs. No. 3 battle between the host Bucs and a supremely talented Foothills Christian squad led by Arizona State-bound forward Taeshon Cherry and Dorian Blue.
The Knights upended Mission Bay in overtime, 61-58, behind 24 points from Cherry, 18 from Blue and some sound perimeter defense from junior guard Jaren Nafarette. Elite junior Boogie Ellis led Mission Bay with 22 points, while Jay Norton added 18 points and Ronnie Latting finished with eight points and sixteen rebounds.
Here are Devin Ugland’s five takeaway’s from Saturday’s five-game slate.
Five Takeaways
Ronnie Latting is the best rebounder in San Diego
Every time I watch Latting he pulls down double-digit rebounds and Saturday was no different. The 6-foot-6, 215-pound forward grabbed 16 boards in the overtime loss to Foothills Christian and had his way on both the offensive and defensive glass. Latting’s combination of size and strength to go along with his fundamental understanding of blocking out when a shot goes up are the reasons why he’s such an effective rebounder.
Jaren Nafarette’s defense was key in Foothills Christian’s win over Mission Bay
Mission Bay’s Boogie Ellis is one of the most difficult covers in all of Southern California, but Knights’ guard Jaren Nafarette did as good of a job as possible in a win over the Bucs. Nafarette is slight of frame at 5-feet-7 and 140 pounds, but his lateral speed and understanding of how to cut off angles and get a hand up on shot contests made things difficult for Ellis to score his 22 points.
Jayson Taylor is raw, but improving
The 6-foot-9 junior scored eight points and grabbed 14 rebounds in La Jolla Country Day’s blowout of Cathedral Catholic. Taylor has nice size and length, and while he’s still super raw from a college prospect standpoint, he has some things you can’t teach a big man like his soft hands and quick finishing ability in pick-and-roll action. Taylor isn’t a guy who is going to get you a bucket on the block right now, but he does have some tools to work with.
Jacob Jovien is a long athletic slasher who finished with 16 points for Francis Parker.Jacob Jovien is a junior to keep an eye on
Jovien is an intriguing junior prospect in the San Diego area. The 6-foot-4 Francis Parker wing excels when attacking the basket off the bounce and using his good athleticism, length and body control to finish around the basket. Jovien needs to extend his range to the 3-point line to keep defenses honest, but he does have a consistent mid-range game to counteract his aggressiveness to the rack.
Lincoln freshman Raymond Spriggs is one to monitor
Lincoln fell to Bishop’s, 61-41, in a game that didn’t feature many bright spots for the Hornets, except for freshman guard Raymond Spriggs. The 5-foot-11 shooting guard hit four 3-pointers and scored 14 points in the loss. Spriggs has a smooth shooting stroke from deep with a quick release and should be a player to keep on the radar moving forward.