5 Takeaways from Crossings Christian vs. Millwood
Millwood came out with an impressive team performance as they defeated Crossing Christian 71-46 behind 19 points from Isaiah Williams and 9 points from Cameron Bell. Top five takeaways from this 3A matchup: 1. Isaiah Williams is a tough wing…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingMillwood came out with an impressive team performance as they defeated Crossing Christian 71-46 behind 19 points from Isaiah Williams and 9 points from Cameron Bell.
Top five takeaways from this 3A matchup:
1. Isaiah Williams is a tough wing to stop from getting to the rim
The 2020 wing scored 19 points in a variety of ways Tuesday night. However, his bread and butter was driving left and drawing contact and finishing plays. Williams was relentless at attacking the paint and avoiding defenders trying to take a charge.
Williams has an odd shooting stroke but he hit a few threes which created some momentum for the Falcons. Williams has a scorers mentality and is not afraid to put his body on the line to get a tough bucket inside.
Williams will be a player to keep an eye on in 3A this year.
2, Cameron Bell is going to make a college coach very happy one day
The veteran Millwood point guard plays like a guy who has played alot of high level basketball and he is not rattled by anything. Having a calm and collected type of guy handling the ball does wonders for your team from top to bottom.
Bell scored 9 points versus Crossings Christian and 7 of those points came in the crucial third quarter. He never forces up shots and he is always ready to make the right play when needed.
Bell is a legitimate college prospect who has all the tools to be a good point guard at the next level.
3. The hype is real for Reid Lovelace
The freshmen guard from Crossings is everything I expected and more. Lovelace is a smaller point guard who has all the moves to get by his defender. There was a 5 or 6 minute stretch where he took over the game vs Millwood.
Although the Falcons were pulling away, Lovelace went on an individual run scoring 9 straight points. He hit two threes and his and acrobatic reverse layup for the and-1.
He had the crowd anticipating his next basket. Lovelace changed the entire energy in the gym with that scoring run.
The freshmen stud finished with 15 points against a long athletic defense.
I see now where all of this hype coming out of Crossings Christian is coming from.
4. Leo Mackie and Justin Wilson are more examples of big-time glue-guys
If there was a 6th man award for 3A, Mackie would be a legitimate candidate as he comes out and immediately he is asked to provide buckets for the Falcons.
For the Falcons to reach their ultimate goal of holding up the gold ball, Mackie will be a key contributor.
The junior guard’s ability to stretch the floor was key in Millwood’s win. He finished with 11 points and was under control for every basket.
Mackie is another example of a talented glue-guy stepping up and filling their role at a high level.
Justin Wilson is a 6’6 forward who dominated the glass and lived off of offensive rebounds. His motor is one of his biggest attributes. Wilson is also a a good communicator on the floor with his guards.
5. Crossings and Millwood are fun teams to watch
Crossing ran beautiful sets and did a great job of creating opportunities for their good three-point shooters. It seemed like every player for the Knights had a beautiful jump shot.
They had a good game plan of slowing the game and making it about half-court basketball.
However, Millwood was most impressive in the half-court vs zone or man because they moved the ball and cut off of each other. The Falcons are a legitimate contender in 3A because of their excellent execution and team chemistry.
Photo by: VYPE Oklahoma