8 Intriguing Prospects: Santa Fe vs. Norman
Edmond Santa Fe stepped onto the floor Monday with a new title: first-ranked team in 6A Oklahoma basketball. But with being the No. 1 team comes some difficulty. Oftentimes, unlikely challengers arise to give your team grief. The Wolves, without…
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Continue ReadingEdmond Santa Fe stepped onto the floor Monday with a new title: first-ranked team in 6A Oklahoma basketball. But with being the No. 1 team comes some difficulty. Oftentimes, unlikely challengers arise to give your team grief. The Wolves, without their best player in Ben Smith, who is taking some time to rest his ankle, escaped Norman High with a 60-57 win on Monday night. Watching the game, we saw a lot of guys step up to make a difference, some unassuming, others regular faces in the scorebook. These were the eight players who stepped up and established themselves as the most intriguing players in the game.
Kristian Khoury 2019 Santa Fe G
Kristian Khoury has exceptional ball-handling skills and can move around very well while allowing minimal turnovers to produce maximum potential on each possession. He hit five 3-points in the second half of the game Monday night, and was arguably the biggest part of Santa Fe leaving the gym with a win. He finished with 21 points overall, 17 of which came in the crunch time after the halftime break.
Ben Emmert 2020 Norman W
Ben Emmert has a special set of skills that add up to creat a pretty dominant scorer, as he finished with 27 points Monday night. Emmert is a swingman-type player with the ability to generate scoring production both within the perimeter and outside of it. He is great as a roll guy out of the screen to get those easy points. He makes great cuts when he doesn’t have the ball in his hands, and helps to declutter the lane. He has an impressive mid-range and long-range game. Once he’s in the paint, he can do damage with his strength and height. He’s a great all-around, talent.
Jonah Paden 2020 Norman F
Jonah Paden is a sizable, athletic, and aggressive swingman who, like Emmert, can make his presence known just as much inside the lane as he can outside of it. Defensively, he plays big and physical and is one of the most in-shape players on the floor, giving him the gift of longevity and sustained impact on the floor. Paden is a smart, quick player who makes his team better when he’s on the court.
Colby Onyekuru 2021 Santa Fe W
Colby Onyekuru displayed great shooting talents on Monday night. The junior hit three from beyond the arc in the first quarter alone, propelling the Wolves to an early 22-12 lead. His exceptional shooting early allowed his teammates to be freed up and hit more shots themselves. When Colby was hot, there was a direct correlation on the score.
Jaden Bray 2021 Norman PG
Jaden Bray is bound to be the fastest guy on the floor in any contest — that rang true Monday night. Bray has a sometimes unbelievable combination of control and speed, allowing him to dominate the game in transition. He is a smart point guard who is able to find his teammates even in top gear, get the ball into their shooting pocket, and idealize his team’s scoring. Bray showed that he is one of the more talented underclassmen in the OKC metro against Edmond Santa Fe.
Sean Franklin 2021 Santa Fe W
Sean Franklin was a powerful, intense rebounding presence for the Wolves. Anytime a player steps onto the floor with a dog-like rebounding mentality, his team will benefit and he’ll be a huge part of its success. Franklin was as central as anybody to the Wolves’ success Monday night, helping to fill the gap of Ben Smith’s absence. He also etched his name in the scoring book with x points.
Donovan Vickers 2020 Santa Fe PG
Donovan Vickers continues to gain respect points each week by the way he plays. He is one of the strongest true point guards in the Oklahoma City metro. He has no problem getting his hands dirty, playing tight, adhesive defense and crashing the lane to grab rebounds for the Wolves. Additionally, Vickers was a catalyst in the Wolves’ shooting success on the night, both in his shooting and sharing of the ball among his teammates.