Five Key Questions: St. Andrew’s vs. McDonogh
POTOMAC, MD — The St. Andrew’s Invitational Championship game lived up to the hype, with McDonogh coming out strong and taking an early lead, but St. Andrew’s was led by their seniors who helped them secure a hard-fought 57-50 victory.…
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Continue ReadingPOTOMAC, MD — The St. Andrew’s Invitational Championship game lived up to the hype, with McDonogh coming out strong and taking an early lead, but St. Andrew’s was led by their seniors who helped them secure a hard-fought 57-50 victory. Here we recap this contest by answering five key questions.
WHO WERE THE STANDOUTS?
JARED BILLUPS | MCDONOGH ’21
We’re not certain, but would venture to guess that McDonogh had the advantage on the boards in this one, and Jared Billups was part of the reason why. The long-armed athletic wing played with an unrelenting motor and posed problems on the offensive glass throughout the game. Billups also made timely shots from the perimeter, and if he can do this consistently it will add another dimension to his already versatile game.
HERU BLIGEN | ST. ANDREW’S ’19
Heru Bligen was borderline unstoppable in this game, and got to the basket at will. The Longwood commit made the most of his opportunities, converting on 11 of 13 attempts from the charity stripe. Bligen was named tournament MVP for his outstanding efforts.
DAVID BROWN | MCDONOGH ’21
McDonogh held a 14-6 lead after the first quarter, with David Brown contributing 7 points to the cause. The skilled wing, who came up big down the stretch with 8 fourth quarter points, knocked down shots consistently and moved well without the ball.
KAMARI WILLIAMS | ST. ANDREW’S ’19
Kamari Williams shot the ball well in this one, and helped St. Andrew’s out on the defensive glass as well. The Boston College commit hit some timely shots late, scoring 7 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter.
WHICH UNDERCLASSMEN STOOD OUT?
EVERETT COOPER | MCDONOGH ’22
You can see that freshman point guard Everett Cooper is learning on the fly, but there’s no doubt he can hold his own out there and is gaining valuable experience at the moment. He is a strong ball-handler and creator who can shoot from the perimeter, but at times tends to overlook the simple reads. Cooper’s overall development and ability to make guys around him better will ultimately be a key ingredient to their success.
PRESTON HOWARD | MCDONOGH ’22
Listed at 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, Preston Howard is an intriguing prospect who stood out as a jumbo playmaker. Howard is a skilled, mobile forward who displayed good vision and played with a high motor.
BENNY WILLIAMS | ST. ANDREW’S ’21
Benny Williams came in and made an impact with his length and activity on the defensive side of the ball. Williams stuffed the stat sheet. He hit both of his free throw attempts, recorded a block, a steal, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and 0 turnovers in limited minutes.
WHERE WAS DREW GREEN?
Drew Green is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury, but he was not invisible on the sideline. The senior led vocally from the bench and helped his teammates any way he could. With a handful of D2 offers to choose from at the moment, Green could reportedly be holding off on committing for now and considering walking onto a D1 program.
WHICH PLAYERS WERE THE X-FACTORS FOR ST. ANDREW’S?
SPENCER HAYES | ST. ANDREW’S ’20
Spencer Hayes was instrumental in helping the Lions secure this win. The versatile slashing wing was active defensively and generally made smart plays with the ball in his hands.
COLIN SMALLS | ST. ANDREW’S ’20
Colin Smalls was relied on to do several things in this game. He not only handled and defended the ball, but facilitated and also looked to be aggressive when the opportunity presented itself.
WHAT IS THE FUTURE OUTLOOK FOR EACH TEAM?
Sophomore wing David Brown is averaging close to 18 points per game so far this seasonIn one word, “bright.” Despite the fact that this is a young team, they showed a lot of fight and have serious potential to consider moving forward. 6-foot-4 junior Curtis Jacobs is one heck of an athlete, and he wasn’t really able to get into the game tonight. The Eagles were also without their senior leader on the road, and faced some questionable calls from the officials. While this is certainly no excuse, and there are no moral victories, but it will be interesting to see how they respond.