Five Things To Know: Shorthanded Islanders Sink Trojans
It was the Jamison Battle show from teh start—the 6-foot-7 senior forward scored 40 on his way to leading DeLaSalle to a 20-point win over the upstart Wayzata Trojans. This one was never really in doubt save for a small…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingIt was the Jamison Battle show from teh start—the 6-foot-7 senior forward scored 40 on his way to leading DeLaSalle to a 20-point win over the upstart Wayzata Trojans. This one was never really in doubt save for a small run by Wayzata to get it back to 13 points. DeLaSalle has now defeated two top-ten AAAA squads in seven days, and Wayzata falls to 2-1 with plenty more chances at non-conference opponents coming up. Final score of 70-49.
Battle-tested. Jamison Battle was the focus today because Tyrell Terry is out with a shoulder injury. No problem for Battle to become the first option: he scored a healthy 40 points on at least six treys to pace DeLaSalle. Every time Wayzata had a string of stops and momentum began to swing, Battle stepped into the corner for an answer. Very impressive showing by him.
Islander Clap, Islander CLAMP. No Tyrell Terry meant a little less anticipated scoring punch, which also meant a needed big day from the rest of DeLaSalle’s defensive force. Julian Wright, Semaj Hart and Keijuan White gave the Wayzata guards zero breathing room and provided much needed extra possessions off of turnovers. Wayzata had three makes beyond the arc all game—if that isn’t a lockdown performance, I don’t know what is.
Wayzata youth holds up and will for a while. Last year’s playoffs were huge for Kody Williams and Camden Heide; both played exceptionally in the section final. Today Williams struggled offesnively but Heide was all over the place and made some great plays with the ball in his hands that will become staples in his arsenal. Those two underclassmen are gaining such value by playing heavy and hard minutes that it will benefit down the line. Their games are complementary and we know Wayzata will be a threat with the depth those guys provide right now.
Travis 3.0. Jalen Travis is a 6-foot-6 2020 center who is very disciplined in all ways. He’s not as naturally athletic as his relatives before him but he fits exactly what De needs in the center spot: an anchor who can rebound and score with his back to the basket. Jalen did those things well today and it definitely takes pressure off of Battle to guard the opposing bigs.
Tough shooting, tough guys. Jacob Beeninga and Luke Paulson had rough days shooting the ball but they’re as tough of leaders as any and their impact was not lost even while shooting poorly from the field. Beeninga drew multiple charges and Paulson defended on the ball better than I’ve seen. They got creamed today but there’s no doubt in my mind they’re still between 8 and 12 in the AAAA rankings.