Purple Knight Classic Recap: Part 1
The 3rd annual Purple Knight Classic concluded on Saturday with host St. Augustine blowing by Thibodaux, 89-55, to win its second Purple Knight Classic title. The tournament included 14 teams and here’s a look at evaluations for the first six…
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Continue ReadingThe 3rd annual Purple Knight Classic concluded on Saturday with host St. Augustine blowing by Thibodaux, 89-55, to win its second Purple Knight Classic title. The tournament included 14 teams and here’s a look at evaluations for the first six squads to take the floor.
Also, click here to read up on St. Augustine’s run through the tournament and check the bottom of the post to see highlights from the six teams below.
MCDONOGH 35
Tournament Results: W vs. Ben Franklin, 65-35 | L vs. St. Augustine, 56-42 | L vs. Chalmette, 54-46
McDonogh 35 (6-12) doesn’t have many guys who’ll play on the college level, if any, but they’re a solid team that plays hard and plays together. The Roneagles haven’t had their top player, 2020 PG Antonio Warren, as of late due to off-court issues, but others have stepped up in his absence.
2020 F Jarvis McCoy was the team’s leading scorer against Ben Franklin with 14 points and five others scored at least six points. 2021 5’11” G Shateek Stewart scored eight points and is usually McDonogh 35’s top player on a night-to-night basis along with 2019 6’1” G Jesse Lawrence.
Stewart is capable of knocking down shots from deep and does a good job attacking the rim when defenders close out too hard. Lawrence can be a threat at times offensively, but his best attributes are his leadership and intensity. He’s the “glue guy” for the Roneagles who keeps everyone involved as the primary ball handler.
BEN FRANKLIN
Tournament Results: L vs. McDonogh 35, 65-35 | L vs. East St. John, 62-41
Ben Franklin (2-9) has a ways to go to be a competitive team but 2019 6’2” G Jyde Manson is an intriguing player who could find himself on a college roster. He has a solid handler that can finish around the rim, and carries the load for his team game in and game out.
SLIDELL
Tournament Results: W vs. East St. John, 92-84 | L vs. Bonnabel, 82-57 | L vs. East Ascension, 85-65
Slidell (12-7) had a comfortable 46-34 lead at halftime and really pulled away in the third quarter outscoring East St. John by 15 for a 75-50 advantage. Five Tigers scored in double figures led by their top two players 2019 6’4” F Kolby Warren and 2019 6’0” G Tylor Harris.
Warren led the way with 23 points repeatedly finding his way into the paint off the dribble or on post ups. He also showed off his shot with a 3-pointer, which is Harris’ specialty. Harris is one of the better shooters in the area off the dribble or in catch-and-shoot situations, and 9 of his 18 points came on triples.
2021 6’2” G Cooper Rachow, 2019 5’10” PG Trey Davis and 2019 6’1” PG Jonathan Merriman were the other three double-digit scorers for Slidell with 17, 15 and 10.
EAST ST. JOHN
Tournament Results: L vs. Slidell, 92-84 | W vs. Ben Franklin, 62-41 | W vs. KIPP Renaissance, 69-50
Wildcat 2019 6’2” G Brandon Davis was the team’s most impressive player and he put up 23 points to start the week against Slidell. He has a scorer’s mentality with most of his shots coming at the rim or from deep and he’s put up big numbers for the Wildcats throughout the season.
2020 prospects Mark Meredith and Maurice Howard also showed some potential scoring 20 and 9 points, respectively. Meredith was active on both ends and showed a consistent 3-point shot knocking down four 3’s. Howard was a bit trigger-happy early on but ended up connecting on three 3-pointers.
2019 6’4″ F Brandon Vouillion also put up 15 points with 10 of those coming in the first quarter and he had three of East St. John’s 18 3-pointers.
East St. John as a team, however, has has a rough season going 5-16 against some stout competition. They have won three of their last four, though, after back-to-back wins over Ben Franklin and KIPP Renaissance.
THIBODAUX
Tournament Results: W vs. West Jeff, 83-53 | W vs. East Ascension, 82-77 | W vs. Bonnabel, 60-52 | L vs. St. Augustine, 89-55
Thibodaux (14-2) has the potential to make a deep run in this year’s Class 5A bracket and they played at a high level through the first three rounds of the tournament.
The Tigers made a living in the paint in the opening game against West Jeff scoring 65 of their 83 points inside the arc or at the free throw line. Most of the damage was done by 2020 6’4” SF Kyren Lacy, who was one of five players selected to the All-Tournament. He scored 21 against West Jeff and showed impressive versatility as a wing player throughout the tournament making some tough 3-pointers while flashing above average court vision as a passer.
2019 6’3” G Marvin Robertson Jr., a transfer from Central Lafourche, also stood out for the Tigers in the tournament. He had 18 vs. West Jeff and was a force on defense for most of the week, but wasn’t very sharp offensively scoring 2 against Bonnabel and 13 and St. Augustine.
2019 guards Kobi Johnson and Rashod Robinson are also key pieces for Thibodaux along with 2020 6’3” G J’Mari Carter. Johnson and Robinson are both tough, undersized guards who can also knock down shots. Carter has the ability to fill it up from long range and finished with 23 points against East Ascension and 16 against Bonnabel.
WEST JEFFERSON
Tournament Results: L vs. Thibodaux, 83-53 | W vs. Karr, 56-35 | W vs. Kennedy, 65-41
The Bucs (15-6) have a chance to make some noise in Class 5A with a solid group of core players. 2019 guards Tony White (6’3”), Warren Jones (5’11”) and Antonio Wells (6’1”) led West Jeff to a 13-5 record to start the season and the vast majority of those wins came without starting 2019 PG Dajour Lloyd, who’s been out with an injury.
It appears the Bucs are really beginning to miss Lloyd as they lost three straight games including the opening game of the Purple Knight Classic against Thibodaux, 83-53. They were able to bounce back, however, with wins over Karr and Kennedy to close out the tournament.
White is a hard-nosed guard who can play on or off the ball and prefers to attack the rim. Jones and Wells are a bit more balanced in terms of scoring in or outside the arc and Jones is more explosive and athletic than he may look on first glance.
2019 6’2” G Eric Brignac also does a lot of the dirty work inside for the undersized Bucs and he’s also capable of scoring around 20 points on occasion. 2021 5’9” G Jeremiah Cook is also worth a mention as a knockdown shooter who never hesitates to get a shot up.