5 Best: Hancock vs Valley Park
Prep Hoops was in the house as Valley Park hosted Hancock Tuesday night in a battle of two of the top teams in their conference. It was also a battle of two of the best wing scorers in the area…
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Continue ReadingPrep Hoops was in the house as Valley Park hosted Hancock Tuesday night in a battle of two of the top teams in their conference. It was also a battle of two of the best wing scorers in the area in Valley Park’s Jeramy Shaw and Hancock’s Sam Richardson. It was all Hancock from the opening tip as the Tigers depth and athleticism overwhelmed the Hawks and led them to a resounding 55-36 victory. Here are our “5 Best” from this early conference tilt.
Best Overall Performance: 6’5 Jr Sam Richardson – Hancock
Sam had a takeover performance in the conference win Tuesday night and was the best player on the floor. The standout junior, who recently eclipsed the 1000 point mark, led the way for the Tigers with 22 points. He was lethal, as always, in transition and finishing around the rim. He is a big time athlete and crafty finisher. It is clear he has been working on expanding his game as he has shown significant improvement from mid-range out to beyond the arc with his jump-shot. He was very opportunistic defensively, jumping passing lanes for steals and deflections, and crashed the boards very hard throughout the contest.
Most Important to His Team: 6’4 Sr Jeramy Shaw – Valley Park
Although he was held nearly 10 points below his season average, Jeramy was a one man show most of the night. He finished with 18 points, all of which were earned the hard way in what seemingly was 1 on 5 situations. He is another big, athletic wing that showed off impressive body and ball control driving and finishing several acrobatic shots around the rim. Hancock was very physical with him and fatigue may have led to a 6-12 performance from the charity stripe. He plays all positions for his team at different times on both ends of the floor and they rely on him very heavily to shoulder the scoring load. He is more than capable of doing all of the above as evidenced by his nearly 28 point per game average.
Best Shooter: 5’9 So Adrian Evans – Hancock
Hancock was without their co-ace Rico Sutton in this game and needed someone to pick up the scoring slack in his absence. Adrian stepped up in a big way, scoring 15 points for the Tigers including three corner deep-balls in the first half.
Best Defender: 6’5 Sr Siah Moultrie – Hancock
With a pair of big time scoring guards, Siah’s points per game will not jump off the page. However, he is critical to the Tigers success because of what he provides on the defensive end. He is a force on the glass on both ends and is an excellent shot blocker. He’s strong, sneaky athletic, and has an impressive wingspan that aided him in a number of big time blocks on post-ups and drives. He is a deterrent and alters anything in his reach.
Best Youngster: 6’2 Fr Steven Willis – Valley Park
It is impressive enough to start as a freshman, and there are a lot of intangibles to like about Steven. He already possesses a decent frame that he will obviously continue to grow into. He is strong beyond his years and a solid athlete. He had 8 points for the Hawks including a couple tough finishes inside with contact. If he continues to work on improving his jumper and range, he is in line for a very nice career at Valley Park