Best of the Best: Blue and Gold Championship Saturday
The final day at the storied Blue and Gold Tournament in Springfield featured a full slate of trophy games in both brackets from consolation all the way to championship finals. Prep Hoops spent the day back and forth between the…
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Continue ReadingThe final day at the storied Blue and Gold Tournament in Springfield featured a full slate of trophy games in both brackets from consolation all the way to championship finals. Prep Hoops spent the day back and forth between the JQH Arena and the Hammons Student Center taking in all of the great action. Here is our “Best of the Best” from an evening that will not soon be forgotten.
Daniel Abreu Breaks the Tournament Scoring Record:
Coming into the 3rd place Blue Division game, Willard’s 6’5 Jr Daniel Abreu needed 27 points to tie the Blue and Gold Tournament scoring record of 122 total points set by Aurora’s Jason Fronabarger in 1994. He got off to a hot start with a 12 point first quarter mainly due to his relentless attacking of the offensive glass. The lanky wing is a gifted scorer around the bucket and attacked the West Plain’s defense aggressively from the short corner and high post. He looked to be well on his way to shattering the record. However, West Plains tightened up in the 2nd and 3rd quarters holding Abreu to just 5 points and establishing a lead which set the stage for the 4th quarter where Abreu needed 10 points to set the new mark. With his team down, Abreu went back on the attack forcing his way to the free throw line where he knocked down 7 of 8 in the quarter. Daniel tied the record with under 1:30 remaining in the game and in the closing minute he showed off his improved shooting touch, coming off a screen and burying a catch and shoot 3 in front of his bench setting the new tournament record at 125 points over 4 games. The only thing that would have made it sweeter is a Willard victory, but they fell to West Plains in this one. The performance certainly caught the eye of many, including college coaches. Daniel has since received an offer from D2 Southwest Baptist.
Prolific Scoring Efforts Greenwood vs Glendale:
Anyone in the state of Missouri with a pulse knows that if Greenwood’s 6’4 So Aminu Mohammed is on the court, they are in for an absolute treat. His team, the Class 2, #1 ranked Blue Jays took a large step up in the consolation final to take on Class 5 Glendale. Aminu was brilliant. He finished with a game high 38 point, 22 rebound performance and single handedly kept his team close against a much larger school. The 5-Star guard is an elite athlete and ball-handler that slipped and spun his way through the Glendale defense for spectacular buckets and absolutely owned the offensive glass. His biggest highlight was perhaps in the first quarter when he attacked from the top of the key and threw down an emphatic two-hand slam over the top of a defender. Aminu amassed 128 points of his own over the course of the tournament, which would have broken the previously mentioned record had Greenwood won their first two games of the event. He will have two more years to take his shot at that and most likely many, many more records during his high school career.
That effort aside, it was Glendale who pulled away and won the game on the back of an excellent performance by 6’3 Sr Winston Quinn. He pumped in a team high 36 points in the victory and most definitely caught our attention. I was impressed with him at the Ozark Mountain Shootout, but was blown away in this game as he buried dagger after dagger to quell any attempts at a rally by Greenwood. Quinn was fearless attacking the rim in transition. He pulled up on a dime and buried some tough mid-range pull-ups and was lights out from beyond the arc whether he was guarded or unguarded. Honorable mention goes to his back-court mate 5’10 Jr Karter Lowery who drilled 5 three-pointers in the big win for the Falcons.
Republic’s Dynamic Duo:
Republic cruised to a Gold Division 3rd place game victory over Camdenton. Their back-court shouldered the scoring load. 6’4 Sr Broc Smith, a Drury commit, pumped in 18 points for the Tigers. He is a high IQ player and a polished scorer who can go inside-out is easily the go-to-guy for Republic. The leading scorer for the Tigers though was 5’9 So Drew McMillin who scored 19 in the victory. When you see his slight frame as a youngster, he may appear as just a wing shooter. Don’t be fooled. Young Drew is fearless and does not shy away from attacking the basket. He is very crafty and has a nice pull-up and floater game. The more he can emerge as a consistent threat, the higher Republic’s ceiling is moving forward.
Blue Division Championship: Parkview vs Logan-Rogersville:
You couldn’t ask for a better game than the Blue Division title tilt Saturday night. It was a back and forth contest throughout with numerous ties, lead changes, and highlight plays. And of course, we had overtime. The #1 seed Parkview has been finding their stride and new identity after the devastating loss of star Tyem Freeman. On the other hand, the 6th seeded Rogersville squad came in feeling a bit slighted and looked to make a statement. It was a game of runs. Just when it looked like Rogersville was running out of gas, 6’3 Sr Ryker Strong would give them a jolt and bring them back. He was a catalyst for the Wildcats and led the team with 17. On the flip side, whenever Parkview needed a basket it never failed that 6’0 Jr Nakai Johnson would find himself open to knock down a big three or stud point-guard 6’0 Jr Dontae Taylor would make a big play.
In the final seconds of regulation, with Parkview trailing by 2, Taylor drove to the rim and dropped off a slick pass to 6’9 Sr Latre Morrison who hammered home a rim-shaking dunk to tie the game and send it to overtime. It seemed that all momentum was on the Vikings side as they grabbed the lead in overtime going into the final minute. However, the Wildcats simply would not be denied. Trailing 53-50 with under 45 seconds left, Rogersville’s 6’5 Sr Luke Vandersnick turned the corner from the wing and threw down a big dunk in front of the Log-Rog student section to inject some life back into his team. After forcing a turnover on the ensuing inbounds, Vandersnick slipped in front of the Parkview defense and scored a huge “And-1” basket that gave Rogersville the lead and ultimately the upset victory.
The Depth and Team Culture of Springfield Catholic:
The Gold Division title game was a match-up between undefeated Springfield Catholic and a talented, battle tested Ozark. Early on, it appeared that the basketball gods were against the Irish. In the opening minutes, they lost second leading scorer 6’3 Sr Michael Manzardo after a hard foul and tumble left him bloody and battered. Catholic was without him for a period of time as he was cleaned up and put into a new jersey. Shortly after his return, they lost their leading scorer 6’2 Sr Jake Branham to an apparent knee injury. He missed the remainder of the game. On the surface that appears to be enough to rattle a team, particularly in a championship game against a quality opponent. But Springfield Catholic is not your typical team. The strength of the 15-0 Irish is their culture and overall depth. It’s a “next man up” mentality and they did not miss a beat, cruising to an impressive 74-64 win. They were led by 6’1 Sr Charlie O’Reilly who scored a game high 24 points on an efficient 7-10 from the field. From there it was a balanced attack with six players scoring 6 or more points helping the Irish remain unblemished on the year and claiming back to back Blue and Gold championships.