Five Intriguing Prospects: Parkville vs Owings Mills
Yesterday, Parkville hosted Owings Mills in a rare early Saturday afternoon tip-off as a result of the game being cancelled at an earlier date due to snow. Owings Mills came in as extreme underdogs, boasting a 7-10 record. Parkville on…
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Continue ReadingYesterday, Parkville hosted Owings Mills in a rare early Saturday afternoon tip-off as a result of the game being cancelled at an earlier date due to snow. Owings Mills came in as extreme underdogs, boasting a 7-10 record. Parkville on the other hand, was 17-4 and looking to gain momentum heading into the state tournament. Owings Mills had other plans for them and came out with the 56-54 win in overtime.
Here are five intriguing prospects from this game:
John Godinez | 5’9 | Parkville ’20
As a team, Parkville lacked energy. Godinez thrives when he plays in front of a loud, hostile crowd, so given the fact that there was maybe 50 total people in the gym, there wasn’t a ton of energy to feed off of. Nevertheless, he scored 16 points and made big plays late in the game. Owings Mills came out in a 2-3 defense, but Godinez didn’t allow that from stopping him from getting inside the lane for floaters, mid-range shots and opportunities to draw a foul.
Sherrod Kearny | 6’4 | Owings Mills ’19
Kearny led all players in scoring with 21 points and I don’t think any of his attempts other than the one from the free-throw line came from outside of six feet. Kearny played the role of an old school, back-on-the-block big man who fought early for deep position. The Owings Mills guards did a nice job getting into the lane, which helped open up Kearny for dump off passes after his man was forced to rotate. Kearny did a good job using his frame to position himself for rebounds.
Jordan Strickland | 6’4 | Parkville ’20
Strickland led Parkville with 18 points. None were bigger than the three-pointer he banked in from straight ahead as time expired to force overtime. The 6-foot-4 wing had some bright spots and potential poster finishes, but was fouled on the majority of his takes. Strickland could’ve easily had 25 points in this game if he converted at the free-throw line. He usually isn’t a bad free-throw shooter, but for whatever reason in this game, he couldn’t get a rhythm when he was on the line. His versatility on both ends still intrigues college coaches.
Khalik Diggs | 6’2 | Owings Mills ’19
Diggs was second in scoring for the Eagles with 11 points, but he made his impact by continuously getting in the lane and creating for others, like Kearny. At 6-foot-2 and a strong build, Diggs would get an advantage on his match up and straight-line drive in the half court. Where Diggs also stood out was his urgency to push the ball in transition. Because of his efforts, the Eagles benefited with 2-on-1 opportunities that resulted in points.
Kevin Kalu | 6’9 | Parkville ’22
Kalu has improved leaps and bounds from the beginning of this season with his overall ability. What impressed me most though, was the way he stayed vertical when any player had it around the basket. He could’ve easily been baited into swiping for a block like most of big men do, but it would’ve forced the refs to make a call. Instead, Kalu would stay vertical, force a miss, and quickly track down the ball before finding a guard to push the tempo. Offensively, Kalu finished a lob on an out of bounds play that woke up everyone in the gym along with some solid takes off the dribble from about 12-to-15 feet where he displayed soft touch.