2020 Preview: Putnam City West (6A)
A 58-64 loss to Booker T. Washington in the 2019 state quarterfinal game has not escaped Rondel Walker‘s mind. “I can’t emphasize it enough,” the Oklahoma State-commit said, “this year is personal.” Putnam City West finished 20-8 in 2019 before…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingA 58-64 loss to Booker T. Washington in the 2019 state quarterfinal game has not escaped Rondel Walker‘s mind.
“I can’t emphasize it enough,” the Oklahoma State-commit said, “this year is personal.”
Putnam City West finished 20-8 in 2019 before falling 6 points short to the eventual champions on March 7 at Catoosa High School. The Patriots’ season has ended in the quarterfinals the previous three seasons, also.
“Being there, in March, we just gotta do things to execute,” Patriots coach Lenny Bert (9th yr., 172-72 W-L) said. “Getting right to the quarterfinals, it’s a game that could go either way.
“Whether we’re up in the fourth quarter or one, two points down. . . I think that’s where we gotta show we can execute.”
MJ WarriorAlong with the talents of Walker (6’4″ Sr., pictured above), the Patriots will rely heavily on senior MJ Warrior (6’2″ Sr., pictured right) to contribute on both ends of the floor.
“I think [MJ] is a Division-I talent, I think he can play the Division-I level,” Bert said. “He’s so tough to guard off-the-dribble going either way.”
Warrior will also be expected to fulfill a greater on-ball role alongside Walker.
“My role has been more to get us in the right spots, lead the offense,” Warrior said, “but also [Bert] told me to be aggressive off the point.
“So it’s kind of balancing scoring and getting everybody involved.”
Walker, however, will retain his role from last season. After averaging over 23 points-a-night and a quintet of assists, the expectations are high for the No. 2 player in Oklahoma, especially following his commitment to the Pokes on Halloween.
Elijah James (6’1″ So.) will also reprise his role as a significant contributor on both ends of the floor from his freshman year.
Daylon Andrews“Elijah started half the season [last year], but he had a knee injury,” Bert said, “so he’s not full strength yet, but he’s practicing.”
Also playing in the back-court alongside Warrior and Walker will be defensive show-stopper Emahdre Hightower (5’9″ Sr.) and sharpshooter Daylon Andrews (5’11” Jr., pictured left).
“[Daylon] played about 10-to-15 minutes a game last year,” Bert said, “but he’s really changed his body this year. . . grown about an inch or so.”
A new face in the West rotation will be LeShawn McVea (6’0″ Sr.), an exceptional shooter from the dribble who has been sidelined with injury for all of his varsity career.
Rounding out the core of West’s tenured players is Collin House (6’1″ Sr.), a reliable 3-and-D-type of player who can catapult deep shots into the hoop to stretch opposing defenses.
Malik Hearn (6’5″ Jr.) is expected to have a breakout season anchoring the post for the Patriots.
“A bright spot is [Malik],” Bert said, “he’s grown about three inches since last year, so he’s going to be a big part of what we do.”
Head coach Lenny Bert (far right)Bert said Hearn will also be an effective defender, thanks to his versatility.
“He can guard probably three or four positions,” Bert said. “He’s one of the fastest kids on our team.”
Boomer Barnes (6’7″ So.) will be the muscle for the Patriots. Barnes is a highly-capable rebounder who can compete for lengthy stretches of games.
“We’re gonna play one game at a time,” Bert said. “You can’t win big games unless you’re just that much talented than everybody else — you don’t see that much in high school basketball.”
“We know how good we are,” Walker said, “we just gotta show it in March and every game leading up to that.”
Warrior nodded.
“We got dogs,” he said, “the thing about Putnam City West is we’re always gonna play no hard no matter what happens.”
Did we miss something? DM @McKinnisBryce via Twitter to let us know.