A Saturday Splash: War Eagle Classic Double Dip at Woodward Academy
Prep Hoops Georgia took its act to the south side of Atlanta for the annual War Eagle Classic last Saturday with much anticipation for a look at what is widely thought to be the state’s 2nd best team, the hosts…
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Continue ReadingPrep Hoops Georgia took its act to the south side of Atlanta for the annual War Eagle Classic last Saturday with much anticipation for a look at what is widely thought to be the state’s 2nd best team, the hosts Woodward Academy. Much to the chagrin of this writer, 6-11 War Eagle center and future wearer of North Carolina blue Walker Kessler sat out the night’s final game with a reported concussion. But the host team is not without other pieces as shown in the 70-46 win.
Will RichardMays vs. Woodward – Mays did have some athletes on display, senior postman Jaquori Wiggles had some nice moments from the block and freshman Saulaman Evans stood out as a player to watch as he develops and matures, but the Raiders, who’ve run a brutal gauntlet of a schedule with 4 of their setbacks to teams ranked in the states top 30, couldn’t keep up with a still well-oiled, Kessler-less Woodward lineup. Junior 6-5 wing Will Richard, #12 on our 2021 list, is a fluid mover on the floor with a definite taste for getting to the rim. He showed high-level athleticism at both ends, and I’m sure in concert with a core attention-getter like Kessler would have been even more intriguing attacking from the wing. The transfer from Fayette County has offers from Kennesaw St, Drexel, Furman, and North Alabama, and is sure to gain more attention as Woodward stampedes toward the playoffs. Speedy senior point guard Michael Whitmore is clearly the leader and controls the tempo well, and despite being in the under-6 feet club, as with many PG’s around town, it has little impact on his effectiveness, as he tallied 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals. The War Eagles get notable athletic wing support also from seniors Jacorrei Turner and Emory Lanier, just the kind of do-everything 6-3 pieces any coach would love to have with a pair of highly touted’s like Kessler and Richard doing their thing from the paint and off the wings.
Brookes KahlertStarr’s Mill vs. St. Pius X – Next door to the main gym and just prior to Woodward’s big W, I was expecting and received the kind of strong team effort from the St. Pius group of Brookhaven that is a trademark of many of the private schools in the Atlanta-area. Ten players dotted the score sheet as they pulled away for a 79-54 triumph, with flashy point guard Brookes Kahlert leading all scorers in the game with 29. His movement and ball-handling harken back to the early days of former NBA star Jason Williams, as he drove, dished and drilled from all spots on the floor, getting four 3’s and turning multiple steals and fast breaks into exciting lay-ups. Like Williams, undersized at 5-11 (but more like 5-9) and probably far too overlooked by opponents, he did his damage in so many ways it was hard not to sit up and take notice when the ball entered his hands. Wing Cal Peterson, a 6-4 junior, was the only other Golden Lion in double figures at 12, and showed a nice stroke from 3-land, getting 9 of those points from behind the arc. Among the other interchangeable standout parts from coach Aaron Parr’s 8-3 club were guards sophomores Devin Portee and Eamonn Kenah and juniors Daniel Beverly and Trey Acklin, all of whom moved coyly for lay-ups through the back-door driven motion offense and did a lot of the must-have little things on the defensive end. Starr’s Mill, under first-year coach Josh Reeves, has some nice pieces and made several good runs in the game, but adapting to a new coach and system always features growing pains, and that’s clearly a factor for this group not without skill and heart. The Panthers will lose contributing seniors Reese Clevinger, Zac Cerniglia, Barret Hester and Sam Handel, but Reeves will clearly have some “groceries” to work with charging ahead with a trio of juniors in forwards Brandon Allison and Mike Townsend and point guard Elliot Baker, they anchored by rising sophomore 6-5 center Malachi Townsend, whose back to the basket and face-up game caught my attention for sure while finishing with 15 points.