Semifinal Standouts: Rolla Holiday Tournament
Prep Hoops was on hand from the Missouri S&T campus for semifinal action from the Rolla Holiday Tournament last night. The 5:30 contest was a drastic contrast of styles that saw an athletic, talented, and up-tempo Raytown South squad take…
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Continue ReadingPrep Hoops was on hand from the Missouri S&T campus for semifinal action from the Rolla Holiday Tournament last night.
The 5:30 contest was a drastic contrast of styles that saw an athletic, talented, and up-tempo Raytown South squad take on a methodical, slower paced program from Waynesville. The Tigers were able to slow down the game and frustrate Raytown South at different period throughout to keep things close but in the end the Cardinals were simply too much to handle and they pulled away for a 39-23 victory.
The second semifinal game saw two very similar teams square off in the Rolla Bulldogs and Warrensburg Tigers. This was an exciting back and forth contest that saw Rolla consistently push their lead out to three or four possessions only for Warrensburg to come clawing back every time. In the end, though, Rolla was able to pull away and keep their distance down the stretch in route to a 41-32 victory.
Here are our standout performers from these semi-final games:
6’4 Sr Mark Cann (Raytown South)
Mark was the most electric player in the gym. He set the tone early with a two-handed transition jam. From there, he had several moments that made our eyes pop. A really tough spin move through traffic and left handed finish, a tread the needle cross-court dime, and an incredibly athletic block off the top of the backboard square. He was able to square up and drill a couple wing threes and can pull-up on a dime and bury the mid-range. He finished with a game high 14 and was the best player on the floor.
6’0 Sr Dezmond Mckinney (Raytown South)
Dezmond gave the Waynesville back-court fits. He knows one way to play and that is physical and at top speed. He gets downhill in a hurry and can beat the defense back in transition with ease. He is a strong finisher around the rim that showed off some slick handles and a tough mid-range game. He had countless steals and deflections on the defensive end and was a catalyst for a team that likes to go fast and was looking to create chaos and speed up the game.
5’11 Sr Kobe Campbell (Raytown South)
Kobe is a smooth operator. He is one of the “shiftier” guards I have seen so far this season. His ability to twist and contort his body around defenders without sacrificing his speed or purpose is impressive. He did a very nice job of slipping and sliding his way all the way to the basket with the ball on a string.
6’2 Jr Jared Hyatt (Waynesville)
If there were a hustle and effort award it would go to Jared. He was instrumental in keeping Waynesville within striking distance. He had an impressive backboard pin block that he followed up with a dump off lay-up on the other end. Then he had back to back offensive rebound put-backs.
5’5 So Xay McArthur (Waynesville)
Xay didn’t score it much, but he was the most important player on the floor for Waynesville. He handled the ball with poise against stout ball pressure and traps the entire game. He was a stabilizing force that got the team into their offense and picked his opportunities to drive the paint and distribute to shooters or cutters. He also did a nice job defensively making ballhandlers uncomfortable, eventually forcing mistakes.
6’1 Jr Shelby Pittsenbarger (Warrensburg)
Shelby had a nice, complete performance for the Tigers in their semifinal loss. Multiple times, he came away with steals and was able to get coast to coast for finishes. He curls screens hard and can catch and finish through contact, he had a pair of big hoop and harm scores. He also displayed nice range on his jumper, knocking one down from the short corner and extending out beyond the arc for a three.
6’6 Jr Cooper Berry (Warrensburg)
The head-fake king! Cooper is a strong body in the paint that offers a deterrent and shot altering presence for Warrensburg. He was able to convert on a handful of baskets inside with a nice crab dribble move that led to multiple head-fakes to get defenders off their feet and off balance before he elevated to score.
5’10 Sr Colby Shivers (Rolla)
Every time I looked up during this game, Colby Shivers was converting another lay-up. He is a high IQ guy that always finds himself in the right place at the right time. He consistently was able to sneak behind the defense by timing his cuts and converted easy bucket after easy bucket.
6’5 Jr Danny Foster (Rolla)
Good length that can play inside/out for Rolla. He has very nice touch with the jump hook and had a nice looking mid-range jumper.