5 Standouts: Manual versus Sterling
Saturday featured one of the better games on the day as two teams in 3A’s Top-10 battled it out at the Thunderdome, home of the defending champion Manual Thunderbolts. It was a game in which Sterling led from start to…
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Continue ReadingSaturday featured one of the better games on the day as two teams in 3A’s Top-10 battled it out at the Thunderdome, home of the defending champion Manual Thunderbolts. It was a game in which Sterling led from start to finish as they put on an impressive performance in a high-scoring affair. Manual made a push but by then it was too late as the Tigers pulled away with a 74-65 win. Here are my five standouts who showed out in the game.
Stock Booster from each team
I know, it says five standouts, but I am a rule breaker. I am going to take a look at a player on each team whose game made an impact.
For Sterling, the player that really stood out for me was Dylan Anderson. Anderson is not a big-time scorer but puts himself in perfect positions to score and found plenty of opportunities to do so against Manual. He had 14 points in the game and it was due to being an inside and out threat. He knocked down two 3-pointers in the game and then when the defense converged he blew by for easy layups. On a team that has so many options, it is great to have another player to rely on to score a few easy baskets and he did just that while also grabbing four boards for a good game.
For Manual, Lonzel Smith is a player that intrigues me as he has all of the intangibles to be able to score a ton of points, yet passes up every single look that he gets. He is the quickest player on the court almost every single night, he uses that speed to blow by defenders and then he either brings it back out or passes up an easy scoring opportunity. This is a guard that should be averaging at least 10 easy points a game based on speed alone. He has a good handle on the ball, creates open looks and also is a solid defender that might take a bit too many chances going for steals instead of staying in front of his man but is quick enough to gamble and get back. Once he figures out how to balance the speed with his abilities he is going to be a pretty good player to guard.
Jordan Reed is better than expected
Sophomore guard Jordan Reed is a player we got to see a bit of this summer but it was my first time seeing him in person since the season started. What I saw was a maturity and calmness to his game that you don’t see especially on a team that thrives off of chaos. He is an under control guard that has good size and fits in most situations. He finished with 16 points in the game as he can score in multiple ways as seen by his two 3-pointers in the game as well getting inside and using his size to score over smaller defenders. Manual will have to build a bit more on their chemistry this year as a majority of their players do not have varsity experience but with a scorer like Jaden Stoffell and also a do-it-all player in Reed both being good with and without the ball. Manual can get back to defending their championship run and it will only get better if they played with more cohesion. Reed is a player, he is, he just has to find out how to fit in while also standing out. One thing I do know is he is going to be an unstoppable force by senior year.
Jaden Stoffell is a microwave
Senior guard Jaden Stoffell is one of the only players who played meaningful minutes back for the Thunderbolts and he is an All-State guard that can score in bunches. Things were not looking good for him early on for him as he was missing a few shots and being face guarded the entire time which in essence had him force a few shots up, but then when he saw one go in, things turned around for him. Stoffell is one of the state’s better microwave type players as he can heat up at any moment. He finished with a team-high 23 points and 17 of those came in the second half as he made four straight 3-pointers from deep and started to finally play within the flow of the offense. Manual tried different ways to get him open and once they let him bring the ball up and generate the offense starting at halfcourt is when things finally started clicking. He then also started getting others involved and that is when Manual looked like the team that brought home the trophy. Stoffell is a tough shot taker but also a tough shot maker. He is the go-to scorer that teams are focusing in on and some of his shots are going to be tough but he is who the offense should run through and once his teammates get on board with that and still play within themselves is when they will get back to winning games. Not a bad day for him and his second half run to get Manual back within striking distance was fun.
Brock Shalla is very underrated
Shalla is not a player that I knew about heading into the game but is a player that I thoroughly enjoyed watching play as he is a star in his role. He did not force many shots, he did not try and do things that he was not capable of doing but what he did do is affect the game with not just trying to score the basketball and those hustle plays, fighting for rebounds and focus on the defensive end ended up getting some easy baskets and 22 points in the game. Shalla is a tough nosed defender and a high IQ guard that uses his size and strength to score. He got into the lane, put his body on the defender and powered through them. He did not hit a 3-pointer in the game and all of his production came at the rim or in transition. He got to the free-throw line and made them pay, had a couple of steals and also had a block in the game as well. He is a player that I will be following more this season.
Axel Henry should be on all radars
The player of the game was Axel Henry and it was not close. He did it all and is a crafty guard that understands positioning and the importance of spacing. He created so much gravity after he hit a couple of 3-pointers that Manual had to adjust to his jump-shot and he just made them pay in other ways. He knocked down four 3-pointers in the game but also was able to get out in transition and score, run the offense and found himself open off of screens and also made his free throws. Henry is a player that I had heard about but did not get to see play and I am happy that I did as he is a player to build around and will play at the next level. He is a high IQ guard with a sweet shooting stroke and Manual had no answers for him as he put up a season-high 28 points against the defending champs.