5 Takeaways From Silverado vs Desert Pines
Desert Pines traveled to Silverado late Monday night and was victorious in a 79 – 42 rout over the Silverado Skyhawks. For DP the win approves their season record to 7-5. Most importantly it showed that they can go on…
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Continue ReadingDesert Pines traveled to Silverado late Monday night and was victorious in a 79 – 42 rout over the Silverado Skyhawks. For DP the win approves their season record to 7-5. Most importantly it showed that they can go on the road and implement a strong defensive game plan and beat an equallly talented team. It was an overall dominant performance. So what exactly did this game show?
1) Desert Pines defense is suffocating
Monday night’s game was an indication of what makes Desert Pines such a scary team. The way this team plays team defense is simply phenomenal. Silverado faced a ton of half court traps all night and no shot came easy. Desert Pines forced 15 turnovers against Silverado. And held Silverado’s leading scorer London Coleman to 2 points and 5 turnovers. Only one Silverado player Martel Williams scored in double figures with 15 points. Desert Pines was able to generate easy points from suffocating defense. On the season DP is averaging 8.5 steals per game and most of this is with leading team shot blocker from a season ago Darnell Washington playing sparingly. Once this team hits full conference play they just seem like they will be so hard to beat.
2) Was Silverado’s loss to DP damaging?
While Monday’s loss was a bad look for Silverado their is still a great deal of the season left to play Silverado is 7-4 on the season and they still have tons of young talent throughout the roster. I walked away throughly impressed with Martel Williams’s overall game. When you are coming off a season where you average over 20 it is easy just to lable you as just a scorer and move on. They say sometimes you learn more in a loss than you do a win. For Martel he had the unenviable task of being ask to guard 6’8 260 pound Darnell Washington on the block when Washington was in. Willams showed active hands on the block and led Silverado with a game high 9 rebounds. Silverado faced a buzzsaw. They are a skilled enough group to overcome the cold night shooting. Sometimes that is just the way the ball falls in the basket.
3) How far can Desert Pines go this year?
Based off last season DP was 12-0 in conference play. With plenty of big game experience the sky is the limit for them. They made it as far as the state quarter finals a season ago. This is a program that is used to winning and I don’t see why that will change in 2020. What I have noticed about this team thusfar is that they are dominate in state but out of state in their non conference schedule is where most of their losses have occured. Inside the state of Nevada no team has been able to beat them. Milos Uzan (#3 2022) is as great as adverised, Anthony Swift (#5,2021), Dayshawn Wiley (#10,2021). This team is so loaded and their defense puts them up their with some of the best teams in the state. This year they won’t have to deal with the likes of a senior laden Clark team I could definatley see them making it further than they did last year. They are in the conversation for state.
4) Which One Of The C/O 2021, 2022, 2023 Prospects On The Floor Has The Greatest Upside?
The obvious choice here is Milos Uzan. Imma go against the obvious and choose two one from Desert Pines the other Silverado.
Anthony Swift 6’6 SF Desert Pines 2021 (#5 PHN 2021) – Swift is an athletic wing, that finishes and protects the rim. I mentioned London Coleman’s 5 turnovers Swift’s feistiness and relentless effort was a huge reason for that. On the year Swift is averaging 11.5 points 7.5 rebounds. However, Swift has shown his versatility more than most having to play significant minutes inside with Darnell Washington barely playing this year. Swift has a strong face-up game out to 15 feet. He has active hands on the glass he was the reason for a few tip back and extra rebounds. As far as smooth is concerned it doesn’t get smoother than Swift.
Darnell Fizer 6’5 SG Silverado 2023 (#4 2023) – Physically he fits in on the court. Fizer is a 6’5 athlete that understands how to score. He has been productive, averaging over 11 points per game including scoring in double figures in 5 out of his first 7 games. Against DP he was second in scoring with 9. For a freshman he did an excellent job of pushing through even in a cold night from his team. He’s a major factor in why I believe Silverado can learn from Monday’s performance.
5) Who is Cimarron Conriquez?
Cimarron Conriquez 6’1 SG Desert Pines (#43 PHN 2021) – Conriquez as DJ Khaled says is a “major key” to a successful season for DP. He’s a natural shooter and instant energy on the floor for DP. His stock will continue to rise because of the role he plays for the team. At halftime I noticed he and Uzan working on corner jumpshots and assits. He has a quick trigger and textbook release. On fast breaks he sneakily lags to his sweet spot and can hit the open look. He also is tied for a team lead in steals with 1.7 steals per game so he has active hands on the floor. I would consider him a strong two-way player. He has a game this year with 5 steals. Every team has an x-factor and he may the guy for DP on a loaded roster.