Friday Night Floater: Lanier at Winder-Barrow Takeaways
When Winder-Barrow traveled to Lanier back on Jan. 3 and emerged after a tight 51-43 defeat, one would have thought the home rematch would have amounted to a good one for the Bulldogs. But it wasn’t to be on this…
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Continue ReadingWhen Winder-Barrow traveled to Lanier back on Jan. 3 and emerged after a tight 51-43 defeat, one would have thought the home rematch would have amounted to a good one for the Bulldogs. But it wasn’t to be on this night, as Lanier’s shooting and guard play were just too much, and the visiting Longhorns never looked back after the 1st quarter, stretching a 21-16 lead and cruising to an 83-52 victory in 6A Region 8.
My Trifecta of “meal-time” takeaways from the game:
THE STEAK: A DEVASTATING 1-2 PUNCH FOR LANIER
Sion James Andrew McConnell
Lanier’s two star guards, senior Sion James (headed to Tulane) and junior Andrew McConnell had big nights, showing why both are premier talents in the ATL metro. James moves from the point to the wing as the game dictates, and handles each with equal flair and skill. He’s a terrific athlete at 6-4 with a strong build, great quickness, and is nearly impossible to stop in close to the basket. He can blow by you with the dribble or knock a three down from deep, leaving defenders waving at air in both cases. He tallied his 1000th career point on his final basket of the evening, topping off a 24 point night. Too talented to be called a sidekick, McConnell is your lethal marksman to James’ more all-around game. Not to say McConnell is afraid of getting to the basket, he did often, but his true elite skill is from long range, a bomber that simply must have a hand in his face otherwise it’s probably going down. After a 10-point 1st quarter that included two 3’s and set the tone for the whole game, WB began to expand out the defense, but he still finished with 22 points (five 3’s) and is a 2021 player to watch rise our rankings.
THE DESSERT: PLENTY OF OPTIONS FOR THE LONGHORNS
Ryan JohnsonWhere James and McConnell make up the steak and potatoes portion of the lineup, Lanier boasts plenty of “sweet” options to balance things out. They get terrific rim protection, post defense and rebounding from 6-5 senior Ryan Johnson, who seems more than willing to sacrifice scoring opportunities to be the kind of team guy you need to foster star perimeter talents such as they boast. Coach Branden Mayweather employs a suffocating man defensive style, and no one epitomizes that more than 6-0 junior guard Iajah Phillips, who like James is an A+ athlete who uses that edge to harass ballhandlers and make life difficult on everyone. But that’s not to say he can’t score, getting 8 points on the night including an emphatic dunk off a steal in the 3rd quarter when Lanier put their foot down for good. The superb role-playing “treats” come from outside gunners senior Goran Uzunov and sophomore Conner Marcantel, who both force defenses to keep an eye on them, and junior forward Mason Friedel, who comes off the bench to provide both hustle at both ends and scrappy, timely scoring.
THE CHECK: WB DIDN’T HAVE ITS BEST STUFF(ING)
Isaiah Nelson-Ododa Ahmad Scott
It was admittedly an overwhelming effort by Lanier almost from the jump, as they imposed their will on the game and for the last 3 quarters exerted control. But the home team did show some of its quality throughout. Junior big man Isaiah Nelson-Ododa is a known quantity in the ATL-area, and he showed some of what makes him a big-time prospect at 6-9. He’s long and can really move up and down the floor, and in addition to the length has great quickness and a real understanding of defense at the rim. It’s a guard-heavy world that exists in modern basketball, and WB pursues things no differently, but it would seem to me they would flourish more if he saw the ball a little more (he had 11 points on the night) as a root of the offense. The three-guard look of seniors Cameron Stillwell and Tyreek Perkins and good-looking junior prospect junior Ahmad Scott is the engine for coach Travis McDaniel, but none of the three was able to ratchet things up against the high pressure of the Longhorns. The Bulldogs are not a lethal 3-point shooting team and appear to have a clear preference to get to the basket rather than settle for jumpers, so coming back in a game like this is a tall order for them. Scott for one did show 3-point range bouncing between the point and the 2-guard spot, and he has excellent quickness and elevation for a 6-footer. But when the three guards show off their capability to get to the basket for finishes and convert at the line as a result, they make for a very solid group.