Tuesday Night Transition: South Forsyth at Milton Takeaways
It’s not often you see quotes on the wall of a high school gym from both Wayne Gretzky and Andrew Carnegie, but when you’re trying to mold young athletes with the concepts of both winning and leadership, those two men…
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Continue ReadingIt’s not often you see quotes on the wall of a high school gym from both Wayne Gretzky and Andrew Carnegie, but when you’re trying to mold young athletes with the concepts of both winning and leadership, those two men seem as good a choice as any. Milton welcomed South Forsyth into The Eagle’s Nest Tuesday for another critical 7A Region 6 clash, and behind the play of sophomore guard Bruce Thornton, stretched a somewhat tenuous 7-point lead heading into the 4th out to a comfortable and impressive 78-58 win.
Here’s a Trifecta of takeaways from the night:
DOES SIZE MATTER?
Bruce ThorntonMilton, currently checking in at #4 in the AJC 7A rankings at the moment behind monsters Grayson, Shiloh and Norcross, has a ton of scorings options, but not a ton of size. Having to deal with South Forsyth star big man Devin McGlockton, freshman Lebbeus Overton started at center and is a nice-looking inside prospect at 6-4 already with some bulk, but in the main 7-man rotation employed by coach Allen Whitehart, he represents the “height”. They rely heavily on help from the very athletic Thornton, glue guy wing senior Evan Hurst and 6-3 sophomore forward Cam Walker to crash the boards as something of a group in order to control that facet of the game, and all three do it well. But it does leave you wondering how they’ll match up and how big a deficiency it may be come playoff time and they see some of those taller 7A opponents, who simply will employ more height.
STILL REALLY GOOD
Kanaan Carlyle Cam Walker
Height deficiencies aside, Milton is still really good, led by Thornton, who at a stout 6-2 can both bull his way in for hoop and harms or knock down jumpers from anywhere outside the arc and in. Checking in with good reason at #2 on our 2022 rankings list, he’s as good a sophomore prospect as I’ve seen this year in a Metro full of them. He finished the night with 24 points, controlled the game at the point, and contributed significantly on the glass as mentioned above. I mentioned the multiple scoring options, and freshman Kanaan Carlyle stood out. The smooth-moving 6-0 shooting guard has a surprisingly polished mid-range game for his age, often choosing the 12-footer to ram-rodding his way to the basket to draw a charge. More impressive still was his exceptional on-ball defending and great feel for a young player, finding open spots for his jumper and showing a confident pull from deep range. He finished up with 13 points. He’s an A+ athlete whose game will be fascinating to see grow. The Eagles get the kind of solid play from a senior you need to roll up a record like theirs, and that’s where Hurst comes in, your perfect combo guard at 6-2 to complement the wide-ranging talents of Thornton and the explosive scoring punch of Carlyle. He can shoot, defend and rebound and handle the ball at any juncture in the game with poise. Overton with Carlyle make for one of the better freshman 1-2 punches in the area, and as mentioned Overton showed an ability to score in close and create space. Walker, and yet another sophomore Devin Farrell, round out the key contributors from this night, Walker showing an ability to put it on the floor to the goal (9 points) and Farrell doing damage from 3-point land (three 3’s among his 13 off the bench). With all this young talent, the Eagles are surely a team to watch down the road but also a major contender right now.
MCGLOCKTON LEADS FOR SOUTH
Devin McGlocktonSome rough shooting patches eventually caught up with the War Eagles, but the 6-6 McGlockton had a nice game, particularly early, getting 12 of his 19 in the first quarter. Using his size advantage, he shot over defenders, rolled to the basket for finishes and got a dunk off a nice feed from sophomore guard Ethan Underwood. Facing double and triple teams at times, he wisely stepped out of the paint and showed excellent range, knocking down three 3’s on the night. Looking a lot like the modern-day pick and pop big men of the day, and with another year to develop, he’s an intriguing prospect at his size with a soft shooting touch from deep. Playing four guards along with McGlockton, South needs to shoot a high percentage from 3 to be successful in my eyes, and while they have the capability with the Underwood (12 points), seniors Nate Hammond and Thomas Stocks (two 3’s) and junior point guard Kohl Harris, they just didn’t get enough to fall in the 2nd half. It appeared to me they also were hurt by a propensity to pass up open looks for drive angles, a less successful plan against the superb on-ball defending by Milton. Yet still, with McGockton as a centerpiece and some skilled size off the bench with Wes Kane and Grady Arant, South is a solid, disciplined club who will scrap with you down to the last buzzer.