2020 Grind SZN Kickoff: Saturday-afternoon standouts
Jackson Skipper | BTR PF | Sapulpa ’21 (pictured above) |
“Skip” used just about every trick he has to score the basketball Saturday. He finished with 21 points from hitting shots from deep, finishing inside, getting buckets with his back to the bucket and flushing some colossal slams.
Landry Harris Landry Harris 5'11" | PG Edmond North | 2021 State OK | Oklahoma Power PG | Edmond North ’21 |
A maverick of the mid-range, Harris was excellent in helping Power contend with a stout Team Buddy Buckets Kansas team. He struck with uncanny precision from the pull-up on numerous occasions and used his speed to aid his efforts in a few facets of his game. Also a high-motor competitor, Harris was the epitome of a skilled athlete with legitimate hustle Saturday; setting screens, competing for loose balls, accelerating down the floor in transition and sacrificing his body to take charges.
Caison Hartloff Caison Hartloff 6'4" | SG Claremore | 2021 State OK | Tulsa Hawks SG | Claremore ’21 |
It was Hartloff, it felt, who kept the Tulsa Hawks alive for numerous stretches of their match with BTR with his defensive skills. Getting stops on the other end allowed his team to remove itself from the score-for-score lull and eat at its almost 30-point deficit to come within eight points of BTR in the final minutes of play.
Danquez Dawsey Danquez Dawsey 6'0" | CG Lawton Macarthur | 2021 State OK | BTR PG | Lawton MacArthur ’21 |
Dawsey passed off some of his usual scoring opportunities to Skipper and focused on distributing the ball in motion, defending and cleaning up the boards from the point. He was still able to gather points even just handling those duties.
Israel Hart Israel Hart 6'3" | PG Midwest City | 2021 State OK | Next Level PG | Midwest City ’21 |
Hart has really climbed the ladder this summer. The scoring guard has improved both his skill and athleticism, and it has shown up for Next Level in big ways; he can get to the rack with speed and finish with finesse on a much higher competitive scale as he showcased Saturday afternoon in a leading-of-the-guard performance against Team F.O.E.
Jarrett Birdwell Jarrett Birdwell 6'4" | SF Kingfisher | 2021 State OK | Oklahoma Power SF | Kingfisher ’21 |
Birdwell literally scored on three levels in three plays; first he converted a tough shot above the rim against moderate defensive contact. Second, he hit a triple out of the catch. Third, he knocked down a quick mid-range shot from a single dribble. Down 8-0 to start, Birdwell scored Kingfisher’s first 7 points to put Power back in the game early en route to a three-point loss. He could be an early-summer break-out prospect.