Balldawgs GOTW Recap 10 Best from Spring Valley v Centennial
This week’s Balldawgs GOTW featured our 4th ranked 4A team traveling to take on our #8 ranked 5A squad. Spring Valley and Centennial just met 5 short days ago with the Bulldogs pulling out a 9 point victory. The rematch looked like…
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Continue ReadingThis week’s Balldawgs GOTW featured our 4th ranked 4A team traveling to take on our #8 ranked 5A squad. Spring Valley and Centennial just met 5 short days ago with the Bulldogs pulling out a 9 point victory. The rematch looked like a game between two teams familiar with each other, as the first half was an ugly grind-it-out affair, filled with free throws. The second half however belonged to sophomore point guard Alijah Adem Alijah Adem 6'2" | PG Spring Valley | 2024 State #174 Nation NV , whose 4 3rd quarter threes changed the game. He would go on to finish with a game-high 35 and the Grizzlies got out of Centennial with a nine-point victory of their own.
Here’s a look at my 10 Best
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Best Player: Alijah Adem Alijah Adem 6'2" | PG Spring Valley | 2024 State #174 Nation NV 6’1 PG Spring Valley (#7PHN 2023
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Best Offensive Performance: Toby Roberts Toby Roberts 6'4" | SG Centennial | 2023 State NV 6’3 SG Centennial 2023 – Outside of Adem, Roberts was the next best offensive player in the game. The junior guard was able to score with his mid-range, knocking down 7 two-point shots. He was also a perfect 4/4 from the line.
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Best Defensive Performance: Pharaoh Compton Pharaoh Compton 6'7" | PF Arbor View | 2024 State #74 Nation NV 6’5 PF Spring Valley 2024 – The long-armed forward was all over the floor. He protected the rim, with several altered and blocked shots.
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Best Intangible: The Fouling: One of the key themes of the season has been the foul calls. It seems as if a combination of a year off for both players and officials has resulted in poor techniques and a lot of hacking. The 1st half of this game was ground to a halt, as each team paraded to the free-throw line, in fact, we nearly hit the double bonus in the first quarter.
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Best play: Alijah Adem Alijah Adem 6'2" | PG Spring Valley | 2024 State #174 Nation NV ‘s Parking Lot 3. In the 3rd quarter, the sophomore took control of the game with his 3 point shooting. Late in the third, with the Bulldogs in the midst of a run, Adem, pushing the ball in transition used a nice in and out move at the volleyball line, freezing his defender for a second. That’s all it took for him to set his feet and fire. Adem drilled the three, seizing back control of the game.
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Best Coaching Decision: Adem on Emeka Ceaser Emeka Ceaser 5'11" | SG Centennial | 2022 State NV – In the first game against these two Ceaser, was a problem for the Grizzlies. In this game, the assignment went to Adem, who did a good job harassing the senior guard. Even with the extra attention, Ceaser still finished with 21, showing his scoring ability.
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Sleeper: Heyab Shemeles Heyab Shemeles 6'4" | SF Spring Valley | 2023 State NV 6’4 SF Spring Valley 2023 – The junior lefty stepped into the game and buried two huge threes in the second half, providing a scoring spark for the club. I’ve seen a little of him on the JV level, and now on the Varsity and he always seems to step up.
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Underclassmen: RJ Nance RJ Nance 6'2" | SG Centennial | 2024 State #313 Nation NV – Nance showed a lot of improvement from game 1. The lefty guard displayed a good wiggle, solid 1 v 1 game, and limited his mistakes.
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Best Quote: “He had it going tonight”
– Paul Blair HC Spring Valley
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Best aspect of the environment: The Grizzlies crowd. They made it feel like a home game with their constant cheering and “let’s go Grizzlies” chants.
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