Ten Best: Rock Bridge-Oak Park
Ten Best: Rock Bridge-Oak Park
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two of the state’s premier Missouri Class 5 teams squared off in the semifinals of the North Kansas City Invitational on Wednesday as the Rock Bridge Bruins knocked off Oak Park, 72-56.
With the win, Rock Bridge improves to 14-0 this season and will face the winner of either Park Hill South and host North Kansas City in the championship game at 7 p.m. on Friday. Oak Park falls to 12-2 on the season and will face the loser of Park Hill South-NKC in the third-place game at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
Here, Prep Hoops takes a look at the ten best performances of the night.
MVP: Isiaih Mosley (Rock Bridge). A 6’6 2019 wing player, Mosley is among the state’s premier players and top college prospects. On Wednesday, he went for 13 points and four rebounds in the first half to lead both teams in both categories and largely made it look easy. He is a skilled player who can handle the ball a little, shoot from the outside and brings an all-around game to the court. He doesn’t try to do too much and gets a slew of easy buckets. Mosley finished with 22 points and a game-high eight rebounds on Wednesday.
Best offensive performer: Ochai Agbaji (Oak Park). One of the state’s top players in the 2018 class remaining on the board, Agbaji is an athletic 6’3 shooting guard who can put the ball on the floor and get to the bucket or pull up and shoot the 3 or the mid-range jumper. He is coming off a strong summer competing for MoKan Elite and drew an offer from Loyola this week. On Wednesday, he went for seven quick points in the first quarter and added five more in the second and scored 12 of his team’s 21 first-half points. Agbaji tried to keep Oak Park close in the third quarter as he scored 14 of his game-high 28 points in the frame.
Best defensive performer: Dajuan Harris (Rock Bridge). One of the state’s premier point guard prospects, Harris is not only a talented ball handler and floor general, but is a steady, on-ball defender as well. He helped lead the Bruins defensive attack at the point of its press and came up with several key steals and turned the takeaways into easy buckets at the other end. Harris finished with 17 points for the Bruins.
Best rebounder: Jhaidyn Richardson (Oak Park). A versatile 6’4 guard/forward, Richardson did some good work along the baseline and got to the basket for some easy lay-ins, and was also terrific on the boards, leading Oak Park with seven rebounds. He is a strong, physical athlete who competes at both ends of the floor.
Best passer: Kaden Evans (Oak Park). A slender 6’3 2018 shooting guard, Evans impressed on Monday with his long distance shooting and no look passes, and while his shot wasn’t falling on Wednesday, he made several eye popping passes and also impressed with the fundamental pass as well.
Most versatile: Jamonta Black (Rock Bridge). Harris and Mosley get a lot of the headlines for the Bruins, and perhaps rightfully so, but Black is earning a reputation as one of the state’s top players in the 2019 class as he puts together a terrific junior season. He has terrific size and athleticism at 6’3 and has a developing skill set that likely projects him as a shooting guard in the future. He has shown the ability to knock down outside shots, but also rebounds and defends and can do a lot of different things well.
Best shooter: Jamonta Black (Rock Bridge). See above. Black knocked down three 3-pointers and finished with 14 points.
Best off the bench: Devin Bernskoetter (Rock Bridge). Bernskoetter continued to impress with his all-around play on Wednesday. He is a tough, physical interior player who can also operate on the wing a little. He is a junkyard dog type, willing to do the little things and especially impresses with his activity on the baseline and ability to finish chances around the basket. A 6’3 2018 forward, Bernskoetter would be a standout player in a lot of programs and is indicative of the Bruins depth on its roster.
Best youngster: Neither team saw a non-junior or senior get varsity minutes on Wednesday, and only one player — Cooper Deneke — is listed on either roster. Deneke is a 6’5 2020 forward who will likely see a lot of varsity action next season with the graduation of both Bernskoetter and 6’5 23018 forward Drew Boswell.
Name to remember: Ahmad Lewis (Oak Park). A 6’3 2019 guard, Lewis is one of the few non-seniors on the Park Park roster and will likely have a big role for the team next season. He is a quality athlete with good size and can knock down open jumpers. On Wednesday, he canned a pair of 3-pointers and finished with six points.