Five Takeaways: Ulysses v Southeast
Both Wichita Southeast and Ulysses (KS) got off to a very slow start with neither team scoring until under the five minute mark in the first quarter.
Southeast’s star, Israel Barnes, did not start but the Buffaloes still jumped out to an early lead after the first quarter 10-6.
Ulysses stayed in the game with their hot shooting from beyond the arc and had an opportunity to win a the buzzer. However, Ulysses turned the ball over after stealing it from Southeast in what was a wild finish and arguably four missed calls by the refs as they jogged off the court as soon as the buzzer sounded.
Southeast squeaked out the win, 61-60.
Five Takeaways
Is Shawn Warrior the heir to the Israel Barnes throne?
Shawn Warrior (2020) had a great game with 16 points and 10 rebounds and showed great upside against Ulysses.
Warrior is an athletic 6’4 wing who is a highly underrated sophomore as he is showing the potential to take over as the star at Southeast after Israel Barnes (2018) leaves for Weber State.
Warrior plays hard was very active on defense throughout the game. He has good scoring ability, is very good in transition, and crashes the boards on both offense and defense.
As good as he was at getting to the line in this game, Warrior shot a very low percentage from the free throw line, which will need to be addressed immediately.
Watch for Warrior to have a much larger role next year as he is already proving that he is a star starting to shine.
Devin Walker (2019) has untapped potential but still needs fine tuning.
Devin Walker has the raw materials to be a bigtime player in Kansas in his class.
At 6’8, he has a solid build and clearly demonstrated his ability to rebound the ball, pulling down 12 rebounds in this contest.
Devin also was a presence inside defensively, recording three blocks and altering many other shots at the rim.
Where Devin will need to improve is his ability to be an offensive threat. Finishing with just five points, Devin spent a ton of time on the perimeter but is not a threat being that far away from the basket.
His ball handling is a bit too loose and he is not a threat from three-point range either.
For Devin to make waves in the 2019 prospect rankings in Kansas, he needs to focus more on getting deep position on the block and making plays with his back to the basket.
He has this ability, in some form, displaying a great up and under move in the first half of the game, which was his only made field goal.
Isreal Barnes can score at will and do it in a hurry.
In what was a strange start to the game, Israel Barnes did not start for Southeast. Not only did he not start but did not get on the court until about the three minute mark in the second quarter.
Israel came in the game being very aggressive but settling mostly for outside shots in which he shot very poorly, ending the half with only two points.
The second half was a different story, Barnes had 23 points in the second half and did it all from inside the three point line. He was getting to the basket at will, commonly finding himself at the free throw line.
Bottom line, the Buffaloes don’t win this game without Barnes’ second half heroics.
Ulysses has the raw materials to be an incredibly difficult matchup on any given night.
If Devin Walker assumes a role on the low block and becomes a scoring threat down low, this Ulysses team becomes very, very dangerous.
Reason-being is because of their ability to shoot the ball well from beyond the arc.
Jaidon Taylor (2018), Joshua Hickman (2019), and Victor Perez (2019) all shot very well from the three-point line which kept Ulysses in the game until the buzzer.
Taylor and Perez had 4 three’s a piece and Hickman added three of his own off the bench. Combine their red hot shooting with an inside game and you have yourself quite a matchup nightmare especially if you play as hard as Ulysses does.
Southeast is armed and will be very dangerous at the state tournament.
Not only does Southeast have the firepower of Isreal Barnes and all-around impact of Shawn Warrior but they have 6’1 guard Micah Jaques (2020) and 6′ Johnny Murdock (2019) at point, both able to step in and contribute.
Micah had six points and five rebounds while Johnny had 4 points and 7 rebounds and brought a lot of intensity of the defensive side of the ball, particularly when Southeast brought full-court pressure.
Southeast has a good mix of talent, senior leadership, and underclassman production to make a deep run into the state tournament this year.