Scouting Takeaways: Central Catholic vs. Tigard
Central Catholic and Tigard figure to be two of the top teams in the 2018-19 season and we recently got a chance to catch a summer league game between them at Tualatin High School. Unfortunately the game itself wasn’t much of a contest as Tigard ran away with a 74-47 win, but it was an opportunity to watch some of the top players on both squads.
Obviously one game does not define a player or his game but there can definitely be some takeaways from watching action even in a single setting – even if it is a summer league game. Here are some observations of some of the key players on each team.
Sataievior Ayilola (2020 Central Catholic HS) – One thing is for sure – when “Tay” is motivated there are very few people who can stop him. With his size and ball-handling ability, when he takes it to the basket with confidence, you can count on him getting a bucket. And on defense, you can count on some shots being rejected into the stands. But on this night, despite the fact he did score quite a few points after the game was already decided, he largely seemed disinterested and that was a big factor in why the game result turned out as it did.
Stevie Schlabach (2019 Tigard HS) – We all know that Schlabach can shoot and score. What’s a little different with his high school team is that he needs to create off the dribble a little more than he does with Team Fly. But what was most impressive with Schlabach on this night was actually on the defensive end. He held his ground physically against the bigger Ayilola and had an impressive blocked shot later in the game. And while his shot was a little off – despite a deep banked-in three – he had a couple of nice passes to teammates for open shots and scores.
Darius Gakwasi (2021 Central Catholic HS) – This was the first time we have seen Gakwasi play and unfortunately it wasn’t a great first impression. But despite the struggles he had scoring the ball and with careless turnovers, it’s clear he’s a long and lean athlete who excels at taking the ball to the basket with the capabilities of being a good finisher at the rim. Unfortunately he didn’t hit any perimeter shots but it appears he has the ability to become a threat from the outside.
Drew Carter (2021 Tigard HS) – Carter showed off a very smooth compact stroke from the perimeter, not only hitting some open threes but also a couple of dribble pull-up jumpers. Offensively, he did not force the issue and very much let the game come to him. Defensively, he did a solid job of staying in front of his man and being active with his hands near the ball, which resulted in a couple of steals.
Gaige Ainslie (2020 Central Catholic HS) – Ainslie, who is long and lean at 6-foot-7, had a tough night. While he was active on the glass on both ends, he really struggled to put the ball in the hole and on one possession, missed three straight layins. Unfortunately this frustration was evident in his body language and late in the game he was whistled for a technical foul after talking back to one of the officials. We all have our bad days.
Dylan Berg (2020 Tigard HS) – Having not seen him play previously, Berg was a bit of a pleasant surprise. He was very active on the glass on both ends and was able to score on a number of putbacks. But his offense wasn’t limited to being solely in the paint, in one set he set up and hit an open three. His size at 6-foot-5 will no doubt be important towards Tigard’s success next season.
Tyson Parker (2019 Central Catholic) – With the team’s usual main ball-handlers not present, Parker played a lot at the point and actually did fairly well. He was very active offensively taking the ball to the basket and scored quite a few layups, some of them contested. Outside shooting does not appear to be a strong suit as he missed a number of wide open threes but that likely won’t be his role his senior season.
Not present at the game were Isaiah Amato (2020 Central Catholic HS) and DeRay Seamster (2020 Central Catholic HS).