Scouting Report: Arsenal Tech vs. Cathedral
Arsenal Tech: Chris King 6’5 – SF – 2016 This has been great to see out of King. The more and more you watch him you understand that he almost is better in a slower pace of play than what…
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Continue ReadingArsenal Tech:
Chris King
6’5 – SF – 2016
This has been great to see out of King. The more and more you watch him you understand that he almost is better in a slower pace of play than what Tech likes to run but not necessarily always in a halfcourt. He’s best in the transition game but slow enough to let him get calm and collected. King can give you points in different ways. His three-point shot was his go-to tonight but he’s also very capable of putting the ball on the floor and driving to the rim. His 6’5 frame allows him to stay above and away from defenders where he finishes with finesse. King plays on his emotions but he’s gotten a ton better and if you keep him in check he can be very good. – 14 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists
C.J. Walker
6’0 – PG – 2016
You got to see two versions of Walker in this one, the guy who wants every shot and the guy he was the first three years of his high school career. Walker is best when he is passing the ball because he’s so great at finding his teammates and putting them in positions to get easy points that his team scores so much more efficiently than if he himself was taking all of the shots. Now, his team isn’t going to make all of those so he does have to be the guy at times but whenever he finds that balance between the old C.J. and the new C.J., he’s going to be amazing. 19 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists.
Mario Nalls
6’1 – SG – 2016
Nalls was impressive especially early on when Tech was struggling to get into rhythm. Mario used his athleticism a ton early to grab some really tough rebounds and he was able to get a few points off of those. His aggressiveness and strength is what allows him to get points on the offensive end because everything is at or near the rim. Only went 1/3 from beyond the arc. Not sure how you use him at the next level but he plays like a small forward in a guards body. Can create mismatches that way. – 17 points, 6 rebounds
Cathedral
Matt Paligraf
6’2 – SG – 2016
Came away happy with Paligraf. At times he struggles to get into a game and make plays because Walker and Gordon dominate the ball so much but in this one he was able to get his time and made some big shots for them. He hit a pair of threes but took 5 shots in the game. Matt is better suited for a motion style offense where he can utilize screens. Most shots he takes right now are off balanced and contested and he passes out more than he takes bad shots which is a good things. He’s a talented shooter so finding him more opportunities to get clean looks could go a long way. – 6 points
James Franklin
6’0 – PG – 2019
Franklin, a alum of our PHI Freshman Showcase this year, looked the part of a high-end talent. He didn’t get much play in the game I saw of Cathedral’s early this year but in this one he was much better and was one the floor for quite a bit more time, last time was just garbage minutes I believe. James made his team better because he took the ball out of Walker and Gordon’s hands and into a distributor that could attack the press and create off the bounce for others. He’s got great ball handling ability and can play at a great pace. Had some really nice passes and was able to get involved even without the ball grabbing some long defensive rebounds. – 3 points, 3 rebounds.
Jordan Walker
6’1 – SG – 2016
Walker was really good early on and was the big reason why Cathedral was up at the break. Jordan was good in transition and was able to slash and get to the rim pretty easily in the first half where he made most of his points. He had a huge alley-oop dunk from Schultheis that will make its way around on video. However, as the game wore on he just wasn’t as active getting to the rim and settled for more three-pointers of which he made his first but missed his next 5. He’s going to have to find his game more in college because he isn’t a jumpshooter but a playmaker in the transition game. – 14 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists
Eron Gordon
6’2 – SG – 2016
Eron, like Walker, was great in the first half but kind of went away in the second. To compound the problem, Gordon didn’t really attempt many shots outside of the paint, only took 4 shots all being threes that he missed. Gordon is in the same problem as Walker, he’s not always playing to his strengths. He’s probably a better all-around scorer than he gets credit for and he’s got to take advantage of that. He is also very good at scoring at the rim but he didn’t even do enough of that especially down the stretch when his team was trying to get back into the game when Tech went on their run. Gordon didn’t attempt a single free throw in this one. – 16 points, 2 rebounds
Tra Landers
6’0 – PG – 2017
Tra was probably the most consistent player for Cathedral last night. He’s a great point guard in the making and has come a long way in the last year. He’s got such great movement with the ball in his hands that it makes him really tough to guard. He can change his pace and direction very quickly and when he does that on drives at the rim he usually scores easily. Tra has to clean it up a bit but he’s fine now. His offense is based around that though so in games if his handles aren’t crisp he can get taken out of the game. In this one, he was great and was really good in the second half when others weren’t.