NHR Scout: Centennial vs Maple Grove
My experience at Centennial High School last Friday for the Cougars vs Maple Grove Crimson game was much different than other high school basketball Friday nights. There were just some different events going on that made the experience unique. For…
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Continue ReadingMy experience at Centennial High School last Friday for the Cougars vs Maple Grove Crimson game was much different than other high school basketball Friday nights. There were just some different events going on that made the experience unique. For example:
- The crowd wore purple, the Cougar players wore purple, the Maple Grove players wore purple, fans of both teams wore purple, there were as purple everywhere. Why? The best way to say that is the direct transcript from the advertisement for the game which is as follows:“Hope for Logan”“Get your purple on for Logan”“Hope for Logan Night”“Logan Mercado, a Centennial junior basketball player, was recently diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of bone cancer. Help us support his recovery at the January 29th home boys basketball game. We will be doing some fundraising sales and activities for his family before and during halftime of the game. Since purple is Logan’s favorite color, we ask you wear purple to show your support.”
- The purple was everywhere. Lots of Vikings jerseys, many purple towels, a lot of creative purple outfits. The effort was outstanding and so was the pregame hand for Logan and the postgame photos and excitement with Logan at the middle of all of it.
- Centennial has a unique set-up that gives it their own character. The gym is off to the left (from the parking lot) in the middle of an activity area, they have a sweat Cougar statue that grabs your attention, the gym is somewhat dark and quite red, the gym is bigger than I recall, and the amount of people packing the gym was way more than I expected. To get into the gym I sat in the longest line I waited in this season.
It was a great night for basketball but there were some definite changes to the two teams from the last time I saw them. First off the Crimson is still adjusting to life without Tywhon Pickford who was leading the team in scoring before his injury about a month ago. Also, USD signed D1 talent Tyler Peterson played in his sixth game of the season while junior Alex Facon (pronounced “face-on” by the way, learned that during the game) is back on the team playing his seventh game. The Cougars lost 11 of their first 13 but with Facon and Peterson playing they have six of seven and are becoming a serious threat. Maple Grove has lost two of the eight games they have played with Pickford which isn’t much but the Pickford absence has made a difference.
Centennial’s game plan to defeat Maple Grove? A 2-3 zone, a lot of attention on Brad Davison wherever he was, and to be very physical with Reed Nikko. Every part of Coach Travis Bledsoe’s plan worked to perfection. Maple Grove was never able to put any type of halfcourt strategy to combat the zone while Theo Johnson was as physical with Nikko as a player could be, Facon was the best athlete on the floor and he used that to his advantage on both ends, Josh McGreal was likely the game MVP for his all-around play, and the Tyler Peterson presence was worth more than just some numbers.
In the end the Cougars won 59-51 and they controlled the pace of the game from start to finish. Brad Davison did his best to create offense but he was consistently facing two or three guys and often had few passing angles against teammates that were more stationary than active. Facon, McGreal, and Peterson pushed in transition after every Crimson mistake giving them numerous fast break chances and when they didn’t have the transition edge, they forced the Crimson to work defensively for long possessions.
Maple Grove
Jack Hutchison. Jack did a nice job defensively on Peterson moving with the D1 guard in a deep stance, angling him to tough spots, and making what shots Tyler took contested and more difficult (when he was on him). Jack made three treys but had a tough day shooting going 3-12.
Brad Davison. At one point late in the game Brad had taken 23 shots and his team had taken 23, and in the end he had scored 23. Brad was playing in the high post in the Crimson zone offense (after bringing the ball up the floor) as his coach wanted him in spots near the rim to create, but so many of his attempts had to be taken with defenders in his space. Brad did a great job drawing contact (shot 8 of 10 at the line) and he does an amazing job of finding space with a single dribble. That said, Cougars were not only everywhere, they were very physical with him (should have had about 16 free throw attempts) and it made it very tough to get a clean look so it was a tough night him shooting as well.
Reed Nikko. Reed had four points, five boards, and three blocks. Simply put he didn’t get enough opportunity in the offense to make plays. Of his four shot attempts only one was in the paint. Nikko established himself in the halfcourt defense but in the halfcourt offense the Crimson zone offense did not use him near enough.
Ryan Bredensteiner. A battling, hustling junior who battled his way to a pair of hustle scores. Ryan deserves mention for the effort he put in playing around a dozen minutes.
Centennial
Tyler Peterson. There was a tip-dunk that at one point I thought was McGreal but then I noticed it was 22, which is Tyler. Wondering about his leg? Tyler’s two step run at the rim looked pretty good on that putback throw down. Tyler is one of the smartest players out there. Seeing that his teammates were playing the role they were, Peterson never forced anything. His ball movement was excellent, he scored on 5 of 13 attempts, made 3 of 4 free throws, scored 14 points and was really good on the glass with eight boards. Did a lot of everything included defended smartly closing space and he looked to be moving well too.
Alex Facon. Alex had an edge of quickness of the ground, quickness in second bounce to the board, quickness in the sprint up the floor, and definitely a quickness laterally beating guys to the spot. His harassment on the defensive end was used all over the zone and his deflections, boards, and steals were all a part of the transition that helped Alex scored 16 points on 8 of 11 shooting, many of which were at the front of the rim before the defense could make a play on him.
Josh McGreal. Josh is one of the better post entry and high post to low post passers you will see. Very impressed with how Josh moved the ball rarely making a bad read with each pass. Josh is an explosive leaper which led to his seven boards and he scored a team high 18 points on 6 of 8 shooting. Josh made a three and 5 of 8 free throw shooting as well. It was a fantastic game for McGreal who had the best all around showing of anybody on the floor.
Theo Johnson. Theo was the key ingredient to this win. His toughness forced Nikko into a pair of early charges, his physical contact made sure others didn’t want to attack his space out of fear of getting hit, and Johnson brought the aggressive attitude and toughness the team needed to pull off the upset. Had nine points, five boards, and possessions after possession of attitude.