Fab Five: Anaheim Esperanza (CA) vs. Kenwood Academy (IL)
Anaheim Esperanza (CA) took control of the game from the opening tip as Kenwood just could not keep up with Stanford commit Kezie Okpala. Kenwood struggled to get anything going as the 6’8 Okpala created havoc. Esperanza got out and…
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Continue ReadingAnaheim Esperanza (CA) took control of the game from the opening tip as Kenwood just could not keep up with Stanford commit Kezie Okpala. Kenwood struggled to get anything going as the 6’8 Okpala created havoc.
Esperanza got out and ran quickly as they were solid defensively holding Kenwood to just 44 points. Esperanza won 54-44 on the back of Okpala and his 32 points.
Leading scorers: Esperanza: Kezie Okpala 32. Kenwood: David Hunt 12, Bryson Langdon 11.
MVP: Kezie Okpala (Esperanza)
Okpala did it all for his team today in an astonishing performance where he scored 32 points. Okpala has intense length and was a factor on both ends. It allowed him to finish on offense and not let a shot get off on defense. This was one of the best performances of the day.
Best offensive performance: David Hunt (Kenwood)
Hunt played pretty well on offense as he hit some really nice shots and got himself in got positions throughout the day. He was a lot to handle and it all doesn’t show up in the box score. Hunt showed some great versatility as well playing on the inside and outside.
Best defensive performance: Bryson Langdon (Kenwood)
Langdon was all over the court on the defense end and even though it did not look like he was making a difference, he was playing great ball denial and shutting his man down for the most part. It was tough for Kenwood today against a 6’8 guard but Langdon was a bright spot.
Best Intangibles: Travis Kettering (Esperanza)
It was fun to watch Kettering play with the energy that he had. He flew around and looked wild, but he was in total control. He made tons of hustle plays that helped his team out and was going 100 percent the entire game.
Best Takeaway: Kenwood really struggled at making baskets in this one and never really got anything going. It was a different team than we are used to seeing. Esperanza is led by Okpala and they will live and die by him without much other scoring coming from his teammates.