Hot Five: Brownsburg vs. Center Grove
The season gets underway on Monday but we were out at Brownsburg on Thursday to get a look at the Bulldogs as they took on Center Grove in an early season scrimmage. While this doesn’t count in the win-loss column,…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingThe season gets underway on Monday but we were out at Brownsburg on Thursday to get a look at the Bulldogs as they took on Center Grove in an early season scrimmage. While this doesn’t count in the win-loss column, it was a good preview of what we can expect from these teams as they move throughout the upcoming year.
On Thursday, you saw a very young Center Grove team look poised and ready to take on the season as they won two of the four quarters. However, Brownsburg did outscore Center Grove 55-54 throughout the night and was led by senior Landon Hall who had 15 points and 4 rebounds. Joey Klaasen led Center Grove with 16 points and 2 rebounds.
MVP: Landon Hall (Brownsburg)
Landon gets the MVP here as without him, Brownsburg would have really struggled. He’s such a big part of their team that when he isn’t on the floor, they can become a bit stagnant. He has the ability to go out and make plays all over the floor. He focused a little more on his perimeter jumper on offense but got points when he needed to late in the game when attacking the rim.
Best Offensive Performance: Joey Klaasen (Center Grove)
In a little bit of a surprise, you saw junior wing Joey Klaasen have a great game tonight and offensively, he was really tough for Brownsburg to stop. The 6’4 wing did a lot of his damage driving the ball from the wing. He’s quick to the rim and uses his length pretty well to beat the defender and get the shot off. He had 16 points on 7/9 shooting.
Best Defensive Performance: Trayce Jackson-Davis (Center Grove)
He’s still very young but sophomore Trayce Jackson-Davis makes such and impact, even if he isn’t scoring the ball like he was in the early part of the scrimmage. He had three blocks in the span of 6 or so plays. His length is a deterrent for players wanting to drive on him. He’s only going to get taller and longer and that will really give him a leg up on the defensive end.
Biggest Play: Joey Klaasen going triple, triple, full-court finish in 3 possessions
The best play of the game was actually three consecutive ones. This is what made Klaasen the offensive player this game. He ran into a catch-and-shoot three, came down and did it again, and then grabbed a rebound and went down the floor to finish at the rim in traffic. It was one of the better stretches you are going to see in a preseason game.
Biggest Takeaway: The thing that stands out the most from this scrimmage was that Center Grove could be as good as I thought they might. I thought they could compete for a Sectional title this season if everything fell together but that was with a lot of the emphasis on Jackson-Davis and Nate McLain being the two best players on the floor. Tonight you saw, with both of those guys struggling early, that this team has quite a bit of depth. If Joey Klaasen and Travis Rhoeling can give you scoring ability on the perimeter, that could make for a really balanced starting lineup when Jackson-Davis and McLain are playing well. I think their upside is right about where I thought it was but the floor for Center Grove is a bit better than I thought heading into the season.