Ten Best: Carmel vs. Zionsville
It’s been a while since Zionsville was able to knock off Carmel in their annual early season matchup. And after the first half, you thought it could be in play tonight. However, an huge defensive stand in the second half,…
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Continue ReadingIt’s been a while since Zionsville was able to knock off Carmel in their annual early season matchup. And after the first half, you thought it could be in play tonight. However, an huge defensive stand in the second half, the emergence of John-Michael Mulloy in the post, and Sterling Brown’s 26 points put that to bed.
Zionsville started off the game very well getting sophomore standout Isaiah Thompson going early. Then, Carmel countered with putting Jalen Whack on him as well as pushing out defensively really slowed Zionsville to a crawl. They got help from Dominic Genco and Tyler Leedy but it wasn’t enough to slow Carmel down and they eventually lost, 66-50.
MVP: Sterling Brown (Carmel)
Hands down, the best player in this game was Sterling Brown. He had 26 points on 14 shots to go with four rebounds, five assists, and only two turnovers. This was a big game against a very good team and kind of set the tone for what he can do this season. Brown didn’t start out the game really well. He missed his first few shots but came back strong and hit 5/9 from behind the arc. He did a great job being the vocal leader for this team too. He kept them in line and executed the plan.
Play of the Game: John-Michael Mulloy (Carmel)
The play of the game is going to come off insignificant but really it was the turning point of sorts. It was the first big touch from John-Michael Mulloy in the second half where he caught the ball, got double-teammed on the right block and he fought through and ended up going to the free throw line to make two. Until that point, Carmel really hadn’t even acknowledged their bigs and their shooting, while great wasn’t going to win them this game. Their inside play really made it tough for Zionsville to figure out how to defend.
Best Offensive Performance: Sterling Brown (Carmel)
Along with MVP, Sterling also gets the nod for best offensive performance. He was really balanced as we tracked his shot chart. Made 5/9 three-pointers and hit one from every stop around the arc. He also was good from the free throw line going 7/10. Along with that, his efficiency to only take 14 shots on the night and score 26 really speaks to how good he can be as a point guard.
Best Defensvie Performance: Jalen Whack (Carmel)
The best defender on the floor all night was Jalen Whack and when you factor in how he shut things down for Isaiah Thompson, you can see that it wasn’t even really close. Whack only had 5 points and 3 rebounds but he guarded Thompson so hard that he didn’t give him a clean look at the rim from anywhere on the floor from the second quarter on. His length and quick first step allow him to stay on his guy pretty well.
Best Guy Off The Bench: Luke Heady (Carmel)
The best guy from the bench tonight was sophomore guard Luke Heady. He wasn’t asked to do anything other than spell the starting guards and don’t do anything to screw it up. More often than not, younger players don’t get that done. Tonight, Heady did that and even made a few plays along the way. He’s really comfortable with pressure and has a calmness to him that doesn’t let things phase him.
Best Intagibles: Tyler Leedy (Zionsville)
Tyler Leedy gave Zionsville a lot tonight. When Thompson wasn’t hitting, Zionsville struggled to score but Leedy seemed to at least give them chances. He was great on the boards tonight grabbing six rebounds and nine points. He’s an energy guys with size and some length that used everything he had. It showed up tonight.
Best Under-The-Radar Performance: P.J. Baron (Carmel)
The one performance that I was glad to see was that of P.J. Baron. The 6’4 forward has the ability to score the ball in a variety of ways but you wanted to see if he could be given a role and stick with it. He was so good in the low post on dumpoffs and baseline cuts to the rim because his teammates kept feeding him. He had 13 points and five rebounds on seven shots and all basically came within five feet of the rim. Carmel’s system is reliant on roles and if Baron can be that tough option inside opposite of the 6’10 Mulloy, he can find a lot of success.
Best Underclassmen: Isaiah Thompson (Zionsville)
It was nowhere near his best game but Isaiah Thompson was the best underclassmen on the floor tonight. He got started so hot hitting 10 points on his first handful of shots. However, he went 1-7 during a key stretch in the middle of the game that slowed Zionsville’s offense to a crawl. He’s going to have a lot of pressure on him to score this season because outside of Thompson (17 points) and Dominic Genco (16 points), the rest of the team only combined for 17 more points.
Best Shooter: Dominic Genco (Zionsville)
While he didn’t make a three-pointer tonight, the best shooter on the floor was Dominic Genco. The thin-framed guard was probably the best player for Zionsville tonight due to his mid-range jumpshots. He was 5/10 from 2FG and all but one came on a 12 foot or more jump shot. He hit two back-to-back and you thought maybe, just maybe Zionsville can stop the Carmel run but it wasn’t enough. He’s got it in him to put up big points and we expect him to do just that.
Best Storyline Moving Forward: The biggest storyline moving forward is how much better Carmel can get quickly. They get some tough games from now until December 16th when they have back-to-back road games against North Central and New Albany, two of the top three teams in 4A. They should have Britt Beery and Beau Robbins by that time which will give them a frontline that goes Mulloy (6’10), Mike Pitz (6’6), Britt Beery (6’6), and Robbins (6’4). They will have as much size as any team on their schedule. If they can split those two games, Carmel could very well have a team that can do some damage this postseason. They don’t have a lot of other spots in their schedule that will push them like those two games so you want to see how they fare.