10 Best: Belleville West vs O’Fallon
Tuesday night we checked out Belleville West and O’Fallon. Belleville West had the size advantage inside led by their stellar sophomore EJ Liddell and his senior running mate Tyler Dancy. O’Fallon used their speed and pressure to push the tempo…
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Continue ReadingTuesday night we checked out Belleville West and O’Fallon. Belleville West had the size advantage inside led by their stellar sophomore EJ Liddell and his senior running mate Tyler Dancy. O’Fallon used their speed and pressure to push the tempo and keep it close late, but Belleville West got the win 60-55. Here are our 10 best from the contest.
MVP
PF Tyler Dancy (Belleville West – 2017)
Dancy is a 6’6” power forward that is a wide bodied big man. He has a strong lower half and plays well out of the post. Posts up strong on the block. Dancy has soft hands receiving the basketball. Quality hook shot and can hit a mid-range jumper from 10-12 feet. Solid free throw shooter. Plus passer that is really good throwing outlets and also makes quality dishes in the high/low game. He doesn’t have much lift or isn’t a great athlete. Despite this he is a quality area rebounder that has a feel for where it is coming off the rim. Dancy had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Should be looked at as a priority D3/NAIA prospect that could be a D2 player in the right fit.
Play of the game
The play of the game for us was a great high/low finish where Dancy threw a great pass to EJ Liddell for a big finish.
Best offensive performance
PF EJ Liddell (Belleville West – 2019)
Liddell is one of the premier prospects in the 2019 class. The 6’7” power forward is an athletic and skilled offensive player that has tremendous upside. Liddell struggled early in this contest as he couldn’t get it going offensively. Closed out the first half well with an explosive transition dunk and a hook shot. Finished a sweet high/low play where he converted a Dancy pass. Struggled a bit finishing through contact at the rim. Shot it well from the line. Had a couple impressive rebounds where he high pointed the ball and snatched them out of the air, but wasn’t overall dominant on the glass. Shot it well from the free throw line. Defensively he had four blocks most of them coming from the weakside. Liddell finished with 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 blocks. He is being pursued by multiple high-major D1 programs.
Best defensive performance
G Willie Matthews (Belleville West – 2018)
Matthews is a strong and stocky 6’2” junior guard that is a plus on ball defender. He gave Hodge fits as he wouldn’t let the O’Fallon star get loose all night. His strength allows him to anchor and he moves well laterally. Offensively he is not a shooter at all. Had a runner and layup in the lane. Finished with 6 points.
Best rebounder
Belleville West senior Tyler Dancy dominated the glass with 11 boards.
Best passer
PG Jalen Hodge (O’Fallon – 2018)
Hodge is a 6’1” lefty point guard that plays with a lot of flare. He is best in the open floor where he uses his speed and quickness to be a playmaker for himself and others. Struggled a bit in the half court winning off the bounce as Belleville West focused their defense on him. Hodge did have one great baseline up and under finish. His best move of the night was a crossover that he finished with a pull up three. Hodge ended the night with 10 points, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 3 boards. Worth a look at the D2 level.
Best catch and shoot guy
PG Ryan Fulton (O’Fallon – 2017)
Fulton was a new name that we will add to our radar. The 2017 point guard is a plus shooter especially off the catch from three. He hit multiple threes where he was able to catch and let it fly from deep. Also hit a pull up triple and one from mid-range. Fulton mixed in a transition finish and-1. Played off the ball mostly. Fulton finished with 14 points. D3/NAIA player.
Best intangibles
F Dalton Fox (Belleville West – 2017)
Fox stands at 6’5” with quality length and has long strides when running the floor. He works best as an undersized four man posting up and using his quickness around the interior to score. Not a lot of wasted movements on his scoring moves. Finished well in the paint. Fox struggled a bit against pressure handling it. He had 8 points. Potential D3/NAIA prospect.
Best under-the-radar performance
SG Ronnie Anthony (O’Fallon – 2018)
Anthony is a 6’2” shooting guard that hit a three pointer early. He is best however off the bounce attacking with quick straight line drives from the perimeter going downhill at his defender. Anthony had 7 points.
Best underclassmen
EJ Liddell of Belleville West is one of the top 2019 prospects in Illinois.
Other Scouting Reports
PG Jordan Parks (Belleville West – 2017)
Parks stands at 5’11”. The tough senior is a right hand dominant guard that struggled some with turnovers. Scores well in the lane. Parks had 7 points.
PG Alex Orr (O’Fallon – 2017)
Orr is a tough 5’10” point guard that hit a pair of wing threes. Solid form on his pull up jumper. He had 6 points.