10 Best: Rayville runs away from Bastrop
Rayville’s style of basketball – making the game look like a nonstop conditioning exercise that just so happens to feature a basketball – lends itself to creating lethal runs of scoring that bury opponents. The bad news for Bastrop on…
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Continue ReadingRayville’s style of basketball – making the game look like a nonstop conditioning exercise that just so happens to feature a basketball – lends itself to creating lethal runs of scoring that bury opponents. The bad news for Bastrop on Monday night was Rayville had that run in the first quarter.
The Hornets built a double-digit lead in what felt like the blink of an eye. Bastrop made a nice run at it midway through the second quarter, but a couple of quick Rayville buckets in the final minute of the first half ended all hope as Rayville beat Bastrop 73-35.
MVP: Rayville swingman Jamarkus Wilson. Consistent readers of my work will come to find out that the quickest way to my heart is by being a good free throw shooter. Jamarkus Wilson made all four free throws he attempted in the first quarter alone, playing a significant role in Rayville jumping out to a comfortable lead in seemingly no time, and didn’t stop there by completing a three-point play early in the third.
Play of the game: Rayville point guard Malik Wilson in the final minute. Bastrop spent most of the second quarter injecting some life into the home gym and slowly cutting into Rayville’s lead, until this guy ended all of that in about 60 seconds. He made a highlight reel block that turned into a bucket, then corralled a loose ball and led a quick drive down the floor that produced another bucket in the closing seconds of the first half. Even with a full half of basketball left, the game felt out of reach at that point.
Best offensive performance: Oh hey, it’s Jamarkus Wilson again. When you get to the rim with this amount of efficiency, you kind of handcuff me into giving you both MVP and offensive performance honors. It wasn’t just that he got to the rim, it was how he manipulated each situation to get the most out of it, like waiting for a couple of defenders to get to him to draw a foul, in one instance.
Best guy off the bench: Rayville’s Rashad Naylor. A bulky guy coming off the bench and knocking down a couple first-half 3’s? Say no more.
Best under-the-radar performance: Rayville guard Nashaun Ellis. Although he didn’t get most of his first-half shots to fall, he showed the skills of a true catch-and-shoot guy that’s just lethal in a system like Rayville’s. He is one of the new guys to the varsity squad that is making sure this team doesn’t skip a beat from last year’s success.
Best underclassman: Once again, Rayville point guard Malik Wilson. He’s going to win this in probably 80 percent of the Hornets’ games this year. For my money, he was the best true point guard in the northeastern Louisiana last year (for this exercise I’m classifying Wossman’s CJ Jones as more of a scoring point guard) – and he did that as a freshman. I strongly suggest that you find a way to watch this kid play this year: I almost wish you didn’t know he was a sophomore so you could watch him play and then be as shocked as I was when I found out after the game.
Best rebounder: Bastrop F Danny Hill. His final rebounding total didn’t necessarily jump off the page, but it’s the fact that he got in there and mixed it up successfully with Rayville players significantly taller than he is, even grabbing a few off the offensive glass. District 2-4A is notoriously short on large post presences, so having guys like Hill is the secret to winning in district play.
Best coaching decision/strategy: Rayville pulling double-teams off Christian Smith. In the first couple of minutes, the Hornets used one defender on Smith until he crossed the halfcourt line and would bring a second man to him afterward to pressure him. Going away from that was smart for two reasons: first, Bastrop has plenty of athleticism around Smith to kill you in 4-on-3 situations, and second, Rayville quickly proved it’s long and athletic enough to guard Smith reasonably well straight up. Athleticism on that level doesn’t need help most of the time.
Best shoes: Rayville. Rayville’s team shoe is a sleek yellow-based shoe with a big green Nike swoosh toward the heel. Especially looks good with a green sock underneath it, giving it a nice pop to some of the white accent portions of the shoe. It’s a sharp look with the green uniforms the Hornets were rocking Monday night.
Best story to watch going forward: Might Rayville challenge Madison Prep? I entered this season of the mind that no one in 2A – especially now that we’re in the select/non-select split – could challenge Madison Prep for the 2A state championship. But now, having seen Rayville, I wonder if the Hornets can develop offensively into a team that can run with the Chargers. It would take more offensive consistency and some interior defensive improvement to do it, but I don’t think it’s out of the question.