Scouting Reports: St. Augustine vs. Helen Cox (Video)
St. Augustine may be the best team in the New Orleans Metro area and they moved to 14-1 after a 56-48 win over Helen Cox in their last game of 2016 on December 16. The Purple Knights were up 33-22…
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Continue ReadingSt. Augustine may be the best team in the New Orleans Metro area and they moved to 14-1 after a 56-48 win over Helen Cox in their last game of 2016 on December 16. The Purple Knights were up 33-22 with under three minutes left in the third quarter but the Cougars made a push to pull within 33-32 early in the fourth quarter.
St. Augustine then got a big shot from 2017 G Cedric Jones to push the lead back up to 36-32 and they were able to hold on down the stretch from there. Here are the top players from the matchup below, video included, and you can watch the full game or the highlights here:
St. Augustine Purple Knights
2017 G Caleb Daniels — Daniels is easily one of the top 3 players in the metro area and he’s the main reason the Purple Knights are 14-1. He’s a solidly built 6-foot-4 combo guard that works best off the ball as a scorer and he’s a cerebral player that picks his spots well. He uses his strength and finishing ability to impose his will in the paint but also has a smooth midrange jump shot as a counter if he gets cut off.
All 21 of Daniels’ points against Helen Cox came inside the 3-point line and over half of them came at the stripe as he went 11-for-11 in the game. His physical prowess also showed up on the glass and he finished with a game-high 11 rebounds.
2018 G Sai Fisher — Fisher is a strong, stocky guard that scored 11 points off the bench for St. Aug against Helen Cox. The 6-foot-1 prospect was the Purple Knights’ second-most reliable player behind Daniels and handled the majority of ball handling duties on the night. Fisher was able to knock down a couple of shots to help St. Aug’s offense get going after a slow start that saw a total of 13 points between both teams in the first quarter.
2017 G Cedric Jones — Jones only had 8 points against Helen Cox but the Purple Knights needed every one of them. The 6-foot guard buried two huge 3-pointers that pushed St. Aug’s leads to 36-32 and 46-37 in the fourth quarter, then sent home a one-handed dunk on a fast break with under 30 seconds left to put the game away for good. Although Jones couldn’t get much going offensively early in the game, he gave up his body on a couple of charges and stepped up when the Purple Knights needed him most.
Helen Cox Cougars
2018 G/W Isaiah Lewis — Lewis has certainly had better outings but did finish with 8 points and 10 rebounds in somewhat limited action due to foul trouble. He was 6-of-11 at the stripe and only had one bucket but he found a way to affect the game in as many ways as he could. The 6-foot-5 swingman was Helen Cox’s top rebounder, the first one to the floor for loose balls and kept the ball moving on offense — although there were times where he could have been a bit more aggressive looking for his shot.
Some of that was certainly due to his positioning on the floor as Lewis operates as a forward for the Cougars and he didn’t spend much time on the perimeter. He’s best using his athleticism to take defenders off the dribble and he’s difficult to deal with anytime he can build up a head of steam. Lewis is a special athlete that still seems to be flying under the radar and he’ll be a valuable asset to a Division I program if he continues to improve in the classroom. You can read and watch more of Lewis here.
2017 PG Jordan Sneed — Sneed and Lewis were both Purple Knights at one time but Lewis played his sophomore season at the now defunct Advanced Prep Institute in Texas while Sneed sat out as a junior after transferring. The 5-foot-8 point guard was a valuable contributor to the St. Augustine team as a sophomore and now he’s making an impact for Helen Cox.
He led the game in steals with 5 and played a key role in the Cougars’ comeback that saw them pull within 33-32 in the fourth quarter after trailing by double digits for most of the game. Sneed was also the team’s leading scorer with 13 points and his defense coupled with his end-to-end speed led to the majority of his buckets in transition. He had a refuse-to-lose attitude throughout most of the game and was the primary spark for Helen Cox against St. Aug.
2017 PG Myron Gilmore — Gilmore caught my eye during the summer at the University of New Orleans’ Team Camp and he had a pretty good outing against St. Aug. He finished with 7 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals and his point total would have been higher if not for a 1-for-5 effort from the free throw line. The 5-foot-8 guard showed very good quickness with the ability to suddenly change speeds and he was able to put pressure on the Purple Knight defense with his ability to get into the lane.