Ten Best: BSN Shootout
Yesterday, we spent time getting a look at some of the best players and teams from around the state and one from out of state at the BSN Shootout in Brownsburg, Indiana. Now, we look back on the day that…
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Continue ReadingYesterday, we spent time getting a look at some of the best players and teams from around the state and one from out of state at the BSN Shootout in Brownsburg, Indiana. Now, we look back on the day that saw a double-overtime winner by Linton-Stockton over Covington, Beloit Memorial hold off Fishers, Fort Wayne North out-run Cathedral, and Brownsburg demolish North Putnam.
MVP: Jaylen Butz (Fort Wayne North)
The MVP of the day was Butz with his 25 points, 12 rebound performance against Cathedral. He was locked in early and looked as good as he ever has finishing around the rim with consistency and bounce. He hit his first 7 shots from the field before missing a little runner in the lane in the second half. He went 12/14 from the field on the day. His play early really helped to keep North in the lead in the second half. If these are the type of performances to expect from Jaylen, North is going to be really good.
Play of the Game: Reis Thomas (Brownsburg)
The play of the game came from Brownsburg’s Reis Thomas that caught the ball just North of the elbow, had one hard dribble and then exploded to the rim for a dunk. It was really surprising because Thomas doesn’t jump off the page as a kid that has that kind of explosiveness so when he finished the play you were taken back. He was stellar all game and looked like the guy we saw play this summer. Reis went for 13 points on 6/7 shooting and 3 rebounds.
Best Offensive Performance: James Franklin (Cathedral)
The best offensive performance of the day goes to Franklin because of how he scored his points and because he scored in so many ways. James was locked in early and was hitting everything. That drifted off at the end of the game as Cathedral was pushing a bit, trying to catch up to North so he had some bad looks but for the first three quarters of the game Franklin showed range, a mid-range floater, a mid-range pull-up, finishing in transition, and driving in the half court. He had it all working. He had 22 points on the day and on just 2FG he was 6/8 from the field with quite a few of those coming away from the rim. He gave Cathedral a consistent scoring threat that we didn’t see in their scrimmage a few weeks ago (he was not at the game that day).
Best Defensive Performance: Keion Brooks (Fort Wayne North)
The best defender of the day was Brooks who had a few highlight reel come-from-behind blocks. He’s really using his length well and has that bounce and athleticism that makes prospects special. He shut down Cathedral a few times in key spots late in the game and as went his defense, his offense started to take off to. He finished with 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks. He’s going to be a special talent and easy to see why he is out top prospect in 2019.
Best Guy Off The Bench: Anthony Johnson (Beloit Memorial)
The best player off the bench was Anthony Johnson by far. The talented 6’6 forward had 21 points and 8 rebounds for Beloit. Johnson really should have been in the starting lineup but looked like they wanted to go with a big body in Bryanth Farr but Johnson was their leading scorer and best player all game. He consistently got to the rim and all Fishers could do was foul him to the tune of a 11/12 FT line performance. He could face-up in the mid-range and get to the basket with a hard dribble or two as well as a floater that he used later in the game.
Best Intangibles: Josh Dieball (Linton-Stockton)
The guy who showed the most game was Linton’s Dieball. The 6’3 senior was great all game as he has kind of transformed himself into a guy that can just make plays and win games. He wasn’t looking to score and showed on his vision and passing as he consistently hurt Covington with passes on a backcut through traffic for finishes at the rim. He also has a greater ability to lead a team and showed the calm and poise you like to see. He gave his team everything and they pulled out the 2OT win.
Best Under-The-Radar Performance: Spencer Pettit (Covington)
The 6’5 forward had 12 points and 8 rebounds for a Covington team that had a lot of other options to score the ball. His older brother is the one guy we thought would have the big game and he did have 15 points but Spencer was a good surprise. He is a big, strong 3/4 who played faced-up on the perimeter and was able to attack off the bounce and then dip into the low block and make a play. With a year still to develop, Spencer could turn into one of the better inside-out scorers.
Best Underclassmen Performance: Willie Jackson (Fishers)
While Brooks is clearly the best underclassmen prospect, the best performance by an underclassmen on the day was Jackson who had 20 points on just 3/8 shooting. He drew foul after foul on Beloit and was the biggest reason why Fishers was really even close at the end of the game. He was 14/15 from the free throw line and he seemed to understand early on that he had the touch and Beloit was willing to hack him so Fishers as a whole really focused on getting to the rim and Jackson was the leader of that movement.
Best “Flu Game” Performance: Landon Hall (Brownsburg)
It was clear early on that Landon Hall was under-the-weather. He looked a bit sluggish and didn’t have the explosiveness that makes him special. Afterwards it was confirmed he was sick but even so, he was really, really good scoring 18 points on 9/10 shooting. His touch wasn’t there as he missed all three of his free throws but he knew he could get to the rim and was getting lucky as a bunch ran around the rim but ultimately fell in. On a day when he probably shouldn’t have been playing, he scored 18 points. Not too bad at all.
Best Team Performance: Fort Wayne North
The best overall team of the day was Fort Wayne North. They looked the part, especially late in the game, of a team that is one of the best in the state. Early on you had Jaylen Butz going to work near the rim rim but then you saw guys like Brandan Johnson, Davontae Kinnie, and Keion Brooks really get going. Juan Quarles and Malek Martin played very little and didn’t play at all, respectively. For all the years I have seen North play under Shabazz Khaliq, this was the most polished, under-control team he might have had. They have a chance this year.