10 Best: Marist vs Marian Catholic
Marist is coming off an undefeated start to the season and a championship at the Centralia Holiday Tournament. They will have some big tests over the next few weeks. First up was a visit from Marian Catholic to their gym…
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Continue ReadingMarist is coming off an undefeated start to the season and a championship at the Centralia Holiday Tournament. They will have some big tests over the next few weeks. First up was a visit from Marian Catholic to their gym on Friday night. Marian started out with a punch behind their pressure defense. Marist got back into it by throwing the ball to their star post Justin Brown who went to work. Eventually the guards came around and Marist would go on to get a close home win 56-53. They now move to 19-0 on the season. Check out our player breakdown of the 10 Best: Marist and Marian Catholic!
MVP
PF Justin Brown (Marist – 2017)
Dominant night for the 6’9” post from Marist. Brown was a force on the interior taking it too his fellow D2 post in the class of 2017. Brown has great length and a feel for rebounding. Was outstanding grabbing boards in traffic consistently throughout the night. Strong hands allow him to win 50/50 balls. He had several offensive rebound put backs on the night. Finished with strength around the hoop on a couple powerful slams. Also did a nice job of creating space when he did use some skill to score. Slick baseline spin was impressive. Runs the floor well. Hit a wide open three early when the defense was daring him to do it. Brown was a presence with his length on the defensive end blocking a pair of shots and altering several others. He finished with 17 points, 15 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Priority D2 post prospect.
Play of the game
The play of the game for me was when Marist air balled a three point attempt and Justin Brown grabbed the loose ball in traffic and slammed it home with authority.
Best offensive performance
SG Malik Onyeali (Marist – 2018)
Onyeali was one of the breakout players of the night for Marist. He has had a quality first half for them, but was outstanding throughout this contest with Taylor being quiet early and Commander having an off game. Onyeali is a 6’2” guard that showed he could play both on and off the ball. Strong build allows him to take a bump in traffic and get to the line where he is a quality shooter from the stripe. Also drilled a couple key threes in this contest. He finished with 15 points.
Best defensive performance
Marist’s Justin Brown was a defensive force in the paint.
Best rebounder
Marist’s Justin Brown was a beast on the glass with 15 boards.
Best passer
PG Chase Adams (Marian Catholic – 2018)
Adams was the player who kept Marian Catholic in this game. The 5’8” lead guard had a great first half. He was putting constant pressure on the Marist defense with his quick hands. Offensively Adams loves to work in the ball screen game where he can make decisions to either drive past his help defender to the cup or is a plus passer finding open shooters on the perimeter. Had a couple strong drives late through the trees. He had 16 points and 6 dimes.
Best catch and shoot guy
G Malik Tidwell (Marian Catholic – 2019)
Tidwell is a 5’10” sophomore that drilled a couple nice threes off the catch. Looks like a solid athlete. One to continue to monitor going forward. He had 6 points.
Best intangibles
SF Victor Akinyemi (Marian Catholic – 2018)
Akinyemi stands at only 6’3”, but played much bigger than that. He has a thick body and long arms. Powerful inside. Was especially effective on the glass for offensive rebound put backs. Finished with 12 points. Small college kid.
Best under-the-radar performance
PG Morgan Taylor (Marist – 2018)
It took a little bit for the MVP of the Centralia Tournament to get going in this one. He was very quiet in the first half, but when his team needed him late he stepped up. Taylor is a jet quick point guard that’s best asset is his speed off the dribble. He is especially effective in the open floor pushing it. As a scorer he loves to get in the lane where he converts runners or layups inside being slippery through traffic. He had 12 points. Worth keeping an eye on for D2 programs looking for a lead guard in the junior class.
Best underclassmen
Best underclassmen prospect in this one was Marian Catholic 2019 power forward Chris White, but for whatever reason he didn’t play a ton. Marian Catholic 2020 point guard Ahron Ulis flashed including hitting a three. Mostly a spot up shooter at this stage.