Ten Best: Bloomington North vs. Evansville Central
From the tip, Bloomington North seemed to have all the advantages, and they didn’t even have their best lineup out on the floor. Liam Wilkerson got things going early with the three ball and then everyone else joined in. After…
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Continue ReadingFrom the tip, Bloomington North seemed to have all the advantages, and they didn’t even have their best lineup out on the floor. Liam Wilkerson got things going early with the three ball and then everyone else joined in. After the end of the first half, North was up on Evansville Central 49-30 thanks to 10 made three-pointers. They slowed down a bit in the second half from three but then Musa Jallow got going and helped to earn Bloomington North a 84-55 victory on Friday night.
MVP: Musa Jallow (Bloomington North)
Jallow struggled early in the game, missing some easy buckets at the rim on a couple dunks and even got blocked early on. While he only had 7 points and 4 rebounds at the half, that goes to show how well he has come along in the last year where that is now considered a bad half for him. The second half was when he really took off. He started attacking the rim, through contact a lot more often and it paid dividends. He finished with a game-high 24 points and grabbed 5 boards on 8/14 shooting from the field.
Best Play of the Game: Musa Jallow (Bloomington North)
The best play of the game came late in the second half and it was when Musa Jallow took the ball off the bounce from the right side of the arc and drove past a couple Central defenders and then intentionally drew contact at the rim but was able to finish through it. In the context of the game doesn’t matter much but from a development standpoint, this was a big play for Musa. He needs to show this area of his game more if he is going to be a playmaking wing. Was great to see and he did it a couple times.
Best Offensive Performance: David Morgan (Bloomington North)
Morgan came off the bench but could easily have been a starter with how he played. Got going to start the second quarter where he hit a three and then immediately stole the ball and got a bucket at the rim through contact. He actually looked a lot more aggressive, attacking the defenders and trying to create plays. Morgan finished with 14 points and 6 rebounds.
Best Defensive Performance: Joe Space (Evansville Central)
While there wasn’t a ton of defense, the job Space and company did in the first half to really slow down Musa Jallow was great. He was physical with him and even got a big block on the low block. Central doesn’t have much size but Space is a big kid and was the best avenue for this kind of effort down low. Musa went back to himself in the second half but Space did a pretty good job early on.
Best Guy Off The Bench: David Morgan (Bloomington North)
Both Morgan and Townsend came off the bench for North but both were the second and third leading scorers for them in this game. Morgan was just a lot more impactful all-around as he made play after play on the boards and attacking the rim. This was easily the best game from him we have seen and gave us a different light to look at him through.
Best Intangibles: Jermiah Bradley (Evansville Central)
Bradley is a big guard who can give you a little bit of everything. He brings rebounding, scoring, driving, a little shooting, and some fire, although maybe a little too much at times. However, he just a well-rounded guard who can be productive in a lot of areas on the floor. He’s got a chance down the road to be a really decent college player.
Best Under-The-Radar Performance: Liam Wilkerson (Bloomington North)
Liam is a small guard with a good jumper from behind the arc. He showed that he could go off the bounce a bit if the defender is going to overplay. Really well rounded game and really didn’t slow down all night, just switched what he was trying to do. Finished with 17 points shooting 5/10 from three.
Best Underclassmen: Jack Townsend (Bloomington North)
Jack is a small, light guard with a quick trigger and a fearless approach from behind the arc. He hit his first three triples coming off the bench and looked comfortable getting in the spotlight. He’s still very young and really cooled off in the second half but he’s got a streaky jumper that looks great when on. A player to watch down the road. Finished with 15 points.
Best Scorer: Collin Wedding (Evansville Central)
Lean shooting guard with a solid frame and a decent amount of skill. Fits the bill of a two-guard with a jumper and a little bit off the bounce. Will need to add strength but with that could really improve his ability to score in the lane. He can score, though, and score it well. Long release on his jumper but didn’t matter tonight. Was really the only consistent player for Central in the game. He finished with 17 points on 6/9 shooting and grabbed 3 rebounds.
Best Storyline Moving Forward: The biggest thing to watch moving forward is how North attacks the later part of their schedule. To this point, they have lost to the teams that they should and beat the teams that they should but clearly they have some talent. Although that talent is mostly young, this team has a chance to give some hope into next year if they can start pulling off some upsets. They have enough talent and shooting to do it. Will be interesting to see if they can break through or no.