10 Best: Edwardsville vs. DeSmet
Perennial metro east Illinois power Edwardsville made the trip across the river to take on DeSmet in a non-conference game to open the season. Edwardsville controlled the game from the outset behind the offensive outburst from guard Jack Marinko. A young DeSmet team hung around and managed to tie the game in the closing seconds. In the end, it was guard Malik Robinson of Edwardsville who played the hero as he chased down a loose ball and threw in a 3-pointer as time expired to give the Tigers a 47-44 victory.
Here are the 10 Best:
MVP: Jack Marinko (Edwardsville): The 6’0″ 2019 guard dominated the action with a game-high 28 points. Most of his damage was done in the first three quarters as he provided the bulk off the Tigers’ offense for the evening.
Best Offensive Player: Jack Marinko (Edwardsville): Marinko scored his 28 points in a variety of ways as he knocked down 3-pointers, scored on drives to the basket and also on nice back door cuts. He was especially on fire in the first half as he scored 20 points to stake the Tigers out to a 31-23 lead.
Best Shooter: Jack Marinko (Edwardsville): This thread may resemble a broken record, but Marinko gets the nod here as well as he made five 3-pointers. He made three of them off the catch and he also knocked down two of them off the dribble, including a stellar trey at the end of the first half off the dribble.
Best Defensive Player: Rico Barfield (DeSmet): The 6’1″ 2021 guard came in and did an excellent job of slowing Marinko down in the second half, which enabled DeSmet to crawl back into the game. A starting running back on the football team, Barfield did a nice job of using his physical strength and tenacity.
Best Post Player: Caleb Strohmeier (Edwardsville): The 6’6″ 2018 forward scored nine points and provided some tough scoring around the basket for the Tigers. He also did a nice job as a secondary ball handler.
Best Player off the Bench: Collin Goodwin (DeSmet): The 6’0″ 2019 guard came off the bench to score six points to help jump-start the offense that was struggling during the evening. Goodwin has good quickness and displayed a nice pull up jumper from 12 to 15 feet.
Best Collegiate Prospect: Yaya Keita (DeSmet): The 6’9″ 2021 power forward really looks the part with his size and good basketball body. He scored six points and blocked three shots. He is very young, but he has good athleticism, mobility and a huge upside.
Unsung Player: Malik Robinson (Edwardsville): Not only did the 5’10” 2019 guard make the game-winning shot at the buzzer, Robinson also provided steady ball handling throughout the game and made no mistakes with the basketball. He also knocked down a pair of clutch free throws in the final minute.
Most Solid Player: Michael Skoff (DeSmet): The 6’4″ 2020 forward scored a team-high 12 points. He scored around the basket and can also shoot the 3-pointer. His three-point play with 12 seconds left tied the game at 44-44 before Robinson’s heroics.
Best Future: First-year head coach Kent Williams of DeSmet has plenty of nice young pieces to work with in the future. In addition to the 6’9″ Keita and 6’4″ Skoff, the Spartans also have three other talented 2021s in 6’0″ Jeremiah Walker, Barfield and 6’6″ Logan Wich seeing varsity minutes. They definitely bear watching in the future.