10 Best: Mascoutah vs Columbia
Mascoutah opened the season on Monday night with a 61-54 victory over a good Columbia squad. Mascoutah led throughout, but Columbia made several runs to keep it close led by their standout senior Jordan Holmes. Let’s dive into the prospects that make the biggest impacts! Here is our 10 Best: Mascoutah vs Columbia!
MVP
PG Jordan Holmes (Columbia – 2018)
Have a game Jordan Holmes! This was our first time seeing the 2018 scoring point guard in a while and boy did he put on a show! He is a strongly built guard especially in his arms. Early in the game Holmes got to the rim using a quick initial step and split the defense time after time. The aspect that might have stood out the most was how well he finished at the rim. Converted tough layups time after time including finishing with his off hand on a regular basis. Body control at the rim. As the game went on he displayed his ability to shoot it from deep especially pulling off the bounce. Quick trigger and worked well shooting behind screens. Tough and competitive kid. Didn’t show a ton as a floor general as he was looking to score. Definitely a scoring point guard that lacks ideal height, but he just gets stuff done. Holmes is probably best as a priority D3 recruit that could get looks from some D2 programs in the Midwest. Holmes finished with 31 points.
Best offensive performance
G Malik Green (Mascoutah – 2019)
Green impressed us last year when we saw him early in the season and he was the standout for Mascoutah in their opener. The 6’2” guard is a tough as nails junior that just produces. He started off early shooting the ball from the perimeter with a three off the catch, but after that he did all his damage on the interior. Quick baseline drives and a variety of other scores inside. Even scored on some high/low dishes in their inverted offense. The kid has a nose for the basketball and is an outstanding rebounder from the guard position. Pressures passes and opposing guards defensively. Great energy and glue guy. Small college prospect at the next level. He had 23 points on the night.
Best defensive performance
PG Darrius Cooley (Mascoutah – 2018)
Cooley is a tiny 5’7” point guard, but he gets after it on the defensive end. Pesky on ball defender that pressures the opposing guards. Didn’t do much offensively.
Best shooter
Jordan Holmes (Columbia – 2018)
Best rebounder
PF Jon Peterson (Columbia – 2019)
Peterson is a 6’6” junior post that has a thick body. He stands out as a quality area rebounder. Gobbled up rebounds throughout the contest. Offensively he likes to pass out of the high-post. Got on the glass for a couple put backs and was efficient with his touches down low using a soft touch. Solid free throw shooter. Took one jumper showing a long release. Lacks athleticism. Average post defender. He had 8 points. Small college prospect in 2019.
Best guy off the bench
G Isaiah Andrews (Mascoutah – 2018)
Andrews came off the bench to provide a little burst for Mascoutah. He hit a three and also got in the paint for an and-1. Brought a spark for the home team when they needed it.
Best Prospect
PF Blake Weiss (Mascoutah – 2018)
Weiss is a 6’5” senior that projects as a face up four man at the college level. He has more freedom on his high school team to show off his abilities off the bounce than on the circuit. Weiss is a plus athlete that has bounce off the floor and handles it well for his size. At times he can be a bit out of control with his drives slashing to the hoop. Showed good handles including using his left hand, but would take difficult shots at the rim. A few times he got and-1’s and got to the charity stripe. Didn’t show much of a post-game against Columbia. They pushed tempo throughout and didn’t really get many post touches to their star senior. Liked how he passed the ball especially on the interior to teammates. Defensively he showed smarts getting in passing lanes using his length on multiple occasions. Runs the floor well. Early in the game he got on the offensive glass for a rebound out of his area for a lefty put back. Was hoping for more work on the glass out of Weiss. The athletic post has potential to be an upside D3/NAIA player at the college level. Need to see more production! He finished with 10 points and 3 rebounds.
Best under-the-radar performance
PF Tyler Jowett (Mascoutah – 2019)
Jowett stands at 6’5” and plays as a post for Mascoutah. He isn’t the most athletic kid and lacks lateral mobility defending, but he did do some good things. Looks to pass more than score especially when he gets the ball around the free throw line. Plays hard and is fairly efficient with his post touches. Jowett had 11 points. Small college prospect.
Best deep sleepers
PF Cole Khoury (Columbia – 2019)
Khoury is a 6’8” post with a good frame. Below average athlete and a really bad free throw shooter. He is best scoring inside on dump off passes and letting others create easy opportunities for him. Big body around the hoop. He had 6 points. Small college player.
PG Jared Germain (Columbia – 2018)
Germain is a 5’7” senior guard. Gritty point guard that got a steal and went the other way for a finish. Made a few good passes, but also telegraphed several that were turnovers.
Best Aspect of Environment
Great atmosphere to open the season on Monday night at Mascoutah! The host team usually opens up at Centralia in their Thanksgiving Tournament, but their inaugural Tip-Off Classic had a good atmosphere and was a quality run event!