Five Takeaways: Silver Lake-Osage City
Five Takeaways: Silver Lake-Osage City
SILVER LAKE, Kan. — The home Eagles got a balanced offensive attack and ran away with a 51-35 home game against visiting Osage City on Tuesday and improved to 8-5 this season in the process.
The contest featured several players who have flown under the radar this season and here, Prep Hoops Kansas takes a look at five things that stood out.
Griffin is a terrific small school player (pictured)
Silver Lake 2019 Mason Griffin put together a strong summer competing for Will Spradling’s SSA Elite team and that work has paid off this winter as the 6’2 guard is playing as well as any small school player in the state. On Tuesday, he showed the ability to create offense off the bounce, score from the perimeter and helped lead a team with composed, steady play. He finished with 18 points, but really didn’t look for his shot much and opted to let the game come to him.
Wilkins puts together solid performance off bench
A 6’3 2018 forward, Osage City’s Tyson Wilkins was big off the bench for Osage City in somewhat sparse playing time. He knocked down a 3, was 2 for 3 at the free throw line, made a handful of mid-range shots and was big in the paint. He finished with 17 points and five rebounds to lead the Indians. Wilkins is an aggressive player around the basket and has a soft shooting touch out to the 3-point arc.
Plinsky a tough PG for Osage City
You don’t see many 5’4 players in the high school game, but Osage City 2019 point guard Trenton Plinsky doesn’t let his height define his game. He is a solid, if not a flashy, ball handler and is a very creative passer who sees the floor well. He can get in the lane a little and finish is traffic, and is a scrappy, tough-as-nails defender who just irritates the opposing team.
Cregan a presence in the paint
A 6’5 2018 post player, Silver Lake’s Ethan Cragen was tough in the paint for the Eagles on Tuesday, scoring 15 points and hauling in nine rebounds despite sitting long stretches late in a contest that was decided midway through the third quarter. Cragen does a good job on the boards at both ends of the floor and found seams behind the Osage City zone along the baseline and made himself available. He showed good hands and a soft touch around the basket and his physicality was a little too much for the Indians to handle. He’s a good small-school big man who can be a tough match-up for most Class 3A teams.
Silver Lake hoping to put things together
The Eagles entered Tuesday’s game on a three-game losing streak, including a 69-52 loss to Sante Fe Trail on the road on Friday. They have a stretch of win-able games on the schedule against opponents with sub-.500 records and could enter postseason play on a run. Silver Lake has a good interior player in Cregan, but also has five players in the 6’2 range, including Griffin, 6’2 2018 guard Keenan Baird, 6’2 2019 wing Dillon Byrne, 6’2 2018 guard Cale Adams, 6’3 2019 wing Wyatt Heiman, and others. While Griffin is the most accomplished offensive player, all five are well-rounded players who can do a little bit of everything.