Coaches for Cure Senior Standouts (Part 2)
It was the fifth annual Coaches for a Cure hosted by Team Loaded at the Arthur Ashe Center in Richmond, VA, and like every year this event has gone on it was full of high level talent and next level…
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Continue ReadingIt was the fifth annual Coaches for a Cure hosted by Team Loaded at the Arthur Ashe Center in Richmond, VA, and like every year this event has gone on it was full of high level talent and next level prospects. There were five games on the day, and numerous standouts. I will be breaking down some of the top players from the events, while fellow contributor Houston Wilson will have his Takeaways from the event as well. Here’s a look at the scores from the games and part one of the senior standouts from Saturday afternoon/evening.
Highland Springs 57 St. Christopher’s 53
Life Christian Academy 72 Maury 67
Blue Ridge 70 Steward School 42
Hopewell 57 Trinity Episcopal 54
LC Bird 57 John Marshall 55
Michael Lomax | 6’0” G | Trinity Episcopal
Lomax continues to come into his own and he’s proving to be the perfect glue guy who sometimes starts and sometimes comes off the bench. He plays with terrific energy, especially on both ends, and he’s the guy who keeps plays alive and wins 50-50 balls for his team. He can also shoot the basketball, and he finished with 11 points, 3 rebounds and two steals.
Corbin Slayton | 6’0” G | LC Bird
Slayton is going to go down as the most memorable player from this year’s event because he hit the biggest shot I’ve seen this season. After John Marshall and Bird went back-and-forth all game long, especially in the fourth quarter, JM hit a shot with three seconds left to put them up one. Bird threw a half court pass, which was tipped, and Slayton was able to gather it, take one dribble and nailed a three as the buzzer sounded to win the game. Throughout the game Slayton showed the ability to create shots for himself and others off limited dribbles, and did a good job on the defensive end as well. He finished with 17 points and 3 steals, and hit the biggest shot of the day.
Mack Burgett | 6’6” F | LC Bird
Burgett continues to impress more and more throughout his senior season, and he was a huge factor throughout the game in their win over John Marshall. With their leading scorer Jamon Battle held scoreless in the first half, Burgett stepped up and was a force in the paint as well as a guy who made shots and stretched the defense. The 6’6” forward used his crazy length to make plays on both ends, and he showed versatility on both ends of the floor. He finished with 18 points and 6 rebounds, and was 3-for-6 from behind the arc.
Jamon “Doc” Battle | 6’5” G | LC Bird
Despite a slow start in the first half where he was held scoreless, Battle came out on a tear in the third quarter and scored the first five points to give LCB a burst. While he didn’t score it particularly well being that he was the focal point of the John Marshall defensive scheme, Battle still showed why he’s considered a mid major plus prospect with his athleticism and play on both ends. He was phenomenal defensively, guarding multiple positions, shooting passing lanes and forcing turnovers. He made a number of impressive athletic plays and made plays and hit the glass on both ends. He finished with 9 points, 9 rebounds, 5 steals and three assists in the win.
Lance Monteiro | 6’4” G | LC Bird
Another guy who didn’t have his best scoring game of the year, Monteiro still impressed with his improvement as a ball handler, playmaker and defensive stopper. Despite being taller than all but one player that JM played, Monteiro did a great job keeping ball handlers in front of him and helped on the defensive glass to do a good job holding JM to just one shot. He only took 6 shots throughout the game but was 3-for-6 from the field and did a great job as a secondary ball handler. He finished with 8 points and 5 rebounds in the win.
DeMarr McRae | 6’2” G | John Marshall
McRae did everything he could to keep John Marshall in the game and would have won MVP likely if it wasn’t for Slayton’s crazy shot to win it. At 6’2” he plays all over the place for JM, starting by jumping at the tip and playing the five but he’ll guard anyone on the floor for them. He showed great toughness and a high motor on both ends, competing hard and making plays in every way you can imagine. He finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and three assists in the loss.
Jairus Ashlock | 6’0” G | John Marshall
Ashlock hit what would have been the shot of the day if again, it wasn’t for Slayton’s shot to win the game. With JM trailing by one with a little over 10 seconds left, senior Aubrey Merrit hit Ashlock with a pitch-back pass, Ashlock squared his man up, took a couple dribbles left and hit a textbook pull-up right in the defenders face with three seconds left. It was the cap to a great second half for Ashlock who found his groove and made shots from all three levels. He finished with 13 points and 6 rebounds, scoring 9 of his 13 in the second half.
Levar Allen | 6’0” PG | John Marshall
Allen had the very tough task of being the primary ball handler and playmaker against a high level LC Bird defense that traps all over the place, and you couldn’t say too many bad things about how he did. He didn’t shoot the ball well but he handled pressure, he got them into their stuff and he got his scorers in the right opportunities to make plays easily. The big guard was solid on both ends and helped on the glass, and he finished with 9 points and 5 rebounds while only turning the ball over once.