Five Takeaways: Will Pruitt versus Ben Knight/Lucas Brown

<p>During the NCAA Basketball Academy-Midwest, each team was named after a former NCAA National Champion.  Will Pruitt spearheaded his 1993 Heels to a win in the first game Friday evening. </p> <p><strong>1993 UNC Heels</strong> 76<br /> <strong>1990 UNLV Rebs</strong> 60 </p> <p>The Heels, led by starting point guard <strong>Will Pruitt </strong>found their rhythm as the first half concluded. </p> <h2>Two-Way Player</h2> <p>Pruitt's best plays came in the final minute of the opening half.  First, he nailed a three-pointer from the corner to give his team both confidence and enthusiasm.  Facing an exceptional breakdown dribbler, <strong>Reginald Morris</strong>, Pruitt reacted instantly and dislodged Morris' dribble.  The ball squirted loose and Pruitt quickly hopped on fumble.  Instead of doing too much, Pruitt called a timeout and his team actually beat the buzzer with a bank three-pointer.  Pruitt gave his team a 5-point swing to end the opening half.</p> <p>Halftime score: 33-25. </p> <h2>Serendipity</h2> <p>The half opened with another bank three-pointer.  This time Pruitt made the triple, banking it high from straight ahead.  It wasn't a beautiful shot, but Pruitt was forced to release quickly in the face of a defender.  </p> <p>"Ended the half with a banked three," said an onlooking D1 coach.  "Started the half with a banked three."</p> <p>Pruitt took extremely high-percentage shots, making his value high.  </p> <p>"That boy been ballin' since I got here," said D1 Assistant Coach as Pruitt buried a wing three-pointer.  </p> <p>The Rebs of 1990 ran out forward <strong>Ben Knight</strong> (Lakeview Academy) and guard <strong>Lucas Brown Jr.</strong> (Red Bank).</p> <h2>Unfamiliar</h2> <p>Knight was a touch ungainly.  In the first half, Knight pulled down an offensive rebound and quickly finished off the putback.  His activity offensively was a little indecisive.  Though they ran drills together all morning and early afternoon, this game represented their first live action as a unit.  </p> <p>Knight might grow into a bigger role, but it is more likely he serves as a grunt worker on his guard-driven team.   </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Just in awe of <a href="https://twitter.com/hunter_tyrese?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@hunter_tyrese</a> (Racine, <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepHoops_WI?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepHoops_WI</a>). He must have 8 made 3's and maybe 1 was unguarded. His release is so pure and predictable. The arch is like a candydrop. Easily the best scorer in Game1.</p> — Andrew Force (@AndrewForce8) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewForce8/status/1154859714016174080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2019</a></blockquote> <p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Pulling Away with Passing</h2> <p>Will Pruitt constantly fed his teammates.  Though they missed a few, it was clear that Pruitt's eagerness to pass made his team the better team.  Often, in evaluation settings, guards want to score and score some more.  Will takes the opposite approach, probably because it is his preferred style of play.  He creates for others.</p> <p>Pruitt's team got up by more than 20 points midway through the second half. </p> <h2>Off Night?</h2> <p>Lucas Brown Jr. was not overwhelmed as a defender, but he simply missed all of his three-point attempts (0-3).  Brown Jr. looked a little unsure if they were the shot he wanted.  There was slight hesitation on two of those three attempts.  It was underwhelming and hopefully this was simply a case of Lucas not known where he fits on a team full of scoring guards.</p> <p><em>Follow <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewForce8">@AndrewForce8</a> for more this weekend.</em></p>