Biggest Takeaways from Wayne Country Day’s win over GRACE Christian

<p>The Wayne Country Day Chargers got a win on the road to open the 2019-20 season, with a 65-57 victory over the GRACE Christian Eagles. The Chargers have a lot of new faces in their rotation and they got the most out of them with defensive pressure and rebounding to get the victory in the end.</p> <h5>Jaden Cooper is the real deal</h5> <p>2021 combo guard <strong>Jaden Cooper</strong> finished the game with 20 points, eight steals and four rebounds, pacing the backcourt for Wayne Country Day in the first game of the season. Cooper showed patience at the guard position on offense while applying pressure on defense and showing off his ability to score on all three levels. He scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half, providing a spark that proved to be the difference in this one. He'll be one prospect college coaches will want to track in the 2021 class.</p> <h5>Wayne Country Day has some talent on their roster</h5> <p>Jaden Cooper wasn't the only player that shined in Game 1 of the young season. 2020 wing <strong>Linwood Grandy</strong> was a terror on the glass with eight rebounds, four on offense, four on defense and had a few monster dunks to show off his athleticism on the break. 2021 forward <strong>Julian Williams</strong> was also hard to keep off the glass as he snagged 10 rebounds, eight of which came on the offensive end.</p> <p>2021 guard <strong>Carlos Raven</strong> filled up the stat sheet with 10 points, seven assists and four steals. He's a prospect worth tracking that can shoot the 3-ball, run the offense and defend at a high level. Then there's 2023 guard <strong>Jordan Cooper</strong>, who contributed with eight points on two made 3-pointers in the first half, showing off his confidence as a sharpshooter from deep. </p> <h5>Grace Christian will bring the fight every game</h5> <p>The Eagles were without four of their key players for the season-opener due to the ongoing football playoffs but they still came out and fought. They got within three points late in the game but they ran out of juice when the Chargers turned up the defense with their press down the stretch. Wake Forest commit <strong>Jaylon Gibson</strong> finished with a double-double (13 points, 13 rebounds) while 2021 wing <strong>Jalen Walker</strong> put up 15 points and seven rebounds to show that he'll be a solid addition to this squad.</p> <p>2021 forward <strong>Keeyan Itejere</strong> posted 16 points and five rebounds as well in the frontcourt. Once they have their full squad together, they're not a team that should be taken lightly and will surely be a team to watch at this year's John Wall Holiday Invitational. </p>