Archbishop Riordan Wins at Valley Christian

<p>Tuesday night Prep Hoops NorCal headed up the hill to Valley Christian in San Jose to take in what I thought would be an intriguing matchup in the WCAL. Riordan was without  two key starters. <em><strong>Bryce Monroe 5'11 2020 guard</strong></em> who's committed to Sam Houston State, and <em><strong>Mor Seck the 7'0 2022 transfer from Florida</strong></em>. Riordan was in control from start to finish. Final score 78-43. Here's a couple of takeaways from the game.</p> <p><em><strong>Je'Lani Clark 6'3 2020 guard</strong></em> from <span style="font-size: 12pt;"><em><strong>Riordan was the best player on the court</strong></em></span>, and one of the top guards in Norcal. <em><strong>Clark's</strong> </em>on his way to play for the University of Nevada next year.   Because of injuries Clark did most of his damage at the point guard position. He looks to me like a natural point guard. His court vision and willingness to get others involved early, knowing he could readily score at any time stood out to me. He took good shots and scored at all three levels. 6-8 fga, 2-4, 3ptr, 4asts, 4stl, and 14pts. He only played 3qtrs.</p> <p><em><strong>Robert Vaihola 6'7 2021 forward, Riordan</strong></em> <em><strong>The Best Underclassmen on the floor</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>Vaihola</strong> </em>was the starting center last night. (Seck) didn't play. He wasted no time dominating play on the inside, he was aggressive and confident.  His footwork and body control around the basket produced 21 pts and 8 rebounds. He has good hands, they're  big, and a soft touch. He displayed an elbow jumper, and had some really nice passes from the high post 4asts.   Being in the class of 2021 he has a good upside. </p> <p><em><strong>Riordan has good team Depth</strong></em></p> <p>There's no doubt who the top players are on this team in  <em><strong>Bryce Monroe, and Je'Lani Clark</strong></em>. There's a few players on Riordans team who made good contributions in this game. <em><strong>Dominic Wilson 6'4 2020, Chan Ngot 6'8 2020, and</strong><strong> Riiny Riiny 6'7 2020, </strong></em>gives Riordan experience and good size, All have contributed at different times during the season. These last couple of games have given the younger group of 2021's an opportunity to showcase their skills and gain some confidence that they will need down the stretch.<em><strong> Lee</strong> <strong>Hubbard 6'1 2021 guard</strong></em> was energetic, bouncy and looking to attack and dish to Vaihola and other open teammates. Lee had 5 asts and 4 stls with solid defense on Valley's top Freshman <em><strong>Paran</strong></em>. </p> <p><em><strong>Valley Christian's Young prospects</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>Jaidan Paran 5'8 2023 point guard</strong></em>, and <em><strong>Pawllow Habtom 6'3 2021</strong></em> guard are gaining valuable experience playing in the tough WCAL every game against quality teams and guards. Eventually the season will work it's way towards the playoffs, that's when Valley will gain some traction. <em><strong>Paran</strong> </em>continues to develop his point guard skills, with this Freshman you take the bad with the good 2-12 fgs, he had good looks, and was more patient on offense, he showed a few more finishing moves in the paint, 7 pts. <em><strong>Habtom</strong></em> played most of the game competing on both ends, and fighting for rebounds. His ball handling and getting to the paint for mid range jumpers produced a double double 22 pts, 10 rebounds, a solid performance.  </p>