Weekend Recap in Oklahoma

<p>This weekend featured great tournaments around the entire state of Oklahoma. In this post, I will not be able to get to all of the results but will drop some knowledge of the three tournaments I attended and few others I was able to keep up with from around the state. </p> <p><strong>Titan Classic </strong></p> <p>The Titan Classic began with Del City the heavy favorite to win the tournament. Carl Albert or Edmond North appeared to be the two main challengers. Everything went as planned with Carl Albert ousting Edmond North to get a shot at the Eagles in the Championship. In the finals, however, the plan was shot as the Titans dominated the Eagles from start to finish. <strong>James Locke </strong>was a huge part of the Titan's success knocking down big three-point baskets and showing his improved skills driving to the hoop. This, in my opinion, is the best coaching job of Coach Price's career.  The team is balanced, young and of course talented but inexperienced. For Del City, this loss may end up being one of the things propelling them to a Championship. I do not think you have to lose to win a Championship, but in some cases, it does help refocus a team. I cannot end this article without saying Keyondre Young has made a major jump in his game. The 6'7 sniper from the Wing is a sure-fire D1 player and colleges need to get one him sooner rather than later. </p> <p><strong>Bruce Gray Invitational </strong></p> <p>I was able to catch the Championship game of this tournament in Deer Creek. Anytime Edmond Memorial and Midwest City play it is a must-watch. The Bombers controlled the game early, but then <strong>Sean Pedulla</strong> got hot for the Bulldogs. Pedulla is still a very much underrated prospect by many at the Point. He hit big three-point shots and made several tough drives to the cup against an athletic physical Midwest City crew. <strong>JV Seat </strong>did his part down low to be impactful. The guys at Memorial who do not get talked about enough consist of <strong>Keyshon Spotwood</strong>, <strong>CJ Campbell</strong> and <strong>Jake Royal</strong>. They are the unsung heroes who do so much of the little things to help the Bulldogs win. Once Midwest City gave up the lead before the half it had the feeling of Edmond Memorial may find a way to push the lead out and take home their second straight W over the Bombers. Enter <strong>Christian Cook</strong> and <strong>Makale Smith</strong> two of the top guard in Class 6A constantly producing. Cook is playing with an undisclosed injury to his hand, but you would have never known it from the way he shot the basketball effectively. Smith is the engine behind this team guiding them at the Point to get the best shot. I cannot finish without talking about the great defense and small plays that led to big things from <strong>Jacobi Johnson</strong>.  Another post player who did a great job containing Seat as best as possible was <strong>Elliot Janish</strong>. Ultimately, the tables turned from earlier in the year this time Edmond Memorial had the ball down late and could not make the late shot. I'd put my money on these two facing again in the playoffs with a lot more on the line than the McGuinness Classic or the Bruce Gray. </p> <p><strong>John Nobles Tournament </strong></p> <p>On Friday night I made it to Moore just in time to see Southmoore get beat by Lawton. Heading into the game not knowing a ton about the makeup of this year's Lawton squad other than the starters I thought Southmoore would be able to pull away late. Boy was I wrong. Sam Godwin threw down many thunderous jams and was hustling all over the place on the court. Lawton was not phased one bit from Godwin's big night or Jordan Thompson. Despite Godwin and Thompson combining for 49 points, Lawton found a way to victory behind the stellar defense and team basketball. Lawton has tons of size inside and is a nightmare matchup for pretty much every team in the state because of it. <strong>Jamel Graves</strong> 2022 Forward has the highest ceiling on the Lawton Wolverines squad. <strong>Marty Perry</strong> is the only underclassman other than Graves who gets major minutes. Perry is another good one for colleges to keep track of in 2021. Perry brings shooting from the outside and ball handling. Graves along with senior <strong>Ashawnti Hunter </strong>dominate the boards and give Lawton second chance points inside. <strong>Laquon Williams</strong> was a great find in the 2020 Class this weekend. Williams is every bit of 6'8 with a long lanky frame on the Wing. Williams hit several huge shots down the stretch of the ball game. <strong>Jaylen Swift</strong> and <strong>Septien Reese</strong> handle the Point Guard duties putting their teammates in great spots for success. <strong>Eric Wiley</strong> another senior took several big charges including a massive jam by Godwin. I have not seen a kid be so willing to take a charge knowing he is going to get dunked on in a long time. That kid is a winner. As the game came to a close Lawton had an answer for Southmoore each time they nearly came back. It sounds weird I know but what I said earlier about Del City that sometimes a loss can help refocus a team towards a Championship is true. This loss could ultimately wake up a sleeping giant. It is time to consider Lawton a true contender after what they have done the past couple of weeks.  </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Extra Extra </strong></p> <p>This portion of the article I wanted to give some love to tournaments I did not see but saw good updates online. <strong>JJ White</strong> lifted Norman North to victory in double OT after hitting a three-pointer at the buzzer in regulation to tie the game against Choctaw. This is the second time the schools have played and Norman North has come out on top hitting buzzer-beaters in both games. </p> <p>https://twitter.com/ByJoeBuettner/status/1221280394202505216?s=20</p> <p>Brennen Burns led Bethany to win the Jones tournament in big fashion scoring 41 points in the Championship game to earn MVP honors. Burns also hit 1,000 career points for his high school career. Small colleges needing a Point Guard you are crazy if you do not give Burns a strong look.</p> <p>Jenks took home the Jenks/Union Championship with great weekends from young rising star <strong>Chase Martin</strong> and <strong>Anfernee Nelson</strong> who was the MVP of the weekend. Nelson is a JUCO sleeper in the 2020 Class. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Tahlequah battled Edison falling short in the Port City Classic Championship. The Tigers 2020 standout J<strong>axon Jones</strong> had a great weekend scoring the rock. Edison gets a huge confidence boost from winning this tournament and could be a surprise team in the state for Class 5A. </p> <p><strong>Reid Lovelace</strong> and Crossings Christian continued on their hot streak defeating OCS in the Cashion Championship. Crossings Christian started the season 3-3 they have since then won 10 straight games. </p> <p>Oh, and of course I cannot leave out Matthew Stone having a career-high 32 points, Bijan Cortes continue to play awesome, and Kingfisher winning their own tournament over the weekend. </p> <p>For more information or to send me more information email <strong>Matt@prephoops.com</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p>