5 Intriguing Prospects: Parkville vs Loch Raven

<p>On Wednesday evening, two Baltimore County teams clashed as Loch Raven played host to Parkville. Since their loss to Dulaney a couple weeks ago, Parkville had put together a four-game winning streak heading into Wednesday's game. Loch Raven on the other hand, was looking to end a four-game losing streak. The Knights were led by their two stud seniors as they defeated the hosting Raiders by a final score of 76-51. With the win, Parkville improves to 15-2 overall while Loch Raven falls to 11-7.</p> <p>Here are five intriguing prospects from the game.</p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jordan-strickland/">Jordan Strickland</a> | Parkville '20</strong></span></p> <p>Loch Raven was without their standout freshman big man, so that opened up an opportunity to be a dominant presence in the paint and on the glass. He took advantage in both ways on offense and defense. The 6-foot-4 forward was active on the defensive glass and did an effective job grabbing rebounds out of his area. Offensively, he only attempted one shot outside of the paint. It was a three that he missed badly. Following that shot, the rest of his attempts were all around the rim whether it be finishing off of penetrating guards' dump off passes, scoring on the block with his back to the basket or in transition. His determination on the offensive glass was rewarded with a few foul calls as he went back up with a quick second jump. Strickland finished this game with 18 points.</p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/john-godinez/">John Godinez</a> | Parkville '20</strong></span></p> <p>Loch Raven didn't have an answer for Godinez when he had the ball. In both half court and transition situations, Godinez sliced through the defense and found his way to the rim where he finished with soft touch. The 5-foot-9 guard converted on two three's and remained aggressive throughout as a scorer even when the Knights built a 20+ point lead. Godinez has cemented himself as one of the toughest players to guard in the county. His shiftiness with the ball paired with his pure agility make it tough for his defender to slide their feet and not foul. He's a threat from all three levels as a scorer and has the IQ to be a consistent play maker for others. He finished with a game-high 19 points.</p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Caron Smith | Loch Raven '23</strong></span></p> <p>Smith has been a consistent presence for the Raiders throughout his freshman season. In this game, he was one of the lone bright spots as he finished with 12 points. 10 of those points came in the second quarter where he was effectively finding his spots in the mid-range for pull ups. I would've liked to see his teammates get him more involved in the second half, but they continued to take ill-advised shots. It was good to see that Smith didn't give into forcing looks throughout that period. At 6-foot-2, he showed some promise for the years ahead to become a prospect to keep an eye on.</p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Jayden Baker | Parkville '23</strong></span></p> <p>Another freshman who stood out in this game was the 6-foot-3 wing Baker. He's quickly getting adjusted to the varsity level and you can tell by his confidence to try new things in certain situations. He's proven to be a consistent shooter if left open around the perimeter, but what caught my eye was the few occasions where he collected the defensive rebound and led the fast break. He made smart decisions with the ball that included a couple of advanced passes and pulling the ball out when he realized his team didn't have an advantage. Baker is at his best when he catches at the high post where he can make you pay with a 15-foot jumper or attack the rim off one or two dribbles. Baker finished with eight points.</p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/darrius-tilghman/">Darrius Tilghman</a> | Parkville '21</strong></span></p> <p>Tilghman has taken some time to find his groove this season after battling a nagging knee injury. While he still seems to favor that knee, he's starting to become more confident in it, which is unleashing his play making ability. Tilghman finished this game with 10 points, but could've had more if he didn't play as unselfishly. It's not a bad problem to have because he makes all the correct reads. He's especially good at finding guys and setting up hockey assist type of plays instead of forcing the home-run pass himself. He operated well out of pick-and-rolls and finished effectively around the basket as well as knocking down two triples.</p>