5 Takeaways From Liberty vs Foothill

<p>Liberty traveled to Foothill for a 4A Southeast conference matchup. The Falcons, the defending conference champs were looking to avenge an earlier season defeat at the hands of the Patriots.  Foothill riding the wave of emotions from Senior night managed to jump out to a nine point 1^st quarter lead and extended it to 10 at halftime. As always the Falcons had a balance attack lead by the play of <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/demetri-clair/">Demitri Clair</a>, <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/fisher-welch/">Fisher Welch</a>, and <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/ely-habighorst/">Eli Habighorst</a>. Liberty was kept in the game by all world stud <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/julian-strawther/">Julian Strawther</a> who had 17 at the half. The second half saw rising c/o 2022 stud <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/joshua-jefferson/">Joshua Jefferson</a> put his imprint on the game. Jefferson was a monster on both the offensive and defensive boards and his ability to hold the Falcons to one shot and provide extra shots for Liberty was huge. Despite a 10 point 4^th quarter lead, the Patriots continued to battle and eventually the combination of Jefferson’s rebounding and Strawther’s scoring allowed them to come all the way back and capture an 11 point victory. Here are my takeaways.</p> <p><strong>(1) This Was The Most Physical Game I saw All Year.</strong></p> <p>There was a time in this game when it looked like the refs just decided to put the whistles down and let them go at it. You had to be strong with the ball tonight, as kids were getting banged and bumped all over the court. It wasn’t just in the paint either, every drive felt like a head-on collision and bodies were hitting the floor like the Drowning Pool song. I actually enjoyed it a little bit because it gave me an opportunity to find out which players can actually play through contact and contain their emotions. Eventually, the game got cleaned up but there was a 10-minute stretch where it looked as if it was no blood no foul.</p> <p><strong>(2) The Mercurial <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/kobe-stroughter/">Kobe Stroughter</a></strong></p> <p>Stroughter is one of the most puzzling players in the country to me. There are times when I watch him and I think I’m watching a Kyrie Irving clone on the court. Then there are times when I completely forget that he’s in the game. Tonight when he was good, he showed that he can play the PG position effectively. He was able to create off the bounce. with his terrific hesitation move. When he was bad, he was late on defensive rotations and lacked energy. He started off strong but I thought the early tech he received, kind of threw him off. He’s only a junior so he is still relatively young, and the talent is clearly there. Now he simply needs to put it together consistently.</p> <p><strong>(3) Ely Habighorst Was Throwing Dimes</strong></p> <p>Habighorst impact might not show up in the box sheet, but I thought he played the position of PG fabulously all night. He was throwing dimes, sometimes off set plays, and sometimes while freelancing. He is the epitome of a player, throwing his teammate open as Habighorst was able to almost hand the ball to teammates who were 15 feet away. He was a solid floor general and was a big part of the Falcons building a 10 point 4^th quarter lead.</p> <p><strong>(4) Can <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/julian-strawther/">Julian Strawther</a> Carmelo Size Liberty?</strong></p> <p>There are times this year when I have watched Strawther play, that it almost doesn't look fair. Many times he is both the biggest and most skilled player on the court. He registered a quiet 38 tonight. My favorite shot of his is his 10-foot floater. At the high school level, it looks a bit odd to see a 6’6 shooting floaters over 6’2 player, however, it is just the kind of shot that demonstrates why he is a high major recruit with professional basketball skills. I can easily see a situation where he just gets hot in the playoffs and decides to will Liberty to a state title, IMO he is that good.</p> <p><strong>(5) Can I Please Have Some More <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/joshua-jefferson/">Joshua Jefferson</a>?</strong></p> <p>If Jefferson plays like this Strawther may not need to win anything by himself. Jefferson was dominant tonight. At times he simply played volleyball by himself above the rim. What makes him so intriguing is the fact that he is a true low post scorer that has the ability to rebound and defend at a high level. Tonight his rebounding was nothing short of elite, and I got a good glimpse of his competitive nature as he refused to allow the Patriots to lose. The top of the c/o 2022 board is stacked, and tonight Jefferson made his claim for the #1 spot. The question now is can he put together another performance like this on Friday night?</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://twitter.com/7outzbballclub1">Follow PrepHoops Nevada</a></p>