Rocklin Thunder @ Whitney Wildcats 2-14-20
On Valentine’s day 2020 two of the top teams in the Sierra Foothill League had to give up all thoughts of love and romance and instead had to focus on a hard-fought battle that featured nearly 40 fouls combined for…
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Continue ReadingOn Valentine’s day 2020 two of the top teams in the Sierra Foothill League had to give up all thoughts of love and romance and instead had to focus on a hard-fought battle that featured nearly 40 fouls combined for both teams. Unfortunately for Whitney high who was celebrating their senior night came up short against a well-oiled machine that is the Rocklin high Thunder. In the final game of the season for both teams where playoff implications over shrouded a fiery contest, Rocklin came out swinging and never let up on the Wildcats, constantly doing what they had to do in order to win. Although there were several players on both sides that affected the outcome of the game, I will narrow it down to four players who left fingerprints all over this game.
Darrius Kendall; Rocklin; PG; Senior:
Kendall a 5’10-point guard for Rocklin High School had a fantastic game tonight. He displayed a skill set for a point guard that makes any player dangerous. He showed fantastic hands and dribbling skills that allowed him to create his own shot off the dribble while also buying time for teammates to move and get open. The Thunder took advantage of Kendall’s playmaking ability by constantly gashing Whitney’s defense with 3’s and quick cuts to the basket. Darrius played stifling defense that made it hard for any player on Whitney to get past him or even get their own shot off. Kendall also showed off some impressive range by adding several 3’s throughout the game to keep his team’s score a safe distance from the Wildcats.
Donovan Lopez; Rocklin; Guard; Senior:
Lopez is an intense guy on the court, he has a high ceiling that can be accessed with the right coaching on the next level. Lopez plays hard and is extremely active while on the hardwood which makes him an excellent teammate and player in general. On offense and defense, Lopez is always moving his feet trying to either lock down his opponent or attempt to find the open space on offense. He displayed nice shooting skills by getting to the rim and converting several times while also adding a 3 and some mid-range jumpers. Donovan shot nice from the floor tonight while constantly hounding the Whitney offense. Last but certainly not least, Lopez showed that he can also rebound surprisingly well considering he only stands at 6’0 and plays guard. His rebounding skills only further show how active he is as a player and one day the fruit of his labor will begin to bloom at higher levels of ball.
Dom Spence; Whitney; Guard; Senior:
Spence has a nose for the basket, to say the least. He charges at the rim like a freight train and successfully made several of his heavily contested layups. His actions on offense kept Whitney in the game when he was on the court since he was able to get to the stripe where he shot efficiently. Despite having an aggressive offensive attitude, Spence also consistently played tough defense on his counterpart Darrius Kendall who had an excellent game but was slowed down the most when Spence was placed on him. Dom Spence displayed decent passing skills but appeared to have a drive and shoot first mentality. When he did pass out of his drive, he often found the open man who tended to miss their shot in this game but surround Spence with shooters and his team could be very successful.
Jake Fink; Whitney; Guard; Senior:
Fink was the clear sharpshooter for Whitney, he finished the game with 20 points, but that number could have been higher if he converted on a number of open 3-point shots. One of his best attributes was that he played extensively active on the offense side of the ball by constantly moving to an open space behind the arc where his teammates were able to give him outlet passes for wide-open shots throughout the game. Fink is a lengthy shooting guard, think Kyle Korver type of player who could one day be knocking down 3’s in big time moments at the next levels. Fink shows impressive basketball IQ by seldom committing errors on either side of the ball while displaying excellent teammate behavior by trying to keep his teammates heads up when things seemed bleak for the team. Fink is an old school prototype shooting guard built to be an excellent teammate and team player at the college level.