What we learned from Compton’s league win against Cabrillo

<p>COMPTON — Just a week ago, the Compton Tarbabes lost a heartbreaker against league rivals Millikan on a one-point, buzzer-beating loss. The Tarbabes have since flipped the switch as they have won three league games in a row, including in their latest 79–44 home win against Cabrillo.</p> <p>The dominant victory for Compton was a showcase for 2020 center <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/cj-woods/">[player_tooltip player_id="745415" first="Jabari" last="Steward"]</a>. The 6’8” talent has emerged as one of the top big men in all of the Moore League. He has orchestrated a recent run of strong showings, which included a 15-point game in a win against rival Long Beach Poly.</p> <p>In the contest against Cabrillo, Steward showed just how much he has improved this season. He recorded yet another double-digit scoring performance in a game where Cabrillo had no answer for him on both sides of the floor.</p> <p>On offense, Steward relentlessly crashed the boards and scored an array of easy layups. At 6’8”, there was not much Cabrillo could do to stop him; double-teams in the paint still worked to no avail against him. After positioning himself in the low post, Steward leaned on his shoot-first mentality but also dished out passes to wide-open players out on the wing — an area of his play which has exceptionally improved. Steward was active in his movements down in the low post due to his quick footwork and superb hip flexibility.</p> <p>There were only a few possessions where Steward relied on his post moves to create space down low, but in each sequence, he came away with an effortless bucket.</p> <p>Steward also showed tremendous athleticism on the fast-break, including on this possession where he capped it all off with an alley-oop dunk. </p> <p>[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78SuIYKPc8s[/embed]</p> <p>Over on defense, Steward was mobile in seemingly every possession. Rather than staying low in each possession, he often moved out to the top of the key and showed his versatility by defending outside of the paint, which was not easy against a Cabrillo side that bolsters fast-paced 2021 guards Eric King and Isaiah Hill. Steward showed exceptional poise in continually closing down his opponent's shooting space and also by tracking down layup attempts; he wound up recording a trio of blocks in the game. If his isolation defense can continue to progress into being more of a hybrid defender, it will only strengthen Steward’s capability as a two-way talent.</p> <p>Steward's defensive work extended to rebounding as well; he corralled board after board in the contest. On this play, he hauls in an airball and transitions up the court for a quick fast-break sequence. </p> <p>[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx894HuP4Zg[/embed]</p> <p>The 2020 center is well-deserving of more recognition and will surely attract more attention as the playoffs approach.</p> <p>But while the focus centered on Steward, he was not the sole reason as to why Compton pulled away with a lopsided 35–point win. 2020 guard Kobi Malone also chipped in to contribute to the Tarbabes' dominant victory.</p> <p>The 6’4” guard was all over the floor on the offensive side of the ball. With his bursting speed, Malone found great success in driving to the rim for uncontested layup attempts. Malone also showed off his offensive skill set with a couple of contested mid-range jump shots, which constantly posed a problem for Cabrillo’s defensive setup. More importantly, he complemented Steward’s offensive play extremely well thanks to his ability to space the floor, which then provided the center with better looks outside of the paint. </p> <p>The win moves Tony Thomas’ Compton side to 18 wins on the season and an 8–3 league record. They will cap off league play against Jordan and then begin their journey in the much-anticipated CIF-SS Playoffs later this month. Every year, there is always one dark horse contender that makes a deep playoff run, and this season, Steward’s Compton Tarbabes may be that team. </p> <p>For Cabrillo, they remain winless in Moore League play.</p>