2020 Hardwood Classic: Friday-evening notes

<p>KANSAS CITY -- Both Team Buddy Buckets’ junior and senior squads picked up emphatic wins Friday afternoon at the Hy-Vee Arena. </p> <p>Each player from both teams put points on the board in performances that established what we already knew: these rosters are <em>solid, </em>packed with talent that could make headlines on Friday nights next season.</p> <h5>16U -- Second-half push from McCarthey &amp; Graves ignites TBB</h5> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="967402" first="Tylor" last="McCarthey"] (<em>pictured above</em>), a talented forward for TBB, struggled early on the defensive end to contain a Mid-MO Elite post-wing about two inches taller than him with mass. The sizable foe was arguably the catalyst for MME, scoring 17 points while lingering in a close match after the first half.</p> <p>McCarthey, however, paired with Jamele Graves in the paint to shut-down the forward to just a single free-throw in the second half, resigning him to passing and coercing MME into taking uncomfortable shots from deep.</p> <p>Finishing with 17 points as TBB’s leading scorer, McCarthey was undoubtedly a significant weapon for the junior team on both end as he showed off some of his paint-footwork, rebounded, returned and enacted a second-half stand that helped TBB escape with a 20-point mercy.</p> <p>Graves and point guard [player_tooltip player_id="955383" first="Reid" last="Lovelace"] finished with 10 each.</p> <h5>17U -- Four TBB players notch double-figures</h5> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="745355" first="Sean" last="Pedulla"] led the way for the TBB 17U squad with a 20-point outing in an afternoon showdown with Lincoln Supreme National.</p> <p>After netting ten points on 2-point field goals, exclusively, within the first six minutes of the game, Pedulla began on a passing tirade, where he helped teammates get easy buckets. He tossed a number of advanced passes in the half-court, including hook passes from screens, bounce passes from elbow to opposite block, drop-offs and wrap-arounds to interior scorers and everything in-between; and he did it with either hand.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="535628" first="Matthew" last="Stone"], meanwhile displayed impressive competence at the wing for TBB. A new pick-up and top-ten recruit in the state, it is expected for him to excel in any environment, but for him to already have such chemistry with a new team in only his second weekend with the team was a spectacle.</p> <p>With the rock, Stone finished well around the rack with some advanced maneuvers and finishes around the goal, finishing floaters at tough angles and elevating to score. He also has an exceptional motor and 32-minute mentality, which came up big in the rebounding game for him.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="954194" first="JV" last="Seat"] displayed uncanny shooting capabilities, sinking three 3-pointers from the catch while maintaining his regular excellence as a paint-scorer. His inside-out offensive play lent TBB a true three-level scoring presence in the match, leaving the LSN defense stretched back to Nebraska.</p> <p>With that space, it was all but too-easy for [player_tooltip player_id="745371" first="Sean" last="Franklin"], a wing with supreme athletic giftedness, to do what he does best: slash, dive to rebound, put-back or anything that allows him to get his hands on the ball near the rim.</p> <p>Seat completed the night with 13 points while Franklin and Stone each finished with 11.</p> <p>Seth Meadows also starred in a rebounding role, coming off the bench to notch at least eight boards in the action I recorded.</p>