810 Varsity Hoops Roundup: Top Performances

The 810 Varsity Shootout that took place on Saturday featured some of the top teams and players from not only around Kansas City, but elsewhere around Missouri and Kansas. Each game on the boys side was a barn burner, and the matchups were set up great, each team participating brought it and the games were top notch. The play throughout the day was tremendous, lets take a look at some of the standouts.   [player_tooltip player_id="946244" first="Luke" last="Williams"], 2021 5’10 Guard, Olathe South (Pictured): Williams was dominant throughout South’s contest with McPherson, getting by guys off the dribble at will and living inside the mid range to painted area. Williams also played well in the pick and roll game making the right reads constantly, including getting shooter Corbin Dozier some great looks off of pick and pop action. The Olathe South guard has a great handle and change of pace to go with it, and his ability to knock down floaters compliments that change pace and his size really well as he can get off great looks off drives. Williams knocked down a huge floater with about 2 seconds left to send the game into overtime, and in overtime it was his steadiness from the point guard spot and on ball defense that secured the win. He finished with 22 points, 4 assists, and 9 rebounds, a truly great point guard performance in a big time game.   [player_tooltip player_id="1042402" first="Connor" last="Arment"], 2021 5’11 Guard, Barstow: Arment is a big time gamer and always brings toughness and winning mentality to games he is in, and Saturday was no different. After a poor start for his Barstow squad, Arment started to get going and got them back into the game with 8 quick points, and he made play after play to allow Barstow to stay in it and force overtime. Arment drilled big 3 after big 3 throughout the contest and mixed in getting to the foul line and scoring in the paint to compliment is perimeter game. The Barstow standout guard also makes a lot of the little plays on both ends of the floor that either cause opponents turnovers or gain extra possessions. Arment finished with 24 points in the overtime loss.   Torin Thomas, 2021 6’4 Wing, Lincoln Prep: The athletic Lincoln Prep wing player put together one of the more versatile performances on the day and has his finger prints all over the Blue Tigers win over Barstow. Thomas showed off the full package on Saturday starting from his activity on the defensive end that allowed him to get out in transition early and often which got him going and into a rhythm. He runs the floor well both without the ball and pushing it himself in transition and got to the rim in those situations multiple times as well as making a great bounce pass on the move to a teammate for layup. The Lincoln Prep wing also showed off the range knocking down multiple catch and shoot threes and hit one from about 15 ft as well. His combination of athletic ability, skill, and versatility stood out on the day at Avila.   [player_tooltip player_id="946262" first="Seth" last="Madron"], 2022 6’1 Guard, McPherson: Madron is a tremendous athlete who is quick, explosive, and has serious bounce. A couple of plays that highlight this were a quick left to right rip drive on the baseline that led to a two handed dunk and a great back cut lob dunk that he threw down easily. His athleticism helps him create a lot of his offense but there is some skill there with a nice touch from the foul line and can knock down the open 3 ball. His handle is very deliberate and straight line attacking so he is efficient off the bounce. Madron showcased his high IQ and great teammate qualities by constantly making an extra pass, or setting teammates up for high quality shots. Madron also made a beautiful pass on the move with his right hand across the body to [player_tooltip player_id="946231" first="Eli" last="Pyle"] in the corner for a big 3 late. Madron is a consistent stat sheet stuffer and Saturday was no different.   Messias Dockery, 2022 5’10 Guard, Park Hill South: the Park Hill South guard is explosive and a crafty player and he caused a lot of fits for Blue Valley all night. He does a great job of getting to the foul line and makes teams pay by shooting a high percentage, he was 9-10 on the night including 6-7 in the fourth quarter. Dockery was steady throughout the game and constantly put pressure on the defense and his craftiness and play making ability made him tough to guard. His ability and instinct on the defensive end allowed him to cause some havoc for Blue Valley on the night as well, getting deflections, steals, or forcing turnovers.   [player_tooltip player_id="891898" first="Aidan" last="Shaw"], 2022 6’8 Wing, Blue Valley: The big time prospect was relatively quiet scoring the ball until the fourth quarter when the Tigers were pushing to steal a win against Park Hill South. Shaw was tremendous in the fourth quarter scoring 12 including knocking down a 3 ball and getting himself up at the rim where he is tough to effect. Shaw finished with 21 in the game.   [player_tooltip player_id="730611" first="Alston" last="Mason"], 2021 6’2 Guard, Blue Valley Northwest: Like Shaw, Mason came alive in the fourth quarter and especially down the stretch during "winning time", scoring 12 out of BVNW’s last 14 points. His motor reached a big time level in crunch time getting himself going with a beautiful offensive tip in and then he was off to the races. He started getting to the rim and to the foul line to finish off his 24 point performance. His determination and ability to make plays late in the fourth quarter to hold off a tremendous Staley team showed off why Mason is a top tier point guard in the Mid West.   Kayden Fish, 2023 6’5 Forward, Staley: Big Fish continues to grow and improve with every minute of varsity experience that he gets. The raw talent is there and he is starting to polish it up. He had a big time matchup with BVNW big man [player_tooltip player_id="889496" first="Ben" last="Fritz"] and Fish showed up. He finished with 17 points in the ball game getting a lot of his work done inside, highlighting the inside dominance was a two handed contested dunk on the baseline. Fish also made a couple of plays on the defensive end as well causing tough shots at the rim and made a couple of steals on baseline out of bounds plays.