Scouting: Black Panthers vs DC Evolution

Last night on the campus of St. Frances Academy, the Black Panthers (comprised of St. Frances players) faced off against DC Evolution (comprised of Wilson/Coolidge). Here, we’ll go through players who were featured in the contest. The Black Panthers won in overtime 88-84 *Noteworthy for the Black Panthers, 2021 [player_tooltip player_id="904668" first="Elijah" last="Davis"] (wrist) and ’21 Byron Ireland were both out for this game. [player_tooltip player_id="777064" first="Darren" last="Buchanan Jr."] | 6’6 | DC Evolution ’22 There are a few things that are guaranteed when you watch Buchanan. He’s going to play extremely hard, defend the opposing teams best player and strong attacks on the rim. The 6-foot-6 wing finished this game with 12 points, so while he didn’t blow anyone away with his final scoring total, he made smart decisions with the ball in the half court and took advantage of his open shots around the perimeter. I’d still like to see Buchanan be more aggressive on his perimeter catches and have intentions to expose driving lanes. He’s quick and strong enough to do so on a routine basis, but he’s more concerned with going making sure his teammates are involved, which isn’t a negative. Buchanan was also a factor protecting the rim. He had a couple of chase down blocks in transition where he pinned the ball off the glass and helped spark some energy for his team. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/12/Stephaun-Walker.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1094307" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/12/Stephaun-Walker-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="777077" first="Stephaun" last="Walker"] | 6’8 | DC Evolution ’22 Walker had every reason to lose his cool in this game. In the first half he got tangled with Reese and throughout the rest of the game was playing through fouls and not letting it impact his production or his decision making. Walker didn’t blow me away on the offensive end of the floor, but he certainly provided the paint presence defensively as a shot blocker and rebounder for his team. [player_tooltip player_id="902028" first="Miasiah" last="Brown"] | 6’2 | DC Evolution ’21 Brown led the way for DC with 25 points and was instrumental in their attempt to get out and score in transition. He finished through contact on multiple occasions and showed off a decent jumper in the mid-range when his team was operating in half court sets. [player_tooltip player_id="777090" first="Kyle" last="Gaskins"] | 6’0 | DC Evolution ’22 Gaskins really came on in the second half and helped lead the comeback for DC. The 6-foot point guard scored 12 of his 16 points in the final 20 minutes plus overtime frame and similar to Brown, Gaskins was an impact in the open floor. In the half court, Gaskins would attack off the catch and get into the paint for floaters or he would find open teammates around the perimeter. Defensively he was solid. He picked up his man the full length of the floor and refrained from fouling or gambling and putting his team in tough positions. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/khyrie-staten.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1059341" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/khyrie-staten-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="836491" first="Khyrie" last="Staten"] | 6’2 | Black Panthers ’21 Staten contributes in many ways offensively and defensively. Where he’s really grown as a shooter is coming off of pindown screens. He made sound reads and displayed sound pace and footwork on curls. He doesn’t waste time getting to his spots in the mid-range and while he has more of a scoring mindset, he has good feel for help defenders and where the open teammate is. Staten led the Panthers with a stat-stuffed line of 25 points, eight assists, five rebounds and four steals. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/Jahn-Lamothe-Jamie-Kasier.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1023605" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/Jahn-Lamothe-Jamie-Kasier-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="957025" first="Jahnathan" last="Lamothe"] | 6’3 | Black Panthers ’23 Lamothe was a flamethrower in the first half. The 6-foot-3 combo guard can get it going quickly and from well beyond the three-point line. What makes Lamothe so dangerous is his ability to known down 2-to-3 straight three’s on consecutive possessions. He had a quiet second half, but hit a timely three-pointer in the overtime frame to help the Black Panthers to a 88-84 win. Lamothe finished with 19 points and four rebounds. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/Queen-Derik-Head-Shot.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1069811" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/Queen-Derik-Head-Shot-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="1089573" first="Derik" last="Queen"] | 6’8 | Black Panthers ’24 Queen had a slow start to the game, but ended things on a better note as he finished with a double-double effort of 12 points and 10 rebounds. The 6-foot-8 freshman is one of the most gifted passers I’ve covered at his age and position and once he settled in during the second half he showcased why on a couple of possessions. Queen was also a shot disruptor as shown by his four blocks and did a nice job of making timely weakside rotations as the help defender.