Observations from Mountain Pointe at Pinnacle

On Tuesday February 23rd I attended the 6A Mountain Pointe Pride at the 6A Pinnacle Pioneers.   Here were some observations from the three games I viewed: #1 Pinnacle has prospects on all 3 levels. #2 Most of Mountain Pointe’s prospects are already on varsity. #3 Three freshman from Pinnacle stood out in the freshman game. [player_tooltip player_id="1138511" first="Jameson" last="Vick"] Pinnacle -A pure PG who can make plays and score it. He is deceptively quick with a tighter handle. He has good awareness on defense and understands where to be. He threaded the needle for assists a couple times. He keeps his head up the whole time surveying the scene to make a play. He can also shoot the ball to the 3. Christian Wells SG 6’0 2024 Pinnacle -A skilled wing forward can shoot it from mid-range and in. He is crafty inside and plays the passing lanes on defense. He plays the game with a high IQ and moves without the ball plus is a good passer. A good rebounding guard and is aggressive defensively. Dominic Okeke SG 5’10 2024 Pinnacle -An athletic wing can run and plays D. He gets downhill and scores it through contact. He defends inside and out on the perimeter and does a lot of the little things to help a team win. #4 Three sophs from Pinnacle stood out in the JV game. [player_tooltip player_id="1138591" first="Brandon" last="Stokes"] Pinnacle -A stronger power forward is very physical on defense. He grabs out of area rebounds and blocks shots. He moves fluidly around the court and plays aggressively. His motor is very good and brings that energy every possession. Elijah Page C 6’6 2023 Pinnacle -A football stud left tackle is also pretty good at hoops. He already holds an U of A offer for football and plays basketball as well. He has soft, big hands and is extremely physical to score it but he can extend his range to the 3pt line, He plays with a high IQ and understands the game. He is very hard to stop around the hoop with his wider frame and skill. [player_tooltip player_id="1138593" first="Tanner" last="Bosley"] Pinnacle -A good sized shooter moves without the ball and relocates to an open spot. He can score it inside and the shooter is a natural all-around scorer. His 3pt shot does make his game go and he'll be slinging it next year on varsity. #5 One freshman from Mountain Pointe stood out in the JV game. [player_tooltip player_id="1138527" first="TJ" last="Clark"] Mountain Pointe -A long wing defender moves fluidly around the court and is all arms and legs. His length bothers his opponents in the passing lanes and has a smooth handle. He can hit the mid-range pull-up but loves attacking and using the floater game.   Varsity game: #6 Even though Mountain Pointe have lost some games, they are still in the mix to win it all in 6A this year. #7 Pinnacle has a chance to make the playoffs. Which is a top-16 seed as they currently sit #15. #8 Pinnacle has many football players who are athletic and can defend! #9 [player_tooltip player_id="814036" first="Roosevelt" last="Washington"] and [player_tooltip player_id="814039" first="Mark" last="Brown Jr"] are easily the best soph combo in the AIA. #10 Here were the Varsity standouts: Mountain Pointe 68 Pinnacle 53 (unofficial stats)   Mountain Pointe [player_tooltip player_id="814039" first="Mark" last="Brown Jr"] Mountain Pointe (Pictured) (20 pts 3 rebs 1 ast 3 stls) -A strong scoring lead guard is a 3-level scorer. He is powerful getting downhill with his tight handle and strength scoring through contact. He has a nice pull-up off the dribble and can hit the catch-3. He had one impressive crow-hop to score around the opposing teams bigs. He has quick hands to deflect or steal the ball and he came up big in key moments in the win. [player_tooltip player_id="814036" first="Roosevelt" last="Washington"] Mountain Pointe (10 pts 8 rebs 3 ast 2 stls 1 blk) -A strong guard who loves attacking the paint. He is one of the best rebounding guards on the West Coast for his class. He has a quick second jump with easy bounce. He uses his power and handle to score it in the lane and can hit from mid-range. He checks all the boxes on defense with a huge motor, plays physically and aggressive with his opponents. He is a stud on the break and brings that tough mentality to every game. He can keep making strides with his 3pt shot. [player_tooltip player_id="703811" first="Jason" last="Kimbrough Jr"] Mountain Pointe (9 pts 1 reb 2 ast) -A tough guard is strong on the ball defensively. He made a couple 5-second counts on his opposing guards. He can hit the 3 plus he can get into the lane and score it through contact and use the floater. He has good open court speed and he also made some nice passes to teammates. [player_tooltip player_id="1024116" first="Donaven" last="Ocasio"] Mountain Pointe (8 pts 2 rebs 2 stls) -A two way player who is a pest on the ball defensively. His presence on the court changed the game during a stretch. He plays aggressively and is quick in the open court. He can score it on floaters and get to the FT line. He will be very important down the stretch in the playoffs off the bench. [player_tooltip player_id="936768" first="Tanner" last="Pate"] Mountain Pointe (7 pts 1 reb 3 asts 1 stl) -Their zone buster on the team is clearly Pate. He has a pure stroke from the 3pt line and gets it off quickly. He hit a huge 3 at the end of the 3rd coming in cold off the bench to give the Pride some breathing room. He is a sneaky good passer and plays a cerebral game. [player_tooltip player_id="1138592" first="Aiden" last="Price"] Mountain Pointe (6 pts 5 rebs 1 stl) -The young lefty got the start with multiple team injuries and played fairly well. He has good activity on the glass with a big motor and keeps plays alive for his team. [player_tooltip player_id="809687" first="Zereoue" last="Williams"] Mountain Pointe (8 pts 11 rebs 1 ast 1 stl 4 blks) -The Utah football commit is arguably the top interior defender in the AIA. He grabs rebounds in bunches with his big hands and his strong body. He can flush it down on offense and has hook shots and scores it on layups. [caption id="attachment_1138693" align="alignnone" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/02/IMG_9932-crop-3226x2118-1614221561.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1138693 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/02/IMG_9932-crop-3226x2118-1614221561-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Two star football players were battling all game long.[/caption]   Pinnacle [player_tooltip player_id="937186" first="Duce" last="Robinson"] Pinnacle (11 pts 5 rebs) -It will definitely be hard to find a better all-around athlete in the entire state. Basketball, according to him and his parents, is actually his 3rd sport to stay in shape. And per Mountain Pointe head coach, "that was the toughest player big Z went against all year inside." He moves really well for his size and grabs rebounds high above the crowd. He can score it near the cup solely but he anchors their defense. His other two sports are football and baseball and he said he wouldn’t mind playing both in college. The next Bo Jackson? Who knows. [player_tooltip player_id="814516" first="Bryce" last="Ford"] Pinnacle (15 pts 3 rebs) -A natural combo guard is probably best off the ball so he can come off a screen and fire away. The lefty has a pretty looking shot and he is primarily their lone scorer. He can make plays for others but on this team he has to score. He can change speeds and get into the lane and use the floater. He had a stretch where he couldn’t miss and brought the Pioneers back, where they actually took the lead, but the Pride got them in the 4th. Elias White SF 6’4 2021 Pinnacle (8 pts 6 rebs) -A two-way player who is tough. He was talking at the Pride players all game long and brings a swag about him. He can face-up from mid-range and in and rebounds well in his area. He scores it around the cup most effectively. [player_tooltip player_id="1010009" first="Joey" last="Grady"] Pinnacle (5 pts 2 rebs) -A pure PG who can shoot the 3. He plays with a high IQ for the game and he consistently makes the correct reads to teammates to give them open shots.