Shadow Mountain at Mesquite standouts

Gregg Rosenberg February 16, 2021 @ 08:35 AM

On Wednesday February 10th I attended the 4A Shadow Mountain Matadors at the 4A Mesquite Wildcats.   Here were some of the varsity standouts of the game: Mesquite 74 Shadow Mountain 56 (unofficial stats)   Mesquite [player_tooltip player_id="701246" first="Nathan" last="Calmese"] Mesquite (32 pts 2 rebs 3 stls 1 blk) -A natural scoring lead guard who can score it in bunches making it look easy. His catch-3 looked really clean and he has a smooth handle. He seems to glide around the court and has a nice burst of speed into the lane to go along with his supreme body control to make difficult shots in traffic. He played the passing lanes well on defense. He has the floater game and knows how to move without the ball. [player_tooltip player_id="814517" first="Cohen" last="J Gonzales"] Mesquite (18 pts 1 reb 1 blk) -An undersized sniper has a great feel for the game. He gives great ball fakes and he can flat out shoot. He already has some big 3pt shooting games this season. What impressed me with him is understanding of the game. When he gives a shot fake he can take a side step and shoot the 3 or shoot the 1-dribble pull-up from mid. He is also very competitive on defense and doesn’t let his height hold him back. [player_tooltip player_id="809733" first="Eric" last="Lira"] Mesquite (2 pts 12 asts 3 stls) -The football star WR is also a pure PG. He could of had close 20 assists if everyone made their layups and still had an impressive 12. He sees plays developing before his teammates even know they are open. He is fun to watch pass that ball around. He also is extremely strong on the defensive end covering anyone the Wildcats need to shut down.     Shadow Mountain [player_tooltip player_id="809695" first="Elijah" last="Cole"] Shadow Mountain (15 pts 4 rebs 2 asts 2 stls) -A long Long point forward type is a good ball handler and he takes long strides getting into the lane. He can make the catch 3 and is crafty around the hoop. He can play above the rim and has good length with quick hands to defend on the perimeter. [player_tooltip player_id="1035643" first="Cashuel" last="Scott"] Shadow Mountain (18 pts 2 rebs 2 asts 1 stl) -A thick guard who can score it in traffic. He has strong hands for defense and a nice pull-up from mid-range on offense. He has deep 3pt range and is a tough cover from all levels. The Matadors play through him many stretches throughout the game. [player_tooltip player_id="1036000" first="Khalon" last="Johnson"] Shadow Mountain (9 pts 1 reb 1 ast 1 blk) -It took him a while to even get into the game (middle of the 3rd qtr) but once he got in, he shined. He is nursing an injury but you would of never known it. He is a 3-level scorer who has a nice first step into the lane. He takes long strides and has a knack for getting to the FT line. Him and Scott will be a dangerous duo next year.