Observations from Apollo at Williams Field

<p>On Friday February 26th I attended the 5A Apollo Hawks at the 5A Williams Field Black Hawks.   </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Here were some observations from the three games I viewed:</p> <p><strong>#1 Williams Field freshman class is impressive. </strong></p> <p><strong>#2 Three freshman from Williams Field stood out in the freshman game.</strong></p> <p><b>Conner Lamont SF 5’11 2024 Williams Field </b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">-A slasher can shoot it from mid to the 3 and post up too. He moves well without the ball and plays a cerebral game. He made some nice full court passes that led to scores and defends inside and out. </span></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1141428" first="Jaxton" last="Payne"] Williams Field </b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">-A highly skilled 4-man can shoot it consistently to the 3pt line. He is very strong to rebound inside and uses his girth and is very young for his class.  </span></p> <p><b>Kody Landeryou SG 5’9 2024 Williams Field </b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">-He can score it from all 3-levels and plays a smart game. He has a nice 3pt shot plus can get into the lane and use the floater.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>#3 Two freshman from Apollo stood out in the freshman game.</strong> </span></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1141683" first="Adam" last="Mohamed"] Apollo</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">-The younger brother of [player_tooltip player_id="701265" first="Ahamed" last="Mohamed"] is a pure PG with great open court speed. He is a very good advanced passer and can drive and kick with the best of them. He is tough on the ball defensively and brings that same toughness as his older brother.   </span></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1141684" first="Jordan" last="Moreno"] Apollo </b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">-A long lefty is skilled from mid-range and in and rebounds well in his area. He is crafty inside the lane to score it with ball fakes and plays with a high IQ. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>#4 Two freshman from <b>Williams Field </b>stood out in the JV game.</strong></span></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1141427" first="Jordan" last="Kidd"] Williams Field </b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">-A pure PG who plays the game between the ears. He has a nice handle and like [player_tooltip player_id="809692" first="Montez" last="Taylor"], not many are faster then him end to end. He has a tight crossover and is hard to stay in front of him. He can change speeds and blow by defenders to get to the cup. He makes many extra passes, playing an unselfish brand of ball and he can pull-up and hit the 3. </span></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1141426" first="Jase" last="Kooima"] Williams Field </b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">-A scoring guard has a nice looking shot. His 3pt stroke looks pure and then plays off of it and can get into the lane. He is an aggressive rebounder and is not afraid to mix it up inside. He made a few nice passes off the pick and roll and plays a cerebral game.  </span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Varsity game:</strong></p> <p><strong>#5 Apollo is one of the smaller playoff possible teams in the state. Maybe the smallest. Give Coach Marin credit for finding ways to win despite their shortcomings.  </strong></p> <p><strong>#6 Williams Field best players are currently their seniors, which usually bodes well for the playoffs. </strong></p> <p><strong>#7 Both teams futures will be just ok with Apollo’s strong group of sophomores and Williams Field’s deep group of freshman and a couple sophs.  </strong></p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>#8 Here were the Varsity standouts:</strong></p> <p>Williams Field 54 Apollo 40 (unofficial stats)</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Williams Field</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="809707" first="LeRoy" last="Williams"] <strong>Williams Field</strong> (10 pts 8 rebs 1 blk)</p> <p>-A low post beast is a hard cover. The lefty is extremely physical and strong to rebound and will occasionally block shots. He uses his big wider shoulders and girth to gain position inside the paint and go to work. He can rip through with his left hand and score it through contact or get fouled.   </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="809692" first="Montez" last="Taylor"] <strong>Williams Field</strong> (17 pts 3 rebs 1 ast 1 stl) </p> <p>-A jet quick undersized guard had it all going. He was on fire from the 3pt line with 5 made and he rises high to get great elevation on his shot. He is the fearless team leader and the Black Hawks go as he goes. He can drive and kick plus uses the floater well. Williams and Taylor both will be on their way to <strong>Sauk Valley CC. </strong> </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1077598" first="Isaiah" last="Bronson"] <strong>Williams Field</strong> (7 pts 1 ast 1 stl) </p> <p>-Another fast guard has quick feet to stay in front of his opponents. He can shoot the 3 with a lightning quick release and uses a burst to get into the lane to score. He can shoot it from mid-range and when Taylor graduates, Bronson will lead them in scoring next season. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1141681" first="JD" last="Bradford"] <strong>Williams Field</strong> (7 pts)  </p> <p>-A long and lean soph is a new player for me. He moves well and looks the part around the court. He gives a hard ball fake then can get to the cup and score it through contact with his long limbs. He is active on defense and a sneaky good passer. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1142825" first="Khari" last="Dunn"] Williams Field</strong> (10 pts 7 rebs 1 blk)</p> <p>-A high motored forward with nice athleticism. He can score it around the cup and is very active inside. He has a good second jump to corral the boards and runs the floor like a wing. His activity took a lot of pressure off the other players.  </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Apollo</p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="701265" first="Ahamed" last="Mohamed"] Apollo</b> (11 pts 6 rebs 2 asts)</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">-A lightning quick scoring lead guard has a mean pull-up off the dribble from mid-range. He has a real burst and speed in the open court. He is feisty to grab rebounds in traffic and he quick on the ball defensively. He has a nice catch-3 and gets into small places with his tight handle.</span></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="996161" first="Lashy" last="Perez"] Apollo</b> (7 pts 2 rebs 2 asts 1 stl)</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">-A true combo guard is hard to guard. He can get into the lane sometimes it seems at will. He has a shifty handle and it is hard to stay in front of him. He can score it with a nice layup package plus hit the catch-3. He loves driving and kicking it out to open shooters and he could of had close to 7 assists. He can slow down a little at times but his talent is unquestioned.  </span></p> <p><strong>Jordan Bombolis SG 6’0 2021 Apollo</strong> (7 pts 5 rebs)</p> <p>-A sturdy framed scorer from the perimeter. He can pull-up from mid-range plus hit the 3pt shot. He understands how to hesitate and get into the lane. He is crafty around the hoop and hustles on the defensive end. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1141680" first="Bobby" last="Holcomb"] Apollo </strong>(7 pts)</p> <p>-A skilled guard who can shoot it. He gets a clean look from mid to the 3pt line and plays with a high IQ. He knows how to free himself up moving without the ball and is always shot ready. He is part of the talented younger group that has a bright future. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="827043" first="Joshon" last="Person"] Apollo</strong> (4 pts 2 rebs 1 ast)</p> <p>-A tough undersized forward does a lot of the dirty work on the team with very limited size. He can hit the face-up shot from about 15-feet and he can rip through and score it through contact. He is a glue piece to the puzzle. </p>