Ten Best: Mitty at Piedmont Hills SJ

Britt Wright April 24, 2021 @ 10:31 PM

Friday Night Prep Hoops was in the gym at Piedmont Hill HS in San Jose, CA to watch the home team Pirates take on the visiting Monarchs of Archbishop Mitty. The home team Pirates got off to a slow start. They could have been a bit tight facing one of Nor Cals elite Programs. They did recover to end the 1st quarter at 16-14. Mitty took a halftime lead led by the hot shooting 6’3 2022 Aiden Burke, 32-23. Mitty maintained it’s lead through the end of the 3rd quarter by extending the defense, forcing the Pirates into rushed shots. 47-35. The 4th quarter things turned interesting the Pirates defensive intensity turned up, and [player_tooltip player_id="946533" first="Alijah" last="Washington"] 6’3 2021 unsigned senior, and last years league co-mvp started taking matters into his own hands on the offense. In the end the Pirates could only cut the lead to 5 as time ran out and secured a victory for the Monarchs of Mitty, final score 66-61. Here’s the Best of the Best. Best Scorer: 6’3 CG [player_tooltip player_id="946533" first="Alijah" last="Washington"] of Piedmont Hills HS- The combo guard led all scorers with 25pts, 5 threes, and crucial drives, that led a fourth quarter surge that saw the Pirates cut the lead to single digits twice, six, and then five. He handled the ball pressure, traps, and found open teammates when the Monarchs extended the defense. He led all scorers in the 4th qtr with 9pts. Best All Around Player: 6’3 PG/G [player_tooltip player_id="706270" first="Mike" last="Mitchell"] of Archbishop Mitty HS. 2021 The Pepperdine commit played a solid floor game leading his team in scoring 20pts, and assists. Mitchell knocked down two 3pt shots, and regularly found teammates in the post, cutting to the basket, or spotting up in the corner, and wings. Best Shooter: 6’3 Guard [player_tooltip player_id="946947" first="Aidan" last="Burke"] of Archbishop Mitty HS. 2022: Burke had the hot hand in the first half stretching the Monarchs lead to as much as 13 pts before the Pirates cut it to 9 going into the half. Burke nailed three 3pt shots, had a couple of one dribble pull ups, and some nice strong drives from the baseline to finish with 16pts for the game. Good shot selection, and a high fg% Best Rebounder: 6’7 Forward [player_tooltip player_id="775753" first="Nigel" last="Burris"] of Archbishop Mitty HS. 2022 Burris reclassified to the class. While being more agile, and active than any other big on the court in this game Burris was active in hitting the boards aggressively. He came close to a double, double with 10 rebounds and 8pts, after sitting out much of the second quarter. Best Passer: 6’3 CG [player_tooltip player_id="706270" first="Mike" last="Mitchell"] of Archbishop Mitty 2021. He gets this best of also. He clearly was the best ball handler and passer with vision on the court. Low turnover to assist ratio. Best Post Player: 6’9 Center [player_tooltip player_id="946941" first="Arrish" last="Bhandal"] of Archbishop Mitty HS. 2021 University of Chicago commit had a series of post moves that produced 16pts on the inside. He scored on turn around jumpers in the key, put backs, and showed decent footwork, with good passing from the high post. Best Player Off The Bench: 6’6 Forward [player_tooltip player_id="950938" first="Derek" last="Sangster"] of Archbishop Mitty HS 2023. The long lengthy Sangster entered the game and immediately went to work hitting the offensive boards. He wasn’t always successful getting one, but was very active going after them. He ran the court, took up space with his length on defense. 4pts. A rising prospect in the 2023 class. Best Defenders: There’s two. 6’2 F Richard Corona, and 6’2 Mykiah Wyche of Piedmont Hills HS. 2021. The two undersized post players for the Pirates, battled Mitty’s front line of 6’9, 6’7, and 6’6, for four quarters, and gained more confidence as the game progressed. They were aggressive and were instrumental in the Pirates making a late run the last qtr. The Best Unknown Player: 6’6 Forward Zachariah Granberry of Archbishop Mitty HS. Granberry 2021 was in the starting lineup for Mitty. He’s a solid body forward who has good strength, and was very active on the boards. He had several rebounds, and put back attempts but couldn’t get it to go down. 2pts. The Best JV: There was a JV game played, the road team came away with the decisive victory. Two Prospects, Freshman from Archbishop Mitty played with good energy, a sense of urgency and had a good feel for the game. 6’0 CG [player_tooltip player_id="1124080" first="Tyler" last="Jones"], and 6’0 CG Nathan Noronha