Bulldog Shootout – Friday Night Standouts

<p>West Allis Central held their Bulldog Shootout starting Friday night, and I was in attendance to catch the action. These are seven of the top performers I saw as Verona beat Racine Case, Madison East knocked off Milwaukee Rufus King, and Racine St. Cats defeated New Berlin West.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1039370" first="Domonic" last="Pitts"] (6’4 2023 F, Racine St. Catherine’s)- </strong>After being St. Cats’ physical post presence last season, Domonic is now a go-to offensive player after his team lost a ton of talent to graduation. He’s a strong 6’4 player who may not be the quickest player, but he moves well off the ball to find gaps on the perimeter and get off clean looks from three. He was hitting at a high percentage in the first half which forced opposing defenders to step out and guard him from deep. Pitts also showed a bit of ability to put the ball on the floor and attack the basket where he does well to get balanced and go off two feet to finish through some contact. St. Cats lost a lot from their state title team, but with Pitts playing like this they’ll still be extremely competitive.</p> <p><strong>An[player_tooltip player_id="1156904" first="Drew" last="Murphy"] (6’4 2025 W, Verona)- </strong>I had heard about Murphy coming into the season, but this was my first viewing of him in person. The 6’4 freshman came off the bench and immediately provided a spark with his shooting range, knocking down three triples in the first half. Verona excelled at setting down screens to free Murphy up on the wing or the top of the key, and Case just had no answer for him. In the second half with defenders anticipating a shot, Drew put the ball on the floor for two impressive drives/finishes extending at the rim. Murphy finished with 31 points in an impressive start to his high school career.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1021576" first="William" last="Whorton"] (6’8 2023 F, Milwaukee Rufus King)- </strong>Rufus King didn’t get to play last season due to COVID, so this was my first time seeing the 2023 prospect playing with his high school team. If this first game was any indication, he looks ready to dominate as a junior. No matter who you throw on him, he’s either too long or too agile at his size to keep in front off. He also played a lot stronger than he looks as he was fighting for offensive boards which often led to two points or a trip to the free throw line. Offensively he did the bulk of his damage around the rim, but showed some perimeter skills as he hit a pull-up three and also took his man off the dribble to get to the paint multiple times. Defensively he’s a big time shot blocking threat who can also sit and defend on the wing against shorter players.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1274622" first="Clevon" last="Easton"] Jr. (6’4 2025 G, Madison East)- </strong>Similar to [player_tooltip player_id="1156904" first="Drew" last="Murphy"], Clevon had an extremely impressive start to his high school career. He’ll be in the conversation for best player in his class because even upperclassmen can’t stop him from getting to the rim. Easton has a shifty handle and is so good at changing his pace to get right into gaps and get to the rim to finish. He shoots left handed but more often than not opts to finish with his right hand around the rim, which seemed to catch defenders off guard. Easton showed some passing vision particularly in transition where he was picking his head up to find sprinting teammates up the floor for high quality looks. Finished with 28 points in a win over Milwaukee King.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1289236" first="Adrian" last="Bryant"] (6’1 2022 G, Racine Case)- </strong>After getting accustomed to his new team in a shortened season last year, Bryant looks comfortable and confident for Racine Case. He was in attack mode from the jump against Verona, as he has a quick burst to the rim and isn’t afraid to get physical. Adrian can bump bigger defenders off of him to create space to finish inside, or use his handle to create a bit of separation. Last year most of his scoring came inside, but on Friday he was a presence from beyond the arc as he knocked down at least four 3’s on the game. Bryant finished with a team high 25 points and provided a ton of energy on both ends of the floor.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="865842" first="Jayquan" last="Hickles"] (6’7 2022 PF/C, Milwaukee Rufus King)- </strong>Quan ran into some foul trouble early so didn’t get to play as much as Rufus King would’ve liked, but he still made an impact when in the game. He’s one of the strongest low-post players in the state, and every time he got the ball in the block teams were forced to throw extra guys on him. When left isolated he was able to back his man down and score with a simple baby hook with the right hand. Quan also made an impact outside of scoring as he was getting Madison East into some foul trouble as that was one of the only ways to stop him in the paint.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="865853" first="Massimo" last="Malterer"] (6’1 2022 G, Madison East)- </strong>With [player_tooltip player_id="1274622" first="Clevon" last="Easton"] Jr. taking over in the first half, it was Massi Malterer who started stepping up in the second for East. He’s a smooth player who never really looks rushed with the ball. Massi had a smooth finish in transition showing off some athleticism, and was also a threat to score at all three levels in the half-court. He can get to his spot off the dribble and pull up from mid-range, while also being able to move without the ball to get into space for a catch-and-shoot three. Finished with 19 points in the win.</p>