Friday Night Round Up: Dec 3rd

<p>An action packed night of basketball to kick off season in Kansas yesterday. In our weekly round up series, we start off with some really high quality performances from great players across the state. Each nigh of hoops in the state we will try our best to get the best wrap of the players who showed out on the night.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Pair of 30 Point Performances</strong></span></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1076405" first="Howard" last="Johnson"], 6’1 G, Junction City, 2022 (Pictured): Johnson sent a message early to the Centennial League that he is a PoY candidate in the league, dropping 30 points including 5 threes in a win over Seaman. With the three ball going, Johnson was also able to get into the painted area off the dribble and finish in a variety of ways. It was a big time performance to kick off a season of high expectations both for Johnson and Junction City.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1076409" first="Kurtis" last="Beck"], 6’4 W, Nemaha Valley, 2022: Beck was the deciding factor in the game for Nemaha in their win at Perry. Beck dominated the glass on both ends of the floor and erupted for 30 points in the ball game, making a living in the painted area. Converted on multiple and 1’s off offensive rebounds in the second half to help spark the Thunder. Hit a nice jumper from the mid post as well and cut the gaps and played in space well against zone.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Big Night for 2023’s</strong></span></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1080195" first="Makaen" last="Hastings"], 5’9 PG, Solomon, 2023: Lit up the scorebook for 26 points and was in control throughout the game for Solomon. Dropped 26 points from the game and scored from all three levels and both in the half court and transition. Got it done on the defensive end as well with 6 steals and made other contributions with 3 assists and 3 rebounds.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1300865" first="Ketraleus" last="Aldridge"], 6’4 W, Highland Park, 2023: Had 21 points in a dominating win for Highland Park over Emporia. Aldridge’s athletic ability controlled the ball game as he got to a ton of shots both in and outside of the paint to get deflections and blocked shots, flashed in the transition game, and finished a couple of dunks from the dunker spot off of nice passes. Aldridge got to his spots throughout the game and set the tone.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1080180" first="Jack" last="Voth"], 6’5 F, Buhler, 2023: Had a very efficient night from the floor showing he’s reading to tak the reigns to lead Buhler this year. Voth dominated with 23 points on 9-11 shooting from the field in onl about 3 quarters of play. Grabbed 7 rebounds in the ball game as well. Got to 20+ points on only one made three as well which is showing how his offensive game is continuing to become more diverse.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1080170" first="Kobe" last="Smith"], 6’2 G, Andover Central, 2023: Making a big time splash in his debut for his new school, Smith displayed his flash on the basketball court dropping 26 points in a win over Wichita East. The electric guard took over in the second half scoring 18 in that time frame. His ability to break down defenses off the bounce, getting up to the rim to finish in a blur, and finishing tough in traffic were on full display.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Near Triple Double Alert</strong></span></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1269981" first="Spencer" last="Coup"], 5’10 PG, Solomon, 2024: Coup also dominated in the back court game with his running mate Hastings. Coup stuffed the stat sheet last night in the win scoring 11 points, dishing out 8 assists, grabbed 9 rebounds, and got after it on defense with 5 steals.</p>