Hardwood Invite Day 3 Standouts

<p><strong>Eastside Catholic Vs Gonzaga Prep</strong></p> <p>Eastside Catholic HS Junior Forward [player_tooltip player_id="1177126" first="Bennett" last="Olujic"] - Olujic is tall and athletic, doing all the little things for the Crusaders. He does a little bit of everything and does it well, crashing the boards on both ends, playing tough defense inside, or finishing with left or right hooks. Olujic is a threat to sneak up on teams not ready to match his energy.</p> <p>Gonzaga Prep HS Senior Forward [player_tooltip player_id="674423" first="Jayden" last="Stevens"] - The forward was finishing at will on Monday afternoon, rising up above any defender in his path. He can blow by and finish high but is also capable of dipping that shoulder like a defensive end to get around tight defense. He played above the rim on both ends, catching an easy alley-oop and then making a big block on defense.</p> <p><strong>Garfield Vs South Medford</strong></p> <p>Garfield HS Senior Guard <strong>Keron Johnson</strong> - Nobody harasses a dribbler quite like Johnson. Even when he isn’t getting steals (he had 3) he’s knocking the ball loose, anticipating the next move, and forcing pickups. He constantly disrupts plays before they can get started, slowing down the entire offense while making players go faster than they want.</p> <p>Garfield HS Junior Forward<strong> Sherrell McCullum Jr.</strong> - The big man has vacuum hands. Nothing that came his way got by him. McCullum put everything around the paint in the hole and cleaned up his teammates misses. It was a full service from the junior forward, even with a wrapped-up thumb.</p> <p>South Medford HS Senior Forward [player_tooltip player_id="942247" first="Devon" last="Malcolm"] - Malcolm was a walking highlight Monday night. Big block after big block, Malcolm wasn’t bothered by Garfield’s big men at all. He showed off his hops again with a two-handed tip slam, but more importantly used that jumping ability and good positioning to snatch down a game high 12 rebounds, four coming on the offensive end.</p> <p><strong>Auburn Vs O’Dea</strong></p> <p>Auburn HS Senior Guard [player_tooltip player_id="674435" first="DaeKwon" last="Watson"] - Everyone knows about his stroke from deep, but Watson showed he has much more to his game than a pure shot. Early on he exploded off the ground for a huge chase down block, then showed off his finishing at the rim putting some Gordon Ramsey English on the reverse. It isn’t the first thing you notice with Watson, but he’s an excellent athlete with the full package on the court.</p> <p>Auburn HS Senior Guard [player_tooltip player_id="674438" first="Maleek" last="Arington"] - Just when you thought you’ve seen all his dimes, he gives you ten more cents. Arington’s sense of where his teammates will be is unmatched as he showed on a beautiful touch pass in the lane. He fought through contact early on, and took it outside late, heating up from distance and putting his hands all over the game.</p> <p>Auburn HS Junior Guard <strong>Tyrell Nichols</strong> - Nichols brought that juice off the bench, going hard at the rim, making tough, acrobatic finishes. He brought that same energy to the boards, putting in a couple of nice follows. Defensively, his length bothered numerous shots.</p> <p>O’Dea HS Junior Guard <strong>Quincy Linton</strong> - Linton is just a solid all-around player. He affects the game in all phases starting with great on-ball defense. He can hit the mid-range pull up and corner three, while also making layups under tight contests. He’s got guts and made key plays down the stretch to keep O’Dea’s hopes alive.</p> <p>O’Dea HS Senior Guard <strong>Owen Moriarty</strong> - He’s the Fighting Irish’s go to guy when the clock is low and still seems to never settle for a bad shot. He’s unpluckable on the dribble and made a big-time play - spinning into an off handed layup - to cut the deficit to two late in the game.</p> <p>O’Dea HS Senior Guard [player_tooltip player_id="674437" first="Takeo" last="Sylvester"] - Let’s add another "S" to his name - "Sticky." He’s like Velcro on ball handlers. He was forced into a larger offensive role when [player_tooltip player_id="923132" first="Mason" last="Williams"] got in foul trouble and demonstrated great creativity with the ball. He consistently found a path to the hoop where he took it himself or found an open teammate.</p>