Jam At The Van: Session One Top Performers

Jam At The Van: Takeaways & Top Performers From Session One In session one of the Jam At The Van, Rockford had no problems with a talented Ottawa Hills team, picking up a win and moving to 5-1 on the season. In the second game of session one, Romulus Summit Academy outpaced Kalamazoo Central in a sluggish game that was impacted by a few COVID absences. Below are my top performers from each game. <h5>Rockford 72, Ottawa Hills 46</h5> Rockford took care of business without much resistance against an Ottawa Hills team that has some promising pieces. The Rams led by 7 at the break, then extended it’s lead to double digits in the third before completely blowing the game open in the 4th. Rockford’s frontcourt kept Ottawa Hills off the glass on both ends of the court, which should be a calling card for this team for the remainder of the season. Ottawa Hills’ backcourt flashed some potential in its ability to get a bucket against the longer Rockford starting five. Blake Murphy, 6’3 G/F, Rockford 2022” Blake led Rockford with 14 points and did so in a versatile way that makes him a tough matchup. He has the length to score in the paint and the athleticism and skill to play on the perimeter. Andrew Landis, G, Rockford 2024” Andrew had a solid game for Rockford, scoring 10 points in the win. Andrew shot the ball well from beyond the arch and showed off a smooth floater in transition. Caden Pokorzynski, Rockford 2023” Caden was all over the floor for Rockford, scoring 9 points, while grabbing 9 boards and dishing out 6 assists. He led the Rams in hustle plays and helped eliminate a lot of second chance opportunities for Ottawa Hills. Duncan Carter Jr., G, Ottawa Hills 2022” Duncan led Ottawa Hills with 12 points. The majority of his plays where made on the offensive end when Duncan was in isolation sets. Duncan flashed a smooth pull-up jumper in the halfcourt and an ability to consistently get downhill in transition. Kamereon Beal, G, Ottawa Hills 2022” Kamereon made a handful of “wow” plays where his athleticism popped. On one defensive play, Kamareon chased down his opponent and swatted the ball off the glass. Kamereon also knocked down a couple of corner threes and flashed an ability to finish through traffic in the paint. <h5>Romulus Summit Academy 48, Kalamazoo Central 42</h5> The second game of session featured two teams that were missing key pieces due to COVID, which may have had an impact on the quality of play and overall outcome. Romulus Summit Academy was led by [player_tooltip player_id="1223489" first="Dontez" last="Scott"] Jr., who scored 23 points to lead all scorers. [player_tooltip player_id="1223489" first="Dontez" last="Scott"] Jr., 6’0 G, Romulus Summit Academy 2024” Dontez was the most aggressive player on the floor, which was impressive seeing he’s only a sophomore playing in a premier event against a storied program in Kalamazoo Central. Dontez cut through Kalamazoo Central’s defense with regularity and showed off his pull-up game when he got the defender on his heels.Dontez also scored effectively in the mid-range from the baseline. [player_tooltip player_id="1227052" first="Raevon" last="Thomas"], 6’7 F, 2022” Raevon had, by my count, at least seven blocks against Kalamazoo Central. Several of his blocks he came across the paint on helpside and erased an easy bucket. His length and quick reaction gave Kalamazoo Central problems all game and severely impacted their ability to get into a rhythm on offense. [player_tooltip player_id="1214778" first="James" last="Wright"], 6’4 G/F, 2023” James filled up the statsheet for Romulus Summit Academy, scoring 13 points and grabbing 11 boards. He was highly active on both ends of the court and did a great job of anticipating where the ball was going to bounce after the miss, which is a highly underrated skillset, in my opinion. James had one of the more impressive plays of the evening with a drop-step spin move off the hip of his defender, which resulted in an and-one bucket. [player_tooltip player_id="983514" first="Scott" last="Hughes"], 5'11 G, Kalamazoo Central 2022" Scott led Kalamazoo Central with 16 points. The majority of his points came off dribble drives as he was able to breakdown his opponent on several drives to get quality, high-percentage looks in the paint. Scott flashed a nice change of speed when he drove the lane and was able to hit a floater in the paint over the taller defenders from Romulus.