St. Augustine vs San Diego: Ten Best

<p>In a game that pitted the region’s top team against one of the region’s young up-and-coming squads, the Saints delivered an emphatic statement, defeating the Cavers 81-60 at San Diego High in both team’s Western League opener. </p> <p>In this Ten Best, we look at the best performers on the evening.</p> <h3>Best scorer: [player_tooltip player_id="992479" first="Jurian" last="Dixon"], 6-5 2023 G, St. Augustine</h3> <p>Dixon has rounded into a potent three-level scorer. His strength is his ability to get into the paint and score through contact at the rim or knock down pull-up jumper from midrange. But his improvement as a catch-and-shoot threat from the college three has taken his scoring punch to a different level. </p> <h3>Best motor: Ian De La Rosa, 6-4 2024 G, St. Augustine</h3> <p>De la Rosa walks that fine line of being aggressive and overly aggressive on both ends. He’s an active rebounder, dives after loose balls, and sets strong screens to help spring his teammates in the half court. He’s the type of player who teammates love him because he plays every possession like it’s the most important in the game, and opponents can’t stand. </p> <h3>Best rebounder: [player_tooltip player_id="994915" first="Derrius" last="Carter-Hollinger"], 6-5 2023 WF, St. Augustine</h3> <p>Carter-Hollinger has added a unique wrinkle to the Saints since becoming eligible after a 30-day sit out. He gives them a legitimate scoring presence in the paint, but he also has magnetic hands on the boards, and is agile enough to pursue rebounds well outside of the paint. Like Dixon, he’s got good feel and passing IQ, and his rebounding allows him to get his team into transition without having to look for a guard. </p> <h3>Best young prospect: Jayden Wade, 6-5 2025 WF, San Diego</h3> <p>Wade is a physical wing forward who is an aggressive rebounder and does a lot of his damage scoring on offensive boards. He can step out and hit set-shot threes from the baseline and is a strong slasher going to his dominant hand, where he can finish through contact at a level much better than most freshmen. His midrange game is improving, though his shot is flat-footed and inconsistent. </p> <h3>Most upside: Davaughn Hueitt, 6-7 2025 F, San Diego</h3> <p>Hueitt’s measurements pop out on a court full of high-level players. He’s got excellent length uses it to alter and block shots in the paint and on the perimeter. He’s still raw offensively, but has improved in a short time finishing around the basket, and he shows flashes of being a solid baseline shooter. His ceiling is very high. </p> <h3>Best shooter: Noah Marte, 6-0 2023 SG, San Diego</h3> <p>Marte has excellent and repeatable mechanics from three. A true jump shooter who has a quick-trigger release, Marte has had multiple games this season where he’s hit more than 5 threes, including against Saints. Offensively, he’s become a better scorer off the bounce in the halfcourt and transition. One area he must improve is his decision making off the dribble, as he needs to sees weak-side options. </p> <h3>Best passer: Lolo Rudolph, 6-0 2024 PG, St. Augustine</h3> <p>Rudolph carved up the Cavers using his quick first step to get into the paint and pepper them with an array of passes to shooters or cutters. His ball movement and reversals in the half court were key to getting the San Diego defense off balance, which created driving lanes for him. Once he was in the paint, his vision did the rest. </p> <h3>Best glue guy: [player_tooltip player_id="994949" first="Jaden" last="Matingou"], 6-2 2023 G, St. Augustine</h3> <p>Matingou does a little bit of everything for the Saints. He defends the best perimeter player, he gets into the lane and has an advanced floater package which allows him to finish in the paint. He is an improving perimeter shooter and an underrated rebounder and passer. On the Saints team, he fits because of his unselfishness on offense and his high-level defense. </p> <h3>Best defender: [player_tooltip player_id="994934" first="Miles" last="Harris"], 5-11 2023 G, San Diego</h3> <p>Harris struggled offensively, but his defense on the ball against Rudolph and Matingou in situations where the Cavers played man defense gives you an indication of how feisty he is on the ball. He has quick hands, even quicker feet and does an excellent job anticipating which way defenders will attack. </p> <h3>Best reserves: Treyshawn Degrate, 5-10 2025 G, San Diego; Kai Brown 5-11 2024 G, St. Augustine</h3> <p>Degrate is a strong, compact guard who thrives on the defensive side of the ball. He is an aggressive on-ball defender who turns over opposing ball handlers at a prolific rate. Brown is a guard who is becoming more confident with additional varsity reps. A long, wiry combo guard, Brown is a solid mid-range shooter (hit a transition pull-up from about 17 feet that didn’t touch the rim) and a solid passer with good feel. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p>