Week Eight Top Performers – Class of 2022

<p>Week 8 of the season started with the MLK Invitational at Franklin High School, but then moved into full on league play across the state. Similar to the past couple of weeks, we spent some time watching games livestream in addition to attending a few. Here’s a look at the top seniors we saw from five games - Franklin over Jefferson, Roosevelt over Churchill, Sherwood over Liberty, Southridge over Westview, and Mountainside over Tigard.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1202059" first="Owen" last="Caudle"], Sherwood</strong></p> <p>Caudle has been incredibly consistent offensively this season for Sherwood and against Liberty, he continued to show why he’s a prime candidate for Pacific Conference Player of the Year honors. He sliced through the defenses to get to the basket and score around defenders, but also stepped out and hit some jumpers to keep things honest. Junior [player_tooltip player_id="1232163" first="Jared" last="Sucher"] is now healthy and that has helped open things up even more for Caudle in the lane. He had 19 points, two made threes, and three assists.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1229382" first="Dylan" last="Westlake"], Mountainside</strong></p> <p>Huge week for Westlake. The 6-foot senior guard is arguably the fastest player in the Metro League getting up and down the court and to the hoop and he showed in games both against Beaverton and Tigard the ability to finish through contact. When left open and his feet set, he knocked down open threes. And of course, Westlake hit the half-court bomb at the end of regulation that beat Jesuit on the road, a highlight reel moment for years to come. Westlake had 11 points against Beaverton - all in the second half - and 18 against Tigard.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1079541" first="Layne" last="Stricker"], Southridge</strong></p> <p>Once known mainly as a three-point bomber, Stricker has adjusted his game and Southridge has benefitted from the results. The 6-foot-4 senior has effectively used his body to make a difference down low, not only on offense but crashing the boards on both ends. Against Westview he started slow but picked things up in the second half with some tough buckets in the lane which led to him stepping out and hitting some long range threes later. He ended up with 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks.</p> <p><strong>Justin Davis, Liberty</strong></p> <p>Don’t let his youthful looks fool you, Davis is a gamer and can really shoot the cover off the ball when he gets going. Against Sherwood, the 6-foot senior moved well without the ball to get into positions where he could easily catch and shoot, but also used the dribble a bit to create for himself. Davis has a tight rotation on his shot and smooth release that gives the ball a good chance almost every attempt. A willing passer, he also dished out five assists to go with his team-high 16 points.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="857343" first="Samaje" last="Morgan"], Churchill</strong></p> <p>Morgan might have had the top performance out of any senior at the MLK Classic. The 5-foot-9 senior was in control with the basketball all night long, either creating easy shots for himself or getting it to teammates for open looks. One of the quickest players in the state, he was able to knife his way to the hole with ease but also stepped out and was effective from three-point range (4-for-9). Morgan ended up with 34 points and 7 assists against just one turnover.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="857345" first="Donatello" last="Tupper"], Roosevelt</strong></p> <p>The 6-foot-4 senior had one of his better games this season against Churchill, using his athleticism and ability to score in transition to its fullest. He ran the floor and benefitted from the passing of teammates [player_tooltip player_id="1110736" first="Utrillo" last="Morris"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1052572" first="Terrence" last="Hill"] and finished plays above the rim in spectacular fashion. Tupper shot the ball well, hitting a three and also converting his opportunities at the line, hitting 6-for-7 from the charity stripe. He also grabbed seven rebounds.</p> <p><strong>Kap Laila, Franklin</strong></p> <p>This was the first time we had seen Laila all year and what immediately stood out to us was his 6-foot-6 height and length. He effectively used both of these to dominate Jefferson inside but he also showed the ability to face the basket and use a soft jumper to score. He hit a couple of open threes and also used the dribble a little bit to create. He finished with a team-high 26 points.</p>