Week Nine Top Performers – Class of 2023

<p>Week 9 of the season was all about league play. We got in the gym for a few and watched a couple more on tape. There were some solid performances from some of the juniors we watched and here’s a look at the top ones we saw from four games - La Salle over Hillsboro, Roosevelt over Lincoln, Central Catholic over Barlow, and Clevenad over Lincoln.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1256716" first="Nick" last="Robertson"] (2023 La Salle)</strong></p> <p>Robertson had one of his biggest nights of the season against Hillsboro. The 6-foot-3 combo guard is as smooth a shooter as there is in the state from three and you can pretty much count on it being in if he’s open. He hit 5-for-10 from three-point range but also had some solid drives to the hoop where he used his length to score in creative ways around the basket. He also had a huge day on the glass grabbing 14 rebounds to go along with his 32 points.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="865368" first="Riley" last="Williams"] (2023 Central Catholic)</strong></p> <p>Williams will find his college future on the gridiron - after all, he’s nationally ranked in his class - but he’s a heckuva basketball player as well. Against Barlow, he pretty much did it all from scoring both inside and out - he knocked down two threes - rebound, as well as bring the ball up the court against pressure and find open teammates for scores. On one play he drove into the lane and converted a left-handed floater high off the glass and it was he that drove and dished to open teammate [player_tooltip player_id="1276626" first="Isaac" last="Carr"] for the game-winning three. He finished with 21 points, six rebounds, 5 assists, and three steals.</p> <p><strong>Jahvari Martino (2023 Barlow)</strong></p> <p>Martino was the find of the week. We’d seen him previously during the Les Schwab Invitational and were impressed with his athleticism and motor, but he’s become a bigger player in Barlow’s rotation now. With senior [player_tooltip player_id="857368" first="Connor" last="Hills"] hobbling with an injured groin, the 5-foot-11 guard played major minutes and he provided immediate energy off the bench on both ends of the floor. He was fearless getting into the lane and also showed a nice shooting touch in knocking down a three.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="962928" first="Moroni" last="Seely-Roberts"] (2023 Lincoln)</strong></p> <p>As we’ve noted before Seely-Roberts is a walking bucket and that didn’t change at all against Roosevelt. What is impressive about the 6-foot-6 forward is he doesn’t shy away from contact one bit and if he doesn’t finish through it, he is going to draw the foul to get him to the line where he’s an excellent free throw shooter. Against Roosevelt, Seely-Roberts also hit a couple of threes and it’s clear his sweet spot for those is at the top of the circle. While Lincoln wasn’t able to pull out the win, at the end of the day he wound up with 32 points.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="962929" first="Malachi" last="Seely-Roberts"] (2023 Lincoln)</strong></p> <p>Seely-Roberts played a little more aggressively on the offensive end against Roosevelt than in previous games we’ve seen him at and the results were solid. His jumper looked pure and he scored on a combination of catch-and-shoot jumpers as well as pull-ups. At his 6-foot-7 height he simply shoots over defenders which makes him very difficult to defend. He also did a great job handling the ball against Roosevelt’s pressure and was able to dish out at least five assists to go along with his 22 points.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="861090" first="Jackson" last="Cooper"] (2023 Cleveland)</strong></p> <p>We didn’t catch the entirety of Cleveland’s win at Lincoln but we saw enough to see what we love about Cooper’s game - the tenacity around the basket and the ability to use his size and strength to absorb contact and still finish. With the game in the balance in the second half, Cooper came up big by earning conventional three-point opportunities on a couple of tough drives to the hoop which helped the Warriors extend their lead. He also did an outstanding job on the defensive boards.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="861087" first="Esyah" last="Pippa-White"] (2023 Gresham)</strong></p> <p>We initially heard about Pippa-White’s triple-double performance after the fact, so we went to the tape to check it out. We’re glad that we did. The 6-foot attacked the basket all night long either getting scores for himself or kicking it out to teammates for open shots. He used his added strength and muscle to really make an impact rebounding, especially on the defensive end.</p>