Ironwood and Sunrise Mountain: Varsity standouts

Gregg Rosenberg February 9, 2022 @ 07:14 PM

On Monday, January 31st I attended the 5A contest between Ironwood and Sunrise Mountain at Sunrise Mountain HS in Peoria, AZ. I watched all three games with Freshman, Junior Varsity and Varsity. A lot of new players were discovered and I wrote about some of the players who stood out.   Here were the standouts from the Varsity game: [player_tooltip player_id="1354953" first="I’yar" last="Shadowvine"] Ironwood A talented freshman who is undersized but fast and tough to defend. He has a quick shooting release from the 3pt line and he can step back on his defender from mid-range. He has the ball on a string and gets to his spots fairly easily. [player_tooltip player_id="936905" first="Julius" last="Williams"] Ironwood A bully down low in the paint has a thicker body to score inside with either hand. He is comfortable scoring with his back to the basket and will use either hand effectively. He gobbles up balls off the glass with his bigger mitts, strength and girth. [player_tooltip player_id="701266" first="DeOtis" last="Nunn Jr"] Ironwood (Pictured) A skilled defensive lead guard works from elbow and in. He has a polished mid-range jumper, which he has been using since his freshman year. He has the floater game and is very quick on the ball defensively to collect steals. He is a better passer then you realize and brings that senior leadership to the court. [player_tooltip player_id="936910" first="Jordan" last="Kuac"] Ironwood An uber undersized athletic forward skies high to rebound and block shots. He made one block above the rim that was incredible. He runs the floor, defends in space and inside the paint and brings energy. If he can start adding more skill to his game, his stock would soar. [player_tooltip player_id="937197" first="Jordan" last="Jones"] Ironwood A scoring guard has improved greatly. He may be the most improved player in the program. He can hit the catch-3 plus will drive it and score in traffic through contact. He is a sneaky good defender and he will get downhill with either hand. [player_tooltip player_id="1135515" first="Noah" last="Gifft"] Ironwood The pure shooter on the team hit a clutch-3 with 37 seconds left in the game to essentially put the game away. He has an ultimate quick release with elite confidence to let it fly. He plays fundamentally sound on-ball defense. [player_tooltip player_id="973826" first="Rafe" last="Canale"] Sunrise Mountain A scoring lead guard has a pure stroke. He can rebound the ball among the trees despite his thinner frame and will make the off balanced shot. He mid-range pull-up is clean and will make catch-3s. When he is rolling, the Mustangs are harder to cover. [player_tooltip player_id="936766" first="Marcus" last="Jones"] Sunrise Mountain A fast guard who is a tough on-ball defender. He has quick feet and hands and will collects steals. Offensively, he has a runner plus will make 3’s in rhythm. He can straight line to the basket with a little shift in his handle. [player_tooltip player_id="937187" first="Carter" last="Gittens"] Sunrise Mountain Their top player had his own personal runs keeping the game close right to the end of the 4th qtr. He can score it from all three levels and his 3-ball looks better then ever before. He loves his mid-range pull-up and can get downhill, post up or euro his way to the cup. He will rebound, block shots and defend multiple positions. He had a game high 23 points. [player_tooltip player_id="1128238" first="Patrick" last="Weyrauch"] Sunrise Mountain The shooter of the team is clearly Weyrauch. He has pretty good length with a leaner build. He gets clean looks at the basket from the 3pt line off the catch. He has a quicker release and is confident with it. He will rebound in his area and knows his role for the team to win.