Park Center 76 Osseo 57: Top 10 Performers

In a match-up of top ten teams, top ranked Park Center knocked off 7th ranked Osseo 76-57. Who were the game’s top ten performers? We break down that list now. One. [player_tooltip player_id="958757" first="Cody" last="Pennebaker"] (6’6 2022 of Park Center). Cody was the game changer. He went from not taking a shot the first 5-6 minutes to scoring nine straight points and swinging the momentum towards his team (including a three as I believe Cody’s skill level is a bit higher than people understand). Osseo has long and agile wings similar to Pennebaker in physical ability but Cody severely outplayed them scoring 26 points on 10 of 16 shooting. So.... The question so many are asking, why isn’t Cody being recruited more? The answer to that is the same as so many others ([player_tooltip player_id="850715" first="BJ" last="Omot"], [player_tooltip player_id="958636" first="Alonzo" last="Dodd"], [player_tooltip player_id="850704" first="Elvis" last="Nnaji"], etc). College coaches are going to look at transfers over high school products more and more. It sucks for the high school players but this is the freedom that college athletes wanted and they now have it. At the expense of the high school athlete. It’s going to be tougher and tougher so my advice to all seniors (and juniors and sophomores) is listen to every college that talks to you and look into every offer you get immediately. Contrary to what too many AAU and High School coaches believe and are telling you, there are not as many scholarships available as people think. I wish that wasn’t true. But it is. Players have to keep grinding, take every call from a college coach very seriously, and understand it may take more time than you want to reach your goals. Covid giving college athletes in an extra year combined with the transfer portal have completely changed basketball recruiting and the 2022 kids are the ones feeling it the most. You have to keep grinding and understand there are a lot of players in your shoes. Two. [player_tooltip player_id="850710" first="Braeden" last="Carrington"] (6’4 2022 of Park Center). Braeden had a rough first half shooting, so what. He still rebounded, he still created shots for others, he handled some, and his defensive ball pressure was as good as I have ever seen it. Carrington has been a solid defender for sure but today I thought his defense was exceptional and game changing. I know he forced three turnovers and he likely forced more than that. Braeden got to boards and then he attacked the rim. Those rim attacks led to five straight scores that built his confidence and allowed Carrington to get back to the jumper which eventually sunk. Carrington had 14 points on 7 of 15 shooting with eight boards and four assists. Three. [player_tooltip player_id="1143878" first="Leo" last="Torbor"] (6’2 2022 of Park Center). Torbor was the other player pressuring the Osseo guards and causing discomfort. Leo has the potential to be an All American defender and we saw some of that tonight. We also saw Leo hit a three and go at the cup six times for scores as a part of a stretch where Torbor made seven straight field goal attempts. Scored 16 points on 7 of 10 attempts and had five assists. Four. [player_tooltip player_id="850721" first="Benard" last="Omooria"] (6’1 2022 of Osseo). Osseo built an early lead with Benard hitting three early triples. His shooting gave the Orioles a hot start but could only carry the team so far. Benard scored 15 points for the game but took only six shots and four free throws (made all his foul shots and scored on 4 of 6 attempts). The Park Center defense was able to eventually limit him after a torrid start. Five. [player_tooltip player_id="958659" first="James" last="Spencer"] (6’5 2022 of Park Center). I thought Spencer’s contributions of meeting Osseo attacks at the rim getting length on [player_tooltip player_id="850705" first="Blessed" last="Barhayiga"] and grabbing ten boards (most of them defensive which ended Osseo possessions) was super important. His contributions may have been overlooked a tad. He scored three times, grabbed ten boards, and his defense on the post and in help was very good. Six. [player_tooltip player_id="958729" first="Ayouba" last="Berthe"] (6’4 2022 of Park Center). Yet another Park Center player that defends incredibly well. Don’t look past Berthe’s defense either as he was on the point guard for part of the night and Osseo had a terrible time getting the ball to the wing entry for a big portion of the evening. Berthe also matched Benard’s three triples with three threes of his own. Berthe scored 11 points, grabbed five boards, and dished out three assists. Seven. [player_tooltip player_id="958640" first="Tyirece" last="Waits"] (6’1 2022 of Osseo). There was a time period where Osseo fought the Pirates onslaught and that time period was when Waits was getting a step inside the arc and creating some shots for others. Waits had six assists, seven points, and four rebounds. Eight. [player_tooltip player_id="1284143" first="Isaiah" last="Johnson"] (6’6 2024 of Osseo). Isaiah is the prospect with big potential of Osseo’s future. He spread out his four field goals for ten points throughout the game. Johnson was solid against a veteran high level defense. Nine. [player_tooltip player_id="850705" first="Blessed" last="Barhayiga"] (6’9 2022 of Osseo). Had a stretch of four straight makes that gave Osseo a chance in the middle of the game. Scored nine points on 4 of 9 shooting with four boards. Ten. [player_tooltip player_id="962202" first="JJ" last="Ware"] (6’6 2023 of Park Center). A basket, three boards, solid defense helping force turnovers, played with energy. Solid 6th man effort for a team that really didn’t need to sub their seniors out much. Extra. Lewis Cargoer was sitting for Osseo with his leg in a boot and I hope people understand how big of a loss that is. Lewis plays so so hard. He can guard four positions at his 6’5 size and he can make a big impact without the ball. Lewis was best suited to limit the Pennebaker or Spencer contributions but he wasn’t available which really hurt Osseo.