CIAC State Finals Standouts: Division V
This year has been an incredibly rewarding one as I tackled my new responsibilities covering the great state of Connecticut and the New Haven area. I’ve made many new friends, seen a lot of new and familiar faces, and most…
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Continue ReadingThis year has been an incredibly rewarding one as I tackled my new responsibilities covering the great state of Connecticut and the New Haven area. I’ve made many new friends, seen a lot of new and familiar faces, and most importantly have watched a ton of really great basketball. The season’s worth of work these gentlemen and ladies put into these events culminated in a big time opportunity to capture a state championship in front of a crowd of people at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. With high energy and a packed arena, these games left nothing to be desired.
Here are the standouts from the game between Windham and SMSA:
Isaiah Mangual, 6-4, 2023, Windham
Mangual is not a freak athlete, not a 7 footer, not an avid shot blocker, and not the biggest guy on the floor. That doesn’t mean that he wasn’t one of the most effective big men I watched all weekend. Mangual has some of the better footwork that I’ve seen from a big man, something he used to get buckets on larger and longer SMSA defenders. He had 21 points on a ridiculously efficient 10-12 shooting, all from within the painted area. Defensively, his feet were good enough to cut people off but not strong enough to be an effective rim protector. Mangual has a lot of work to do on the defensive end and some of the more technical aspects of the game, but there’s arguing that this man is a bucket getter and one that catapulted his team to a state championship performance.
Malcolm Hunter, 6-0, 2025, Windham
The freshman Hunter was one of the better young players of the weekend. Hunter had a very quiet first half, scoring only 3 points on a single three. But when the second half rolled around, Hunter became a completely different player. In the 3rd quarter alone, Hunter posted 4 huge three pointers from everywhere on the floor. Hunter was getting to his spots with efficiency and was not afraid to get shots up even when tightly defended. Hunter finished the game with 20 points on 5 triples and was the driving force behind why Windham broke away towards the end of this game. He’s the youngest of a trio of underclassmen who will hopefully take Windham right back to Mohegan Sun a year from now.
Travis Mangual Jr., 6-3, 2023, Windham
Mangual Jr. was the captain of a well-oiled Windham ship. Mangual Jr. had the ball on a string and was very good at facilitating to teammates. While his assist numbers weren’t ridiculous (only 4 on the night), it felt like Mangual’s fingerprints were all over every play. Mangual has the size to go downhill on bigger defenders and the length to get over them. His confidence and decision making were on full display. He finished with 11 points, making him Windham’s 3rd guy with 10+ in this state championship performance.