Division II State Semifinal Top Performers

<p>Friday’s afternoon session brought us the Division II Semifinal games with St. Vincent-St. Mary and Gilmour Academy advancing to Sunday’s final. While watching the games, I found the seniors were the ones that impressed me the most. See which 5 got the job done in my eyes.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="809602" first="Jacob" last="Conner"]</strong> (2022) <em>Alter</em></p> <p>Conner ended his high school career with an incredible defensive performance against one of the state’s best teams. The Marshall commit was a true rim protector with his long arms and unreal athleticism. Not many guys have the bounce Conner has at 6-foot-9 and he was able to get some blocks on some big opponents from St. V. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="787627" first="Sencire" last="Harris"]</strong> (2022) <em>St. Vincent-St. Mary</em></p> <p>Some one argue Harris is the best player in NE Ohio and arguably the state in the 2022 class. I’d say he showed us why Friday. Harris’ speed defensively was impressive as he kept one of the state’s fastest guards (<strong>[player_tooltip player_id="967172" first="Ryan" last="Chew"]</strong>) in check throughout the game. The lefty used his longer arms to make those 1-gap passes difficult to make and turned a lot of turnovers into transition points. Harris has so much energy when he plays and makes the game look easy.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="809600" first="Ramar" last="Pryor"]</strong> (2022) <em>St. Vincent-St. Mary</em></p> <p>While teammate [player_tooltip player_id="787627" first="Sencire" last="Harris"] is the main name for the Irish, Pryor is about as good as a secondary option you’ll find. Committed to Cleveland State, Pryor is the true definition of a two-way player. Explosive offensively and such an athletic player on the wing. Defensively, he can lock down whoever he is assigned and be a protective player at the rim. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="967167" first="Trey" last="Robertson"]</strong> (2022) <em>Waverly</em></p> <p>Robertson was seeing a ton of pressure defensively from Gilmour as they tried to make it difficult for him to get comfortable. After settling in, he really paced the Tigers on the offensive end with his shooting. Robertson has such a quick and lethal release accompanied by the awareness to get shots off cleanly. Used his speed to create separation for his jump shot. Robertson is an unsigned senior and considered one of the best prospects in SE Ohio.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1139230" first="Ryan" last="Mueller"]</strong> (2022) <em>Gilmour Academy</em></p> <p>Mueller brought so much to the table beyond scoring for the Lancers. Facing a tough Waverly team, he provided several hustle plays for Gilmour in the form of diving on the floor and winning 50/50 balls. Mueller finished possessions by securing boards and making smart defensive blocks at the rim. His length provides issues on the perimeter as he just plays harder than his opponent.</p>