Playoff Forecast: Chauncey Billups Region

<p>ThunderRidge Versus Air Academy</p> [caption id="attachment_1254883" align="alignright" width="261"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/07/Joey-Bilello-1.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1254883 " src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/07/Joey-Bilello-1-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="261" height="174" /></a> J. Bilello[/caption] <p>Air Academy will have their hands full against a very large ThunderRidge team featuring Wake Forest commit [player_tooltip player_id="759280" first="Zach" last="Keller"]. ThunderRidge comes into tomorrow’s game averaging over five more rebounds per game at 34.7 versus Air Academy’s 29.4 per game. The top names from this team include the aforementioned Keller, as well as 6’7 senior wing [player_tooltip player_id="918919" first="Joey" last="Bilello"] and 2024 standout point guard [player_tooltip player_id="1168989" first="Andrew" last="Crawford"]. The unique aspect to ThunderRidge’s success compared to other teams is their absolute size advantage, with Keller 6’10, Bilello 6’7, Crawford, 6’5, and [player_tooltip player_id="918935" first="Mike" last="Karnisovas"] at 6’7. In complete contrast, Air Academy features a variety of perimeter focused guards and wings all of which are capable attacking off the dribble or spotting up from distance. While this matchup is hardly favorable to Air Academy, I wonder how they plan on deploying themselves against the powerful post work of [player_tooltip player_id="759280" first="Zach" last="Keller"], possibly through a swarm of double teams to make the others work for shot attempts. Coming into the matchup ThunderRidge’s center Keller is averaging 15.0 points and 6.9 rebounds, their senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="618859" first="Jackson" last="Brennan"] 14.2 points, point guard [player_tooltip player_id="1168989" first="Andrew" last="Crawford"] 10.8 points, and senior wing [player_tooltip player_id="918919" first="Joey" last="Bilello"] up to 12.3 points per contest. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/07/Finn-Horsfall.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-1233055 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/07/Finn-Horsfall-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="243" height="162" /></a>On the other end, you have a very balanced scoring output from Air Academy’s composition of guards and wings. [player_tooltip player_id="921102" first="Corbin" last="Garver"] leads the team with 17.4 points, [player_tooltip player_id="972417" first="Grant" last="Featherston"] at 12.4 points, and [player_tooltip player_id="1284469" first="Finn" last="Horsfall"] adding a versatile dose of 12 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 2.6 steals. While it is obvious, the x-factor for Air Academy will be how quickly they can get Keller into foul trouble through charges and the occasional flop, given that ThunderRidge has a +126 rebound differential. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Rock Canyon Versus Mountain Vista</p> <p>A more balanced matchup in terms of size, although Mountain Vista’s pace of play has potential to give them an edge. Vista features 6’7 junior forward, [player_tooltip player_id="1284559" first="Caden" last="Stevens"], who leads them in points and rebounds. Following up Stevens is combo guard Bryson Linder with 11.6 points, point guard [player_tooltip player_id="918911" first="Henry" last="Gamble"] with at 10.4, and 6’1 Nick Stone who has put up 7/3/4 with the Golden Eagles. On the other hand, Rock Canyon features multiple pesky scorers starting with point guard [player_tooltip player_id="1284528" first="Gavin" last="Hershberger"] with 14 points and 3.6 assists.<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/07/Gavin-Hershberger-1.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-1254737 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/07/Gavin-Hershberger-1-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="207" height="138" /></a> An excellent complementary cast starting with playmaking 6’4 guard [player_tooltip player_id="759285" first="Chris" last="Schlesinger"] with 12.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.6 assists, followed by small ball forward [player_tooltip player_id="1141754" first="Braxton" last="Jones"] at nearly 13/6. If you were to take away Vista’s high speed pace and cherry pick the scoring efficiency of both teams, you would be surprised that these teams are very similar to one another. From two point percentage, both contribute 56% of attempts, from three both shoot 32%, and from the free throw line 65% at Rock Canyon to 63% at Mountain Vista. If Rock Canyon can figure out how to slow down Vista, they have an excellent chance of moving forward. One area that Rock Canyon must focus on is the play of senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="759285" first="Chris" last="Schlesinger"], who does an excellent job attracting double teams. Given his size at 6’4, only a select few athletes can match with him from an athletic standpoint, but also am IQ standpoint. Either way, we will be getting an excellent showcase tomorrow evening.</p>