Denton Season-Opener Standouts

<!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["787362"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"u003cspan data-tt=u0022{u0026quot;paragraphStyleu0026quot;:{u0026quot;alignmentu0026quot;:4,u0026quot;writingDirectionu0026quot;:1}}u0022u003eIt didn't take long for [player_tooltip player_id='787362' first='M.J.' last='Thomas'] to impact the game, on the very first defensive possession, M.J. swiped his opponent for the pick pocket steal on the perimeter and started the offense in transition. But Thomas didn't stop there, throughout his performance he pu003c/spanu003eroved to be a coast to coast finisher, someone that can start and complete the fastbreak while flying down the floor like a freight train with his head high seeing the entire court and exploiting the holes in the defense. In the second half of play M.J. really took off and dominated the game with his post presence, constantly ducking in the paint and floating around the high post with his hands ready to catch and score. M.J.'su003cspan data-tt=u0022{u0026quot;paragraphStyleu0026quot;:{u0026quot;alignmentu0026quot;:4,u0026quot;writingDirectionu0026quot;:1}}u0022u003e strength underneath the basket was phenomenal, the way he snatched boards out of the air while being boxed out by 3 or more guys was truly remarkable along with his power to go up, draw fouls, or finish the play through multiple bumps, arms, and traffic proved to be a major x-factor for the Denton Broncos. This young man au003c/spanu003ebsorbed body blows like there was nothing to it, he often powered his way through his opponents chest and either scored the basket or drew the foul call, his knack for drawing so much attention down low led to several trips to the free-throw line where Thomas was good free throw shooter who made sure to make the most out of his opportunities at the stripe, making 8 of his 12 attempts. Well-polished, su003cspan data-tt=u0022{u0026quot;paragraphStyleu0026quot;:{u0026quot;alignmentu0026quot;:4,u0026quot;writingDirectionu0026quot;:1}}u0022u003emooth, and unstoppable drop-step turnaround. Thomas was able to simply pivot and rise above contesting defenders for a soft touch jump hook or leapu003c/spanu003e off of two feet under he hoop and pull the rim down. In the final seconds of the game, [player_tooltip player_id='787362' first='M.J.' last='Thomas'] took things into his own hands as he called for the iso and took his man downhill with a crossover at the top of the key followed by a crossover spin, and-one layup that capped off an awesome 24 point, 13 rebound, and 2 block performance for Thomas.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","anchor":"acf-block-65a8c08439843"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/BallNonStop_/status/1591270112811970560","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/BallNonStop_/status/1591270112811970560 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":1659965,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Blake Courtney ","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2023","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'3u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"77247","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Denton ","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"u003cspan data-tt=u0022{u0026quot;paragraphStyleu0026quot;:{u0026quot;alignmentu0026quot;:4,u0026quot;writingDirectionu0026quot;:1}}u0022u003eSenior prospect Blake Courtney showed off his competitiveness, aggression, power, and explosiveness on both sides of the ball with consistent scoring, strong cuts through the lane, and dynamic rebounding. I was highly iu003c/spanu003empressed with the way Blake let the game come to him, he didn't force his offense and he played off of his teammates exceptionally well. He ate defenders up with his smooth dribble pull-up shooting motion, showing a high release and strong follow through alongside the potential to get more fluid with time as he drilled 3 long-range bombs throughout the night. Whenever Courtney wasn't able to get his own shot off the dribble he used his teammates to pass and relocate or screen and score. The 6-foot-3 bucket getter finished the game with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 5 rebounds.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","anchor":"acf-block-65a8c0843989a"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":1659967,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Jordan Kamga","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2023","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'6u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"77245","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Denton ","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"u003cspan data-tt=u0022{u0026quot;paragraphStyleu0026quot;:{u0026quot;alignmentu0026quot;:4,u0026quot;writingDirectionu0026quot;:1}}u0022u003eJordan Kamga wasted no time impacting the game with tremendous utilization of his length in the passing lanes. Kamga was a defensive anchor early on ready to slow down or stop dribble penetration, forcing countless kick out passes which often led to deflections, steals, and long-range jumpshots from the Lone Star Rangers. Offensively, Jordan Kamga produced 4 points, but he su003c/spanu003eu003cspan data-tt=u0022{u0026quot;paragraphStyleu0026quot;:{u0026quot;alignmentu0026quot;:4,u0026quot;writingDirectionu0026quot;:1}}u0022u003ehowed the capability to knock down a jumper from deep with his feet set with confidence and a small amount of space. u003c/spanu003e","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","anchor":"acf-block-65a8c0843992a"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":1659966,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='2324771' first='Chase' last='Thomas'] ","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"null","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"77246","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Denton ","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"u003cspan data-tt=u0022{u0026quot;paragraphStyleu0026quot;:{u0026quot;alignmentu0026quot;:4,u0026quot;writingDirectionu0026quot;:1}}u0022u003e[player_tooltip player_id='2324771' first='Chase' last='Thomas'] entered the game off of the bench and immediately excelled at the lead guard position, showing good poise and control with the ball in hand, along with the court vision to hit open shooters popping up or out for the spot-up three-pointer. Thomas displayed an uu003c/spanu003eu003cspan data-tt=u0022{u0026quot;paragraphStyleu0026quot;:{u0026quot;alignmentu0026quot;:4,u0026quot;writingDirectionu0026quot;:1}}u0022u003enderstanding of how and when to create separation from a defender, and he even did a great job of baiting his man into fouls with his constant change of pace skills. The junior point guard hadu003c/spanu003eu003cspan data-tt=u0022{u0026quot;paragraphStyleu0026quot;:{u0026quot;alignmentu0026quot;:4,u0026quot;writingDirectionu0026quot;:1}}u0022u003e a great effect on the tempo of the game each time he was on the floor, knowing when to slow the game down or speed it up both in transition and a half court set. u003c/spanu003e","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","anchor":"acf-block-65a8c084399d8"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1295841"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"6-foot-3 shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id='1295841' first='Carter' last='Eddy'] was one of the top three-point shooters of the night. Eddy contributed heavily with his ability to space the floor and stretch the defense out, showing u003cspan data-tt=u0022{u0026quot;paragraphStyleu0026quot;:{u0026quot;alignmentu0026quot;:4,u0026quot;writingDirectionu0026quot;:1}}u0022u003eexcellent range and sweet shooting stroke with an effortless release, his jumpshot popped the nets with a loud swish each time. [player_tooltip player_id='1295841' first='Carter' last='Eddy']'s off-ball movement made it easy for him to find u003c/spanu003ehis shot in transition, spot-ups in the halfcourt, and when sprinting around screens as his teammates set him up for catch-and-shoot opportunities from outside.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","anchor":"acf-block-65a8c08439a45"} /-->