Rapid Reaction: North Laurel @ Great Crossing

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Over the course of four quarters where the score was reset each time, North Laurel inched out a 70-67 win over Great Crossing in a matchup of top ranked teams. Here are some takeaways.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id='932765' first='Reed' last='Sheppard'] is an ELITE talent</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You can go ahead and crown Sheppard 2023 Kentucky Mr. Basketball (as if there was any doubt) but his performance on Tuesday night was a master class. Reed nearly had a triple double with 28 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 blocks. He also did that on 10-15 shooting for the game. Sheppard made one pass that left the young men in front of me saying "you only see that in the NBA". People outside of Kentucky overlook Reed as the 5th member of Kentucky's recruiting class but I expect him to surprise people early in his college career.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The [player_tooltip player_id='1110323' first='Vince' last='Dawson'] ascension continues</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After a good showing against Western last week, Dawson poured in 29 points on 12-23 shooting and added 7 rebounds and 2 assists for the Warhawks. Vince is starting to prove himself as the "Alpha" for this young Great Crossing team. He looks like he's ready to make the leap this season and become one of the best players in the 11th region.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id='1650727' first='Gavin' last='Chadwell'] is still figuring it out</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And that's ok. Chadwell moved from Knox Central in the last month or so and was limited last night to 6 points and 2 rebounds while struggling to score against the GC length down low. I don't think Gavin is even eligible at this time and even if he is, it will take him a while to get his role figured out. Having said that, look for him to use his strength to dominate a 13th region that is light on post players.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id='932771' first='Ryan' last='Davidson'] does a little bit of everything</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ryan didn't shoot it great on the night. He missed several shots around the rim that normally go in. Davidson finished with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. He's built like a D1 linebacker and knows how to use his body to move defenders and finish around the rim. He's super valuable to this North Laurel team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Great Crossing needs to develop some depth</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>4 of the Warhawks starters played 25+ of 32 minutes (Dawson played all 32) and Senior [player_tooltip player_id='932770' first='Trey' last='Skaggs'] was nowhere to be seen on Tuesday night. They only really played 7 players on the night and it appeared that [player_tooltip player_id='1184584' first='DeJohn' last='Blunt'] had a cramp in the third quarter that sent him out for a few minutes. It will be hard to get through a season with only 7 players in the rotation but it's been done (Madison Central played 5 kids all last season). Javonte Dean passes the eye test as a potential contributor down the line but Coach Page will want to develop some depth past their top 6-7 players before we get too deep into the 2022-2023 season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->