John Overton Rolls Tuesday

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>John Overton High (5-6) captured a victory Tuesday, December 20th, defeating KIPP Academy, 74-49. The Bobcat guards made the difference and this story will focus primarily on both their single game exploits and their broad future in the sport.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>To be included in future articles, always DM your stats/boxscores/highlights to <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepHoopsTN">@PrepHoopsTN</a>.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Roster<br>#1 [player_tooltip player_id='1140768' first='Kyree' last='Christian'] (2024)<br>#2 [player_tooltip player_id='1553160' first='Donovan' last='Bender'] (2023)<br>#4 [player_tooltip player_id='1706873' first='Will' last='Carter Jr.'] (2024) 6'3" SF/SG<br>#5 Marquez Price (2023)<br>#20 Kaleb Hurt (2024) F<br>#21 Tyler Leonard (2023)<br>#22 [player_tooltip player_id='1618397' first='Jadon' last='Huston'] (2023)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/2022/12/what-we-know-now-d11-4a/">What We Know Now: D11-4A - Prep Hoops</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Marquez Price showed a wonderful comfort passing the basketball in transition, after the Bobcats forced a Tuesday turnover, days before Christmas. Not only did he drop off a beautiful pass following his mid-air adjustment against defending body to [player_tooltip player_id='1553160' first='Donovan' last='Bender'], but he also lofted a perfect alley-oop less than a minute later. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1706873' first='Will' last='Carter Jr.']</strong> caught it high and finished with a near-dunk, two hands just at the rim. Another minute later Price completed a challenging and-1, again sprinting up the floor in pseudo-transition. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1706873"],"_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":"","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-63a3720f8ec03"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Looking ahead to post-HS, Carter Jr. is a feasible junior college prospect. His 6-foot-3 height is wonderful considering he can finish above the rim jumping off of two feet. The outside shooting is a concern currently. He did not get any vertical lift off the deck when shooting the three-pointer and getging the release point above opposing guards, many of which will be taller than 6-foot-0 at the college level requires some of that.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1140768' first='Kyree' last='Christian'] looks to be a solid starting point guard for John Overton. Just guessing, but he will probably be a single-digit per game scorer during the district portion of the schedule. Most likely, his biggest impact will come defensively. Judging by this game, Christian is a very sound on-ball defender with quick feet and a strong base. He can and did keep the ball-handler from darting around him, which can be a tricky exercise for a high school guard. Sure KIPP is nowhere near as tough as a Franklin or Hillsboro lead guard. In this setting [player_tooltip player_id='1140768' first='Kyree' last='Christian'] played very, very well and his backcourt mate Bender poked a few dribbles loose for John Overton turnovers thanks to Kyree's staunch on-ball defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1140768"],"_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":"","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-63a3720f8ec57"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Watch the first interview anywhere featuring basketball star [player_tooltip player_id='1553160' first='Donovan' last='Bender'], recorded late November of 2021, when PrepHoopsTN first saw the guard in action. The game was part of a two-day event held by Maplewood High School, during which two Chattanooga programs (Howard, Brainerd) traveled up i-24 to get two games against two Nashville Metro Schools (John Overton, Maplewood). It was a fantastic concept for the teams to get quality early-season opposition and, selfishly, for PrepHoopsTN to get in-person evaluations of two Chattanooga teams alongside two Nashville teams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPCs2XGZdSc">[player_tooltip player_id='1553160' first='Donovan' last='Bender'] Interview (John Overton) - YouTube</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1553160"],"_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":"","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-63a3720f8ec9f"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What kind of player is [player_tooltip player_id='1553160' first='Donovan' last='Bender'] now? Bender is a senior point guard with college basketball in his future. His level is a little murky. Skilled. Composed. Bender stands about 5-foot-10. He is also somewhat thin by college basketball guard standards. We are seeing the reluctance of D1 and even many D2 recruiters to offer [player_tooltip player_id='1043216' first='Jordan' last='Frison'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1263007' first='Tylon' last='Chatman'], both Top 30 guys in our senior class. That is a bad harbinger for Bender, who is similarly built. It is clear that Bender can score and distribute at an NAIA level, probably higher in spurts. The quickness of his feet and his ability to shoot both off-the-catch and off-the-dribble are redeemable skills that translate at every level. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Young Players Find Time</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Because KIPP provided very little resistence to the surging guards of John Overton, Head Coach John Hopson was able to get many of his bench players into live varsity action. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->