Metro Christian Practice Report

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Metro Christian is off to a 4-0 start to their season following a tournament championship in the Cleveland tournament, followed by a Monday night win over 4A's #9 Victory Christian at home. We were in the house as the Patriots took down the Conquerors 58-50 and they did it on both sides of the ball. The Patriots got out to a hot start and did a great job on the defensive side of the ball. Metro would use a 12-2 run in the second quarter to extend their lead to 34-18 at halftime. The Patriots had a balanced attack on the offensive end of the floor while defensively they did a great job limiting Victory Christian big man [player_tooltip player_id='1343195' first='Chris' last='Mason'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior [player_tooltip player_id='1238739' first='Wyatt' last='Powell'] led the Patriots with 21 points but he had plenty of help around him. [player_tooltip player_id='1696641' first='Brady' last='Cox'] finished with 12 points and the majority of those points were from the free throw line. [player_tooltip player_id='1696646' first='Jackson' last='Sowards'] added 12 points with 10 coming before halftime. And [player_tooltip player_id='1696637' first='Mario' last='Darrington'] chipped in with 9 points in the win. We have spotlights on all four standouts from Metro Christian below. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Patriots knocked off Cascia Hall on Saturday night to capture the tourney title in Cleveland. The win over Victory Christian was their fourth game in five days and to come out of that stretch with a 4-0 record is impressive. The Patriots now shift their focus to the rest of the week where they have back to back games on Friday and Saturday at home against Rejoice Christian and Wright Christian. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Metro Christian debuted at #5 in the Class 3A rankings that came out on Monday afternoon. Millwood, Purcell, Prague and Crooked Oak make up the top four teams, followed by the Patriots. Metro is definitely in the mix when you consider state tournament and even state title contenders in Class 3A at this point. It's still incredibly early, but it's hard not to be impressed with what the Patriots do on the floor. They have a potential star in Powell and plenty of guys around him that you can't focus in on stopping him. And this is a pretty young team as well. Not only will they be in the mix this year, but it's safe to say they'll be right back in this conversation next year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Below, we take a look at some of the top standouts for Metro Christian after the first week of the season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1696641"],"_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":"Our first player spotlight is on senior forward [player_tooltip player_id='1696641' first='Brady' last='Cox']. Now, this was my first time seeing Metro Christian this season and it's still very early in the year so a lot of the following is just speculation and predicting what Metro could be moving forward. But if the Patriots make a run, Cox is going to play a very important part in that run. He was all over the floor on both ends and he finished in double figures on Monday night against the Conquerors. Cox was efficient from the floor and it appeared that he understands his role incredibly well on the team. Metro has some potential stars around him so he does a good job of either getting them the ball or helping them find a way to the basket. Cox is a perfect example of a glue guy that is vital to a team that makes a run to the state tourney and beyond.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1696646"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Junior forward [player_tooltip player_id='1696646' first='Jackson' last='Sowards'] was part of the hot start for Metro Christian as they put Victory in a hole that they weren't able to climb out of. And Sowards did it on both ends of the floor. Sowards scored 10 of his 12 points before halftime. And in the first half, he was the primary defender on Victory Christian's star big man [player_tooltip player_id='1343195' first='Chris' last='Mason'], who struggled to get going in the first half. Full disclosure, that did not last and Mason got hot in the second half. But Sowards slowing down Mason's start to the game was critical in allowing Metro to build a lead that would survive any attempt from the Conquerors to come back on Monday night. Sowards did almost all of his scoring near the rim and we're wanting to see more of his game moving forward, specifically as he improves his jumper.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["1696637"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"The other senior standout on Monday night was guard [player_tooltip player_id='1696637' first='Mario' last='Darrington']. I knew Darrington more from his playing time with Metro's football team as a wide receiver who could beat defenses over the top. But on Monday night, Darrington was an athletic guard who could jump out of the gym but also showcased a nice jump shot. Granted, it felt like the Patriots couldn't miss anything from the floor and they put a lot of stress on the Victory defense. But Darrington still had a strong showing on both ends of the floor. If Metro Christian makes a run to the Big House in March, it's going to be because of plays made by players like Darrington. He might not ever lead the team in scoring but he does so many other things well that it will be important in the biggest games of the year.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["1238739"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Fresh off a fantastic performance in the Cleveland tourney, where he averaged 20+ points per game, Powell did it again on Monday night. He scored a team-high 21 points and had a very balanced scoring night as he had a little bit of everything going. As we mentioned earlier, Metro really could do no wrong on the offensive floor as they shot at a high percentage. And even then, Powell never forced things on that side of the ball. He always seemed like he was playing within the rhythm of the offense. Whether it was his shooting from beyond the arc or his ability to drive to the basket and finish against contact, Powell did a little bit of everything. He's definitely a 2024 guard that we're keeping an eye on throughout the season because the arrow is pointing up after his hot start to the season.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":4,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-639a52ab9dd92"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->