The Tournament of Champions: Top Defenders
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The Tournament of Champions was held at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was a tournament that featured schools from a variety of different classes from Oklahoma and held some premiere talent and performances. I covered the two games…
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Continue ReadingThe Tournament of Champions was held at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was a tournament that featured schools from a variety of different classes from Oklahoma and held some premiere talent and performances. I covered the two games in the consolation bracket, which featured some great talent. The first game saw a matchup of Bartlesville (6A-2) against Roff (Class B). On paper, this game looks like a blowout, but Roff gave Bartlesville a run for their money. Roff has some good talent for such a small school and led at various points in the second half. Bartlesville was able to pull out the win, led by a couple of solid performances.
Cedric Dixon Cedric Dixon 6’3″ | SG Grind Prep | 2024 State #323 Nation OK is one of the top shooters in the state, along with being the #17 ranked junior in the state of Oklahoma. Not only is he great on the offensive side, he has been great at defending on the perimeter in both games that I have seen him play. He comes away with steals and turns those into transition points at the other end. I believe that he is underrated on the defensive end, but deserves all of the praise that he receives on the offensive side with his shooting ability.
TO Barrett TO Barrett 6’4″ | SG Link Academy | 2024 #138 Nation MO is an elite player and the #2 ranked junior in the state. He put on the most impressive and complete performance that I saw yesterday. He was doing everything yesterday: playmaking, rebounding, scoring, and defending. If you name it, he did it (outside of turning the ball over, because he barely did that). He showed the ability to shoot and finish around the basket. I have an article breaking down his scoring ability, click here. His playmaking was the best that I have seen this year, as it was spot on with jaw-dropping passes that led to assists. I also have an article breaking down his rebounding game right here. His defense was elite, to go along with his rebounding and offensive game. He harassed the offensive players all game, utilizing his athleticism to lock them down. This led to him coming away with one steal after another, to go along with a block. It was an impressive game by him in this one.
Dontrell Yearby Dontrell Yearby 6’2″ | CG Edmond North | 2024 State OK made some noise on the defensive end in this one. He played good on ball defense all game and was solid off of the ball, too. He came away with two blocks in this game. To go along with that, he contributed a little bit on the offensive side with a few baskets and some assists. It was aa great defensive game by him that shut down any plans that the opponents had.
Cade Balbridge
Cade Balbridge
Cade Balbridge caught my attention in the first half with the energy and his defensive ability. He had high energy and was flying all over the court to fight for loose balls. He harassed the ball handler all game with great perimeter defense. This led to him coming away with a couple of steals. He also would hustle back to stop fast breaks. There was one play that he missed a shot and immediately got back and stopped the fast break. That impressed me, because instead of feeling sorry for himself, he got back and took the charge. He played with confidence all game and showed that he can shoot a little by knocking down a three.
Michael Smith
Michael Smith
Michael Smith lll impacted the game on both ends of the court. I broke down his scoring impact, which you can click here to read that. He grabbed a few rebounds (I recorded three), but he made a big impact on the defensive side of the ball, too. He played good on-ball defense, which helped him get a steal. He also came away with a block in the contest. He contested shots efficiently and was a menace for his opponents in this one. Good all-around performance by him.