McGuinness Classic Standouts (Day 1)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's once again a tournament week across Oklahoma and there are so many great tourneys taking place all over the state. Prep Hoops Oklahoma was following the action at multiple locations on Thursday but in this post, we're taking a look at some of the standouts from the first day at the McGuinness Classic in Oklahoma City. We saw Deer Creek stun Edmond Memorial in a low-scoring affair and 5A top five teams Del City and Southeast take care of business as well. And in the final game of the night, we had Edmond Santa Fe, who was 1-7 coming into Thursday, beating 6A's #6 Choctaw 47-42.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The semifinals are set for Friday with Deer Creek facing Del City and Edmond Santa Fe facing Southeast. Here's a look at all of the players that caught our eye throughout the day in Oklahoma City. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1732646"],"_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":"Norman North came up short in their comeback bid against 5A powerhouse Del City. But the Timberwolves got a complete performance from senior [player_tooltip player_id='1732646' first='Ben' last='Moser'] who was a threat in multiple ways for Norman North on the offensive side of the ball. Moser, the son of OU basketball coach Porter Moser, was able to make things happen in the paint but also showcased his range by stepping out and knocking down a pair of shots from the perimeter in the fourth quarter. Moser would finish with 16 points for the Timberwolves and he scored ten of those in the fourth quarter as Norman North would rally to make things interesting with the Eagles.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1068562"],"_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":"We mentioned how Norman North nearly stunned Del City. But star center [player_tooltip player_id='1068562' first='Brandon' last='Garrison'] made sure that they wouldn't fall on Thursday afternoon. The Oklahoma State signee scored all 16 points after halftime. As Norman North made their comeback and made things interesting, that's when Garrison started taking over to make sure the Eagles would move on to the semifinals. He was absolutely dominant in the paint, finishing with both hands and making it look easy. Garrison is one of the top rim protectors in the state. But he also stepped out and made a few stellar defensive plays on the perimeter, which was terrifying to witness. Big men should not move the way he did.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["1579597"],"_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":"We gotta call it what it was. The Deer Creek-Edmond Memorial game was the ugliest game of the first day at Bishop McGuinness. Both teams struggled throughout but neither could pull away so it was close throughout. But the Antlers would pull off a 34-31 win over Edmond Memorial to advance to the semifinals. Sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id='1579597' first='Clyde' last='Davis'] would lead a very young Deer Creek lineup in the win on Thursday. All of Davis' scoring came after halftime as the Antlers would need it with points coming at a premium. The Antlers and Davis in particular are going to be fun to watch moving forward. This is a very young but talented team that is finding their way.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["1732799"],"_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":"In one of the more surprising games on Thursday, regardless of tournament, Edmond Santa Fe stunned Choctaw 47-42. But watching the game from start to finish, it didn't feel like that much of an upset. The Wolves jumped out early and often and put Choctaw in a 13-0 hole that they just could not climb out of. And leading the way in a balanced scoring attack was junior [player_tooltip player_id='1732799' first='Drelen' last='Nero'], who finished with 15 points to lead the Wolves in scoring. Nero did a little bit of everything and he was a constant presence on the offensive side of the floor. Santa Fe has been so riddled with injuries this season so it was nice to see Nero and the Wolves come out and get a big win.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["1460834"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"Bishop McGuinness let one get away on Thursday as Southeast would run away with a first round win. And we'll get into that more with a few Southeast standouts. But I was very impressed with McGuinness sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1460834' first='Jett' last='Schafer']. I believe this was my first time seeing Schafer in person and the first thing that literally jumps off the page about his game is his leaping ability. The sophomore has absolute bounce and some pure athleticism to his game. But with that comes some chaotic moments as he's still trying to find his touch to go along with his athletic abilities. But all of that can be taught and practiced. The leaping ability and athleticism can't be coached.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_5_player":["1482825"],"_player_evaluations_5_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"On the other side of that McGuinness-Southeast match-up was Southeast outscoring the Irish 46-23 in the second half to run away with the win that looked easy based on the final score. Southeast's junior dual-sport star [player_tooltip player_id='1482825' first='Ladainian' last='Fields'] would finish with 12 points with all of them coming after halftime. Fields was automatic around the rim and he did a great job of cleaning up with rebounds and giving the Spartans second chance opportunities. From my vantage point of watching Fields, I was really amazed at his ability to find the absolute perfect angle on a shot or a pass that didn't seem to be there. Fields was really impressive to watch from that standpoint.","_player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_6_player":["1482833"],"_player_evaluations_6_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_6_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_6_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"Like his teammate [player_tooltip player_id='1482825' first='Ladainian' last='Fields'], Southeast junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1482833' first='Micheal' last='Graham'] would do almost all of his damage after halftime as the Spartans would dominate the third and fourth quarters. Graham would lead the Spartans in scoring with 17 points. He scored 13 after halftime and did a great job of driving to the basket and drawing foul after foul. Graham would go 7-8 from the charity stripe in the second half alone. Just like with Fields, Graham is an outstanding dual-sport athlete and his basketball game just continues to get better and better. Bishop McGuinness dominated the first two quarters and Graham never got rattled. He's a quarterback on the gridiron and was cool under pressure on the hardwood Thursday.","_player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_7_player":["1211256"],"_player_evaluations_7_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_7_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_7_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_7_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_7_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_7_evaluation":"In the first game of the day, Norman North came up short to Del City. But as we mentioned earlier with [player_tooltip player_id='1732646' first='Ben' last='Moser'], the Timberwolves made things very interesting in the fourth quarter. Part of their comeback attempt was sparked by the play of their athletic senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1211256' first='Nate' last='Lancaster']. The senior would be the other Norman North player in double figures with 12 points and the majority of those came in the fourth quarter. Lancaster showed no fear against a Del City defense that had an advantage with length and athleticism. He attacked the paint and if he didn't finish at the rim, he would convert from the charity stripe. Lancaster earned his spot on this breakdown with his fourth quarter performance.","_player_evaluations_7_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_8_player":["1357063"],"_player_evaluations_8_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_8_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_8_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_8_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_8_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_8_evaluation":"Del City senior wing [player_tooltip player_id='1357063' first='Percy' last='Green'] was someone we wrote about earlier this week after he had another stellar showing on Tuesday night. This came after he performed very well down in Texas last week in a holiday tournament. However, Green makes this feature because of the defense he played. Green was limited in what he could do on the offensive end of the floor. The Eagles were okay with three other players finishing in double figures. But Green's length was an absolute problem for Norman North's ball handlers. In fact, Green was part of several stellar defensive performances from guards who did a great job of defending at the rim.","_player_evaluations_8_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_9_player":["1495343"],"_player_evaluations_9_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_9_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_9_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_9_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_9_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_9_evaluation":"As we mentioned with [player_tooltip player_id='1460834' first='Jett' last='Schafer'], the Irish let one get away as they couldn't stop the Southeast comeback. But the leading scorer in the game was McGuinness senior standout [player_tooltip player_id='1495343' first='Price' last='Bradley']. The senior would finish with 18 points in a very balanced evening. Bradley had just about everything going for him on Thursday as he got started in the first half by cleaning up the offensive glass and getting the majority of his production in the paint and near the rim. But Bradley also had his jumper working for him as well and he would step out of the paint and knock down some big shots. Bradley had an outstanding offseason and he's continued that momentum into his senior year.","_player_evaluations_9_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_10_player":["1482829"],"_player_evaluations_10_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_10_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_10_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_10_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_10_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_10_evaluation":"Choctaw certainly didn't expect to lose to Edmond Santa Fe on Thursday but as we mentioned earlier, that 13-0 hole that the Yellowjackets got into in the first quarter was too much to overcome. But in the fourth quarter, they would put together a comeback that would actually see them get within one possession late in the game. And leading the Choctaw comeback in the fourth quarter was junior [player_tooltip player_id='1482829' first='Will' last='Smith']. Known more for his abilities on the football field, Smith is an outstanding athlete but it was his jumper that was working on Thursday. He knocked down a pair of three-pointers and finished with ten points as Choctaw's comeback bid came up just short.","_player_evaluations_10_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":11,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-63b796c2ae5c8"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->