Paul VI vs St. John's (DC)-Takeaways

On Tuesday evening in Chantilly, VA two top-15 teams in the nation battled it out as St. John's (DC) took the trip to Paul IV for a WCAC matchup. The Panthers of PVI had just been named the No. 1 team in the country by Max Preps a day prior and were able to overcome adversity late in the game to prevail by a final score of 69-60. Let's check out some takeaways from this compelling contest.   Harris-Smith's dominance   PVI sports the No. 1 player in both the 2023 and 2024 Virginia player rankings and for good reason. Senior guard and Maryland commit [player_tooltip player_id='999616' first='DeShawn' last='Harris-Smith'] has been on a tear this season and finally seems to be catching his national recognition not only with high school scouts, but NBA scouts as well. The 6'5 southpaw guard had his hands all over this game as indicated by his stat line of 23 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals. Whether it was bullying smaller defenders in the post, stepping out and hitting big shots in crunch time or creating for others with penetration, he looked unstoppable anytime the ball was in his hands.   Freeman battles   There's a reason why [player_tooltip player_id='1127309' first='Donavan' last='Freeman'] moved up to No. 2 in the 2024 Maryland rankings and has a real shot to contend for the No. 1 spot as time progresses. The biggest aspect we were looking for in terms of improvement in the last six months was Freeman's aggression. He's answered that call with authority all season and acted as a true anchor for a Cadets team that will make a deep run in the conference and continue to be in the national spotlight. The 6'9 forward displayed his scoring versatility in face-ups, strong drives off the catch and mixed it up with creating for himself in quick isolations. Defensively he manned the glass and played physically with PVI's stable of bigs.   Harris steps up   We all know that [player_tooltip player_id='1259620' first='Darren' last='Harris']' calling card is his ability to convert three's at an elite level and in a variety of ways. It almost comes as an expectation every time he takes the floor and while he hit a few of those throughout this game, he also proved to be a dependable finisher at the rim as a result of sprinting the lanes in transition. As PVI made their run within the last two minutes to ultimately pull away, the Duke commit flushed a two-handed dunk that ignited the Panther faithful and put a nail in the coffin. Harris finished with 14 points.   Watts remains one of the best available seniors   It seems like every time I see St. John's play, unsigned senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='957027' first='Raymond' last='Watts'] is doing things that stand out. In other performances it was his effort defensively where he uses his size at 6'3-6'4 to be a versatile option for head coach Pat Behan. This time around, Watts didn't hesitate to make his presence known from a scoring standpoint as others on his team struggled to find a groove early. Watts would finish with 12 points on 5-of-9 from the field. Aside from his catch-and-shoot to begin the game from the top of the key, the other four field goals were created by Watts operating off 2-to-3 bounces. He made college-ready moves with minimal dribbles to get to his spot, gets good elevation stopping on a dime and has confidence in his release.   Emptying out the notebook   I was pleased with how 2024 [player_tooltip player_id='1259542' first='Ben' last='Hammond'] controlled this game from the point guard position. Some might say he has it easy because of the amount of weapons he has to work with and while there may be some merit to that, it doesn't make the decision-making at key points in a close game a breeze. He scored 10 points, accumuated 5 assists by distributing the ball in a timely manner and was the spearhead of sparking the fast pace tempo that PVI wanted to establish.   2024 St. John's guard [player_tooltip player_id='1089572' first='Daquan' last='Davis'] brought the intensity and aggression as usual. He struggled to get going in the first quarter and couldn't seem to find a rhythm, but remained persistent in his approach and it resulted in burying multiple jumpers in the third quarter that helped his team gain control of the game. Davis scored 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting and dished out four assists while battling foul trouble.   2026 Jordan Smith looks like anything but a freshman. Not only physically, but also with his skill and IQ for the role that he plays with this team. For one, he's as tough as nails and doesn't hesitate to bring a hard hat when battling for rebounds or 50/50s. He's also extremely active without the ball both as a cutter and a roamer on the offensive glass. He scored six points in this game, but created several second-chance buckets or possessions for PVI with his effort.

On Tuesday evening in Chantilly, VA two top-15 teams in the nation battled it out as St. John's (DC) took the trip to Paul IV for a WCAC matchup. The Panthers of PVI had just been named the No. 1 team in the country by Max Preps a day prior and were able to overcome adversity late in the game to prevail by a final score of 69-60. Let's check out some takeaways from this compelling contest.