Centennial at Central: Varsity Standouts

On Thursday, February 2nd I attended the 5A match-up of the Centennial Coyotes visiting the Central Bobcats.   Two OPEN division teams battled it out at Central HS.   The game started all in the Coyotes favor leading at 14-9 after the first quarter and 29-20 at halftime. The Bobcats clawed their way back to a 39-34 slim lead for the Coyotes.   The fourth quarter was a ride with [player_tooltip player_id='831118' first='Emery' last='Young'] hitting a 3 to give the Coyotes a 10-point lead but Central proceeded to go on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to only three at 44-41 with 4:13 to play. Centennial made some FT's but then [player_tooltip player_id='1042714' first='Archie' last='Graves IV'] hit three FT's to cut it again to 47-45 with 2:33 to play. [player_tooltip player_id='831118' first='Emery' last='Young'] once again hit a 3 for a 50-46 lead under a minute but [player_tooltip player_id='1491231' first='Sabih' last='Almasri'] hit an off-balanced 3pt shot fading away making it a 50-49 game with 13 seconds to play. [player_tooltip player_id='831118' first='Emery' last='Young'] sunk 2 FT's, [player_tooltip player_id='1031563' first='Jayshawn' last='James'] made a quick layup but then [player_tooltip player_id='1275428' first='Zander' last='Kamai'] made a layup with one second to play and missed the FT but the Coyotes won 54-51.   <h2>Here were some of the varsity standouts </h2>   [player_tooltip player_id='831118' first='Emery' last='Young'] Centennial (Pictured)   The star of the night was definitely Young. He showed he is a three level scorer with four catch threes, back door layups/dunks, runners, dribble drives and a nice mid. He has a plus motor to rebound at a good clip and he really uses his stronger build to his advantage getting down the lane. He finished with a game high of 26 points.     [player_tooltip player_id='1128252' first='Gage' last='Galbreath'] Centennial    A sturdy framed power forward knows how to play. His skill, strength and IQ are all high He can seal his defender to score and can hit from mid-range. He uses his shoulders and girth to rebound and just brings his hard hat every single game.   [player_tooltip player_id='1275428' first='Zander' last='Kamai'] Centennial    The lefty point guard was playing on and off the ball all night. He has a high feel for the game and made most of his points off the catch from deep with three triples and an ultra quick release. He has good hands to catch difficult passes and he will drive and kick it to shooters. The lefty has a sneaky quick first step and a nose for scoring the ball.   [player_tooltip player_id='1594604' first='Keyan' last='Murphy'] Centennial    A long and skilled wing with real size. He is a plus rebounder in his area and has a polished mid-range pull-up off the dribble. He has beautiful ball rotation on his shots and should be a breakout candidate his senior year with three starters graduating. He moves well from end to end and defends on the perimeter with his long arms and good size.     [player_tooltip player_id='1598402' first='Johnny' last='Rios III'] Centennial    An undersized pure point guard who doesn't turn the ball over often. All night he was threading the needle to cutters for dimes. He just calmly moves the ball and seems to make the correct decision. He guided the offense most of the night and handled a lot of the ball pressure. No field goals made but cashed in on many free throws.   [player_tooltip player_id='1798609' first='Victor' last='Fabuluje'] Centennial   The glue guy on the team defends multiple positions and does the dirty work. He grabs out of area rebounds in bunches and keeps plays alive for the Coyotes. He will score it around the basket and bring energy.   [player_tooltip player_id='1042714' first='Archie' last='Graves IV'] Central    A pure point guard has one of the tightest handles in the class. He can thread the needle as a rare tight window passer with his left or right hand. His mid-range game is his weapon. He is a quick on-ball defender and is a capable deep shooter.   [player_tooltip player_id='1031563' first='Jayshawn' last='James'] Central    A tough scoring guard loves getting downhill. He has long arms and is in attack mode to the rim. He can hit the mid-range jumper and is a plus rebounder for position. He makes contested layups and will defend. He takes charges, blocks shots, closes out to shooters and makes it difficult to score versus.   [player_tooltip player_id='1491231' first='Sabih' last='Almasri'] Central   A scoring guard is somewhat of a volume shooter but can rattle them off. He gets high elevation on his pull-up from mid-range. He has deep range on his three with a quick release. He also competes hard on defense and is a tough kid.   [player_tooltip player_id='1441988' first='Raymond' last='Johnson'] Central    An undersized power forward who pound for pound may be the best rebounder in the state. He is a true rebound king with stick em on his hands. He attacks the ball at its highest point despite anyone in the lane. He is a warrior who drives in the paint and absorbs contact. He will give ball fakes and gets downhill. He is a good passer and he tries to block everything inside the paint. He showed a counter move to post up inside the paint and even made a mid-range jumper. He definitely gets the most out of his size.   Jake Trujillo SG 6'0 2024 Central    A scoring guard with good skill. He takes pressure off of their big four. He can pull-up off the dribble from mid-range and is a smart passer. He has good body control in the lane to score in traffic and plays a cerebral type of game.

On Thursday, February 2nd I attended the 5A match-up of the Centennial Coyotes visiting the Central Bobcats.