Pocola 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>Class 2A's #8 Pocola is looking to make another trip to Oklahoma City and contend for the Class 2A state championship. Now, defending champion Dale is a heavy favorite to capture back to back state championships, but there are a few other teams that have the players and the team to make a run to Oklahoma City and once they get there, as we've seen in previous tournaments, anything can happen. In this post, we take a look at the Indians as they prepare for the playoff push. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We got a chance to see them recently as they fell on the road to Catoosa in overtime. That loss snapped a nine-game winning streak but the Indians have already bounced back with wins on Monday and Tuesday over Hartshorne and Panama respectively. Prior to the Catoosa game, Pocola hadn't lost since going 0-3 in the loaded Mustang holiday tournament. In that game, Pocola's two-headed monster of 2025 big man [player_tooltip player_id='1552068' first='Dakotah' last='Terrell'] and 2024 guard [player_tooltip player_id='1493578' first='Garrett' last='Scott'] went off. We'll go more in-depth on their performance later on in the article. The Indians almost got out of Catoosa with a win but Catoosa would hit a half court shot at the buzzer to force overtime.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Led by their 1-2 punch of Scott and Terrell, we think that Pocola is definitely a team to look out for the rest of this month and into March in Class 2A. We'll get a better idea of just how serious Pocola is as a state contender on Saturday when they hit the road and take on #3 Oklahoma Christian Academy. That very well could be a preview of a game that we see in the state tournament. Saturday's game will be just the eighth game against a Class 2A opponent this season for the Indians and the second against a team that is currently ranked in the Top 20.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pocola finds themselves in Area IV for the playoffs and that's a bracket that also features two other top ten teams, including #2 Preston and #9 Calera. The road to the Big House will certainly get a little bumpy with only two teams from this area qualifying for the state tournament. The Indians ended a 20+ year drought last year when they made it to their first state tournament since 1999. They look to make back to back trips in March. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Below, we take a look at some of the standouts from Pocola this season as the Indians look to make a return to the state tournament and another trip to the Big House in Oklahoma City.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1790334"],"_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":"While a lot of the attention surrounding Pocola will go to that 1-2 punch of Scott and Terrell, the Indians have some other firepower around them and one of them is 2024 point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1790334' first='Austin' last='Hardwick']. Coming into that match-up with Catoosa, we didn't know much about Hardwick but we walked away very impressed with the junior standout with the way that he ran Pocola's offense. He's a very quick guard that uses his overall speed to make up for being somewhat undersized at the point guard position. He would finish the game in Catoosa in double figures with 15 points, including knocking down three shots from the perimeter. He was also their leading scorer in the overtime period. We mention this quite a bit at this time of the year, but when a team makes a run to the state tourney or even further, it's usually because other players besides the usual suspects step up in big ways. We're convinced that Hardwick can help lead the Indians to a deep run into March and provide their two heavy hitters with some back up when they need it.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1552068"],"_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":"Pocola 2025 big man [player_tooltip player_id='1552068' first='Dakotah' last='Terrell'] is the first part of the dynamic duo that the Indians have. Every time Terrell steps on the floor, it feels like he's gotten better than the last time. Terrell had a really good showing over the summer of 2022 at various team camps. He also performed well in the Mustang tournament. And on Saturday, in the loss to Catoosa, Terrell was a real problem once he got into a rhythm on offense. Terrell does a really good job of running the floor and getting out in transition and his teammates reward him for it. Terrell caught a couple lobs at the basket and slammed them home. He would finish with 17 points but the majority of his work was done on the defensive side of the ball. In just about every game this season, Terrell is going to step on the floor and have a distinct size advantage and he continues to get better within his role on the offensive and defensive side of the floor. Just like with Scott, Terrell has also established himself as an intriguing football prospect. But we think that the ceiling might be brighter on the basketball floor for the Pocola big man.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["1493576"],"_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":"Arguably Pocola's best player this season has been junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1493578' first='Garrett' last='Scott'] and he showed why on Saturday in the overtime loss to Catoosa. Scott would score a game-high 31 points and would knock down seven shots from beyond the perimeter, including five in the fourth quarter alone. And we don't have the exact efficiency numbers for Scott but it felt like every shot he took from beyond the arc was going in. Scott wasn't just a shooter on Saturday, he can also get downhill to the basket and finish. Scott is one of the better two-sport athletes in the state's 2024 class. He's also a standout on the football field and it's easy to see why based on his athleticism on the basketball court. One physical attribute with Scott that stood out was his wingspan. When you combine that with his overall athleticism and defensive abilities, Scott has the ability to be one of the better defensive guards in the state's class. His size and abilities on the court are reminiscent of Mustang 2023 standout [player_tooltip player_id='967377' first='Jacobe' last='Johnson'], who's headed to OU for football.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":3,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-63e52efdd926d"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->