Western PA Class A Semifinal Prospects To Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This evening Prep Hoops took in the Western PA Class A Semifinals as Imani Christian and Union Area punched their tickets to the Western Final with big wins. Who stood out?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Virgil Hall</strong> | 6'8" | F | Imani 2024</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hall has expanded his game greatly as a junior and was locked in tonight. He was a dominating physical presence in the post against Farrell, owning the boards and utilizing his entire skillset underneath the basket on offense. He moved well off the ball and created opportunities to put the ball on the floor and attack the rim, throwing down a pair of thunderous dunks. He fouled out late in the contest but was an intimidating presence on the glass and in the paint. Scholarship level prospect who will only continue to grow in confidence and interest from colleges.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1188606' first='Alier' last='Maluk'] | 6'10" | F | Imani 2025</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Maluk didn't have to do too much heavy lifting--The guards and Hall did more than their share in the win over the Steelers, but Maluk was a pest in the paint on defense, blocking and redirecting shots and simply being an intimidating presence in the middle. He closed out shooters on the wing quickly and got to the rim on offense. Part of a group of sophomores who are driving Imani towards the top of PA basketball, he's an elite recruit. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1621402' first='RJ' last='SLEDGE'] | 5'10" | G | Imani 2025</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sledge came over from Canevin with a lot of hype and was on another level tonight. He was masterful with the ball in his hands and broke down defenders off the bounce to get at the bucket, hit shots from deep and was confident on the foul line. He moved the ball and found open teammates in the half court and also pushed the tempo releasing on fast breaks. He ended up with nearly 30 points on the night and will be a highly sought after guard.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1188604' first='Dame' last='Givner'] | 6'1" | G | Imani 2025</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Givner, another transfer from Obama in the City League, was a fine compliment to Sledge in the backcourt. He moved well off the ball, created shots for teammates and was effective in his role on the press for the Saints. With a team that has a lot of guard depth and balance, he doesn't necessarily have to be the scorer he was as a freshman at Obama.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='991361' first='Matt' last='Stanley'] | 6'0" | G | Union Area 2023</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stanley was fantastic leading the Scotties to a dominating win over Carlynton this evening. He was confident with the ball in his hands and broke down defenders to get at the rim, not only finishing with confidence but also finding teammates for open shots. He went well over 20 on the evening and will have to replicate this performance--along with his teammates, who were shooting it with accuracy from all over the floor-- if they're going to somehow manage to take down Imani and earn a state title birth. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->