The Matchup: BMaze 16u vs. STARS 17u
In this article:
Saturday evening, May 6th, BMaze 16u clashed with Stars 17u in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Playing up, BMaze 16u found a stern challenge in the eldest STARS team. STARS, with strong performance from Nyziah Whaley Nyziah Whaley 5'9" | PG Baylor School…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingSaturday evening, May 6th, BMaze 16u clashed with Stars 17u in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Playing up, BMaze 16u found a stern challenge in the eldest STARS team. STARS, with strong performance from Nyziah Whaley Nyziah Whaley 5'9" | PG Baylor School | 2024 State TN and defense from Jett Montgomery Jett Montgomery 6'1" | PG Independence | 2024 State TN won, 82-73.
With a few missed shots sprinkled in, the game opened up 8-7. Deondrea Lindsey Deondrea Lindsey 6'7" | PF Oak Hill Academy | 2025 #115 Nation VA lost a turnover while trying to dribble the length of the court. Shane Cherry Shane Cherry 5'9" | PG Austin-East | 2025 State #353 Nation TN missed a deep three-pointer. BMaze did not settle in for several minutes, while STARS attacked persistently. Lindsey also missed his first outside shot. A Jack Reddick three-pointer helped STARS pull ahead, 18-8.
Like he usually does, Shane was his best when getting to the rim. Few in the nation can keep Shane Cherry Shane Cherry 5'9" | PG Austin-East | 2025 State #353 Nation TN out of the lane. Frankly, he did not do it enough and BMaze fell down 37-17!
The two greatest strengths for BMaze 16u are Deondrea with his back to the basket and Shane dashing into the lane. For the first eight minutes neither leaned on their go-to.
A bright spot for the leading STARS team was Nyziah Whaley Nyziah Whaley 5'9" | PG Baylor School | 2024 State TN , who hit an open three-pointer and changed the point of attack swiftly.
When Shane Cherry Shane Cherry 5'9" | PG Austin-East | 2025 State #353 Nation TN hit a deep three-pointer late in the half, BMaxze 16u closed to within nine points and called a timeout. Cherry reacted as if to say, ‘finally.’
Shane Cherry Shane Cherry 5'9" | PG Austin-East | 2025 State #353 Nation TN is a physically gifted player. He is faster than almost anybody in Tennessee and he is explosive and clever. The biggest, maybe only glaring weakness in his game is defensive commitment. It truly falls down upon effort. In moments that matter Cherry will focus on defense, but often he simply stands upright and invests no physical energy. Not ‘a little’, rather none. It is bizarre. His transition defense can be terrible in pockets. Surely, this will be cured at some point.
Jett Montgomery Jett Montgomery 6'1" | PG Independence | 2024 State TN , a prolific scorer, actually played pretty good defending the impossible mark Shane Cherry Shane Cherry 5'9" | PG Austin-East | 2025 State #353 Nation TN . Cherry always gets into the lane, but Montgomery made him work for a layup too.
The game tightened to 59-51 on a Reed Ownby Reed Ownby 6'4" | SG Sevier County | 2025 State TN mid-range jumper.
A telling sequence in the game occurred midway through the second half. Jett flew up the floor with a layup ensuing, but Deondrea Lindsey Deondrea Lindsey 6'7" | PF Oak Hill Academy | 2025 #115 Nation VA tracked, hoping to block it big, and instead of trying to shoot over the gifted prospect, Montgomery dropped it off to a teammate, who then passed it to Jack Shutters Jack Shutters 6'10" | PF Baylor School | 2024 State TN . A made layup. The entire play came off of a airballed three-pointer by Shane Cherry Shane Cherry 5'9" | PG Austin-East | 2025 State #353 Nation TN .
Again, Shane is the best PG in 2025, but he definitely lacks consistency from the outside and becomes spotty defensively occasionally.
The Comeback?
BMaze 16u closed to 65-60. The path was taking higher percentage shots. An and-1 by Shane Cherry Shane Cherry 5'9" | PG Austin-East | 2025 State #353 Nation TN calcified the comeback effort and tightened it to 67-64 with just over 5:00 to play.
Nyziah Whaley Nyziah Whaley 5'9" | PG Baylor School | 2024 State TN played steady and dependable all night. Solid. Two mid-range jumpers in the final six minutes by Nyziah really, really helped.
Deondrea Lindsey Deondrea Lindsey 6'7" | PF Oak Hill Academy | 2025 #115 Nation VA did not own the paint, defended often by Daniel Cochran Daniel Cochran 6'7" | SF Brentwood | 2024 State TN , though he did draw fouls and own the defensive rebounding area. Two made Lindsey free throws helped, but he did turn it over shortly thereafter trying to dribble the length of the court again. Lindsey’s handle is good for a big, but just average for a 17u guard, so it can be an adventure.
BMaze 16u Roster
Reed Ownby
Reed
Ownby
6'4" | SG
Sevier County | 2025
State
TN
Shane Cherry
Shane
Cherry
5'9" | PG
Austin-East | 2025
State
#353
Nation
TN
Deondrea Lindsey
Deondrea
Lindsey
6'7" | PF
Oak Hill Academy | 2025
#115
Nation
VA
Maguire Evans
Maguire
Evans
6'1" | PG
Cleveland | 2025
State
TN
STARS 17u Roster
Daniel Cochran
Daniel
Cochran
6'7" | SF
Brentwood | 2024
State
TN
Jack Shutters
Jack
Shutters
6'10" | PF
Baylor School | 2024
State
TN
Nyziah Whaley
Nyziah
Whaley
5'9" | PG
Baylor School | 2024
State
TN
Jack Reddick
Jett Montgomery
Jett
Montgomery
6'1" | PG
Independence | 2024
State
TN