2023-2024 Team Preview: McGill-Toolen Yellowjackets

McGill-Toolen Yellowjackets   Class 6A Area 2   Head Coach: Phillip Murphy   Last Season Record: 29-7 (According to maxpreps.com)   Instagram: mct_hoops   X/Twitter: @mcthoops   [player_tooltip player_id='2257630' first='Jackson' last='Murphy'] (6'2/CG/'24)   Instagram: Jackmurphy.2   X/Twitter: @JackMurphy324   Jackson will be looked upon for quite a few things as he enters his senior campaign. He will be called upon to impact both ends of the floor as well as be the alpha leader on and off the court. He is a scoring threat from all levels but is particularly good at stretching the floor with his ability to knock down the trey ball. He is a playmaker who does a good job creating for his teammates as well as himself. Defensively, he is highly disruptive and will often match up against the opponent's best scoring threat at the guard spot. Look for McGill to go as Jackson goes, and that is possibly a long way when you look at the cerebral aspect of Jackson and his high IQ.    [player_tooltip player_id='2814952' first='Ethan' last='Stokes'] (6'8/G|F)   When you talk about Ethan, who stands at 6'8", the one thing that sticks out is his versatility. You really see his versatility on the defensive end of the floor as he has grown into a high-level defender who does a good job guarding all five positions. He is very active on the glass and will need to have dominating performances on the boards for the Yellowjackets. Offensively, it may shock you to see Ethan running the point, but the ball will be in his hands, often in the half-court as the primary facilitator. He is a high IQ guy who can score when needed, but look for Ethan's impact to be across the stat sheet.     Grayson Brower (6'3/G/'25)   Grayson is the Yellowjackets' Swiss army knife, giving the team a little bit of everything. He rebounds, makes hustle plays, defends, scores, is vocal, and is just the guy Coach Murphy can depend on to play without an ego and the need for certain things, yet give every possession everything he has on both ends. His role will continue to grow throughout the year, and hopefully, by the end of the year, he will be the one player that the Yellowjackets need on the floor playing heavy minutes.   When asked about two players who will be key pieces of the puzzle for his team this season that were not listed in the top three above, Coach Murphy quickly mentioned the following two players:   <ol type="1"> <li class="has-medium-font-size">Zach Patrick (2024)</li>   <li class="has-medium-font-size">[player_tooltip player_id='2257738' first='JP' last='McDonald'] (6'4/G|F/'24)</li> </ol>     Zach played limited minutes as a junior but will be a guy who surprises many people this year as he has had a solid off-season, has come back better in all aspects, and is ready to make a huge contribution to the team's success. JP played JV as a junior but is poised to have a great senior season. Now, many may be thinking, how can a guy who played JV his junior year be a player his coach believes is a key piece to his team's success. From Coach Murphy's vantage point, JP was able to get huge minutes on JV, sharpening his skills. He has really put in work during the off-season as he has put on twenty pounds and now stands 6'4".   Coach Murphy says his squad will be similar to what they have always looked like, and that is a team that plays up-tempo when available, very unselfish, and a team that really shares the ball. He wants his team to continue to be stingy defensively while trying to create offensive opportunities with their play on defense. What will be interesting with the Yellowjackets is seeing who will be the starting five, as they return zero starters and really only one player with varsity experience. One way you can look at the Yellowjackets this year is that this will be somewhat of a rebuilding year, but you can best believe that Coach Murphy will have his guys up and ready for the challenge.     When asked what it would take for his team to make a deep playoff run, make it to the Final Four, or even win the State Championship, he told me his guys must take it one day at a time. He wants his guys to focus on building experience and developing depth from the bench. He believes that if his guys can concentrate on winning each day, whether pre-season, practice or a game, they can build towards talking about what happens at the end of the season.

McGill-Toolen Yellowjackets