Wisconsin Prep Basketball Week One Featured Game

The first week of prep basketball in Wisconsin jumped off and I chose the match-up of St Thomas More vs Carmen Northwest as the feature game of interest that wanted to view the most.   The game took place in the St Thomas More gym and was to feature a few story lines, such as at least three future division one basketball players going at it. [player_tooltip player_id='1142118' first='Amari' last='McCottry'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1203602' first='Sekou' last='Konneh'] on one side versus Dupree Fletcher jr on the other side. The next level of players featured a cast of Javante Edwards, Kenari Poe, [player_tooltip player_id='1893314' first='Evan' last='Oleson'], and then [player_tooltip player_id='2631846' first='Josiah' last='Posey'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2685659' first='Carmelo' last='Fletcher']. Lastly, the style of Carmen NW is something that can be attractive to watch, in that they are an aggressive and possess a get after it style of ball club.   Early going, that style of Carmen's proved to be a huge facture in that they jumped all over St Thomas More to the tune of a big double-digit lead. In part thanks to Dupree Fletcher who just set the tone and went off. St Thomas had no answer to this player, a player that gets to the hoop often by elevating and with a variety of finishes.   St Thomas More was content to play on the parameter even though they had at least three players that were 6'6" or taller to Carmen's zero players above 6'1ish mark. Whether it was Carmen's zone defense or just a miscalculation of how the game was going to go made a big difference in them falling down big early. Then a much-needed time out was called, where a plea to Sekou was made to go to work. Exceptional is an easy descriptive word that comes to mind of what happened next. He scored at will and often with a flare of a put back dunk, He simply was an unstoppable force.   St Thomas More was up by three at the half.   In the second half Dupree Fletcher would not go away and was the single most phrase said by the public address announcer " Dupree Fletcher Jr" repeatedly rang throughout the gym to the tune of 31 total points. Sekou proved to me and hopefully others in attendance that he could be versatile and productive in other facets of the game. He often received the ball in the mid post area and was almost to be described as a floor general from there. On three occasions he found players outside the arch who were waiting and able to hit a timely and much needed three bucket. On another occasion he triggered the offense from the top of the key, in what proved to be a very important sequence of the game. Sekou finish with an unofficial 24 points, controlled the boards, and had just enough assists as needed to get the teammates involved.   In a player that I was a little disappointed in, [player_tooltip player_id='1142118' first='Amari' last='McCottry']'s play left me wanting for more. He spent most of the first half, palms up, talking to the officials or his coach, and not focused on production. In the second half the star player had flashes of brilliance that we all have come to know of if you are a student or fan of his play. On three straight plays in the half, he showed everyone in attendance why he is considered a highly skill and tough finisher. But for most of the night he was content on standing well outside of the three-point arch. where he did not hit a three on the night. He was able to finish with sixteen points for the game as St Thomas' second leading scorer. Counting me as a fan of this prospect I expect him to bounce back and perform at a high rate. If he does the Cavaliers of St Thomas can make a return trip to Madison.   For Carmen, another player that played and made and impact one would have to say it was Javante Edwards. Who I had finishing with a cool 23 points (unofficially).   In the end and coming down the stretch the Cavaliers made fewer mistakes and then hit the majority of their free throws. That proved to be the case in the five-point win at home.     <figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped"> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Sekou-Konneh-1-1.jpeg?1701035453"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Sekou-Konneh-1-1.jpeg?1701035453" alt="" class="wp-image-2282459" /></a></figure> </figure>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Dupree-Fletcher-Jr-rotated.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Dupree-Fletcher-Jr-rotated.jpeg?w=480" alt="" class="wp-image-2282460" /></a></figure>

The first week of prep basketball in Wisconsin jumped off and I chose the match-up of St Thomas More vs Carmen Northwest as the feature game of interest that wanted to view the most.