Campo Verde at Highland: Varsity Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thursday, December 7th I attended the 5A&nbsp;<strong>Campo Verde Coyotes</strong>&nbsp;at the 6A&nbsp;<strong>Highland Hawks</strong>&nbsp;freedom game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams won the State Championship last year for their respective conferences with many seniors. These two teams have younger talent and both teams are kind of hitting the reset button but still have a lot of talent. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>75-50 Highland won.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Here were the Varsity Standouts:</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2291974' first='Nick' last='Reber'] Highland (Pictured)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A gifted combo guard can score it a varsity of ways. He scores it with pull-up step backs, catch triples with a quick release, he crosses over into open space and can score or make a play. He has multiple counter moves in the post to score and will fall away. Once he gets some steam to the basket, he is very hard from scoring in the lane and doesn't mind the contact with his thicker frame. His FT stroke is almost automatic.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1735325' first='Walker' last='Stum'] Highland</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A physical guard rebounds unusually well for his size in heavy traffic. He loves getting downhill using his great upper body strength. He plays the passing lanes which often lead to layups. He can also hit the catch three with space and time.&nbsp;Stock up!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1735336' first='Michael' last='Johnson'] Highland</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A skilled combo guard can pull-up from mid-range and he is a sneaky good passer into the post and will drive and kick it. He has a very quick shooting release from the perimeter and seems very comfortable from mid-range but will hit the three.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2291975' first='Ty' last='Crandall'] Highland</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A quick guard is another freshman starter already. He has a clean shooting stroke from all levels. He has deep three point range off the catch or dribble and will rattle them off when left open from the parking lot.&nbsp;He uses a quick burst to get downhill and score on reverse layups with his left or right hand.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1734007' first='Talon' last='Knollmiller'] Highland&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A highly skilled combo guard comes off the bench to score. He can shoot it from the perimeter and has good footwork inside to score. He is instant offense off the bench and he looked like he grew two inches.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1734008' first='Travin' last='Merrill'] Highland&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The power forward for the Hawks is a great rebounder for his size. He has broad shoulders and longer arms. He plays the passing lanes well and he will blocks shots in his area.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1124550' first='Cohen' last='Ferguson'] Campo Verde</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The team leader directs the offense during the game but he is the primary scorer. He creates his own offense off the dribble. He is very calm with mid-range jumpers and step backs off of his defenders plus deep triples. He constantly changes speeds and uses a crossover into a pull-up often.&nbsp;He will rattle off threes if left open and he is a physical on-ball defender and a good rebounder for his size.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1986854' first='Brandon' last='Curtis'] Campo Verde</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The scoring point guard of the team is Curtis. He scores it from all levels with step backs off the dribble with high elevation from mid to the three. He has good range in his shooting and has a pure stroke from the foul line. It is hard to defend him since his mid-range jumper is so clean and he is quick to get to the basket.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2291976' first='Collin' last='Kvamme'] Campo Verde</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An undersized scoring lead guard has a clip with range. He is deceptively quick and gets to the basket with his dominant left hand. He is a smart passer who will get more and more playing time with his play. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->