Friday Filmroom’s Heroes: December 15th

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This edition of Saturday morning "film" review takes a look at a huge Class 5A clash between Guthrie and Carl Albert. Then a double OT classic between Northwest Classen and Yukon.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Guthrie 56 Carl Albert 48</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Heading into the season, Carl Albert was expected to be among Class 5A's elite. While under a new coach, but with an experienced group of guards, Guthrie was a bit of an unknown. The Bluejays entered the contest with a 6-0 mark, that included winning a tournament at Community Christian last weekend. They had taken care of business but lacked a signature win. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the first 16 minutes, it looked like it would be regular service with Carl Albert weathering runs and keeping Guthrie at arm's length. But the Bluejays started the second half with a 13-0 run and would take a double digit lead into the final frame. A desperate push from the Titans, made it a bit nervy late but Guthrie would head back north undefeated and with a real statement of intent going into winter break. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Northwest Classen 79 Yukon 77 Double OT</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Early district play has not been kind to either squad, with only one win in district play between them heading into Friday night's contest. But based on the fast paced, back and forth contest, both teams have room for optimism heading into next semester. The Millers and Knights traded leads often, with neither team taking a firm grasp on the game. But in the fourth quarter, NW Classen finally started to pull away and it looked like they would record a road win. A late push by Yukon, fueled by the heroics of senior Jaylen Thomas ended with the guard tying the game with a good transition take to the rim with two seconds left. Meaning it would take overtime to separate the evenly matched squads.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The extra four minutes mirrored regulation, with a fast paced frame and also ended with the teams deadlocked. With four more minutes to play in a second overtime, and legs likely heavily as both teams leaned on their starters, Yukon would slow it down. In the closing seconds of that cagey affair, junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2273093' first='Brandon' last='Butler'] would be the hero with a score at the rim to secure the win and improved Northwest Classen to 4-4 on the year and 2-3 in district play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Performers</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1293603"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Sometimes when players do the dirty work, they don't get the glory. The gritty two sport star for the Bluejays got both in his squad's big win. He never backed down against a bigger Titans squad, seemingly always around the ball for rebounds on both ends.  Benford also finished well around the basket, with contact never seeming to bother him. The senior's role as the muscle, who plays bigger than his size is a key part of the soaring Bluejays' early season success.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["2223689"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Hopkins was in attack mode from the jump, and after an impressive first quarter it looked like he was ready to put together another 20+ point performance like his Tuesday game vs Elgin.  But he was quiet in a slowed down second quarter, then foul trouble hampered him in the third quarter. During Carl Albert's desperation push, he did record a steal and drained a tough deep three.   With the way he knifed through the defense to score at the rim, and his flashes of defensive instincts, there's an argument to be made that the development of the sophomore into consistent production could be the biggest factor in the Titans meeting the high expectations that exist for the program.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["1293597"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"If Benford was the heart for the Bluejays around the basket, Morgan was the heart for the rest of the court.  He's a ballhawking and table setting lead guard, who especially shined as a havoc causer all over the court during Guthrie's huge third quarter run. Fitting for a team that operated with unselfishness, Morgan's best contributions on the offensive end came with good transition passing and generally setting up his teammates with good looks.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["1807983"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Rose was a perimeter threat throughout the game and consistently made the Millers play from beyond the arc. In the final frame, he got on the ball more and made productive, aggressive plays for himself and his teammates. At one point he u0022droppedu0022 a defender with a dribble move, then with the disruption that caused set up a teammate for an open three.rnrnAlong with his scoring heroics, the athletic scoring guard often popped up with big plays on the defensive end in the form of blocked shots. From making defensive plays in transition, good defensive rotations, to contesting shots on the perimeter, Rose left his mark all over the game on both ends of the court.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["1293621"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"The controlled senior guard had spurts of looking unstoppable. He got Yukon off to a strong start in the first with trademark Snow moves. Including drawing contact from behind on a jumper, to earn a trip to the line to go along with his make. An amazing tear drop floater, and some on the money lead passing to teammates cutting to the hoop.  Snow's big first half continued in the second quarter, as a flurry of deep threes and more creation for teammates closed out the first 16 minutes.rnrnWhile he was quieter in the second half, he was a key part of the fourth quarter flurry that forced overtime.  Instead of forcing threes early, he kept getting to the rim. Where he would score himself, or kick it out to teammates. His smart play helped Yukon extend the game and eventually force overtime.rnrnu0026nbsp;rnrnu0026nbsp;","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_5_player":["2273093"],"_player_evaluations_5_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"Butler thrived in the fast past game, where he was able to show off his great footwork and feel on drives. Or rifle passes ahead that benefited his teammates. While it was often transition playmaking, he did have a great find on a halfcourt drive late in the contest. His jumper was a bit hit or miss on the night, as when his feet were set and the beneficiary it was often going on. But some of his off the dribble attempts looked unbalanced.rnrnIn the final moments of regulation, he missed a pair of free throws that would've secured the win. But he battled through the adversity of that with a great, clutch take to the rim to win it in double overtime.","_player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_6_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_6_player_details_player_name":"Jaylen Thomas","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_6_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_6_player_details_height":"6'1u0022","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_6_player_details_position":"77248","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_6_player_details_school":"Yukon","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_6_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_6_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_6_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"The second part of Yukon's quality one-two punch, Thomas could not be kept out of the paint. His combination of footwork, pump fakes and more allowed him to often avoid defenders and score efficiently around the rim.  While best as a driver, he did make the defense pay when left open from deep. And even looked comfortable hitting an elbow line jumper when ran off the three point line.","_player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_7_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_7_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_7_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_7_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_7_player_details_player_name":"Quency McVay","_player_evaluations_7_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_7_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_7_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_7_player_details_height":"6'0u0022","_player_evaluations_7_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_7_player_details_position":"77248","_player_evaluations_7_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_7_player_details_school":"Northwest Classen","_player_evaluations_7_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_7_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_7_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_7_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_7_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_7_evaluation":"Northwest Classen isn't the biggest squad, so the role McVay plays as a junkyard dawg type is crucial for them to be competitive in Class 6A. He plays with great energy and was often found doing the dirty work around the rim. But another aspect stood out, separating him from similar energetic players.  When driving and attacking, he never looked rushed or out of control. His controlled finishing around the rim helped him rack up crucial points all night for the Knights.","_player_evaluations_7_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":8,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-657df93bb8921"} /-->