Shane’s Top Players of the Week – Columbus
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This was my first week of high school hoops in the Central Ohio Area and I had the pleasure of going to 2 highly competitive games. On Tuesday night I watched Westerville South come back and gain their first win…
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Continue ReadingThis was my first week of high school hoops in the Central Ohio Area and I had the pleasure of going to 2 highly competitive games. On Tuesday night I watched Westerville South come back and gain their first win of the season as they beat Dublin Coffman 54-49. Then on Friday night, I was in the gym at Hilliard Bradley as they went to OT and picked up the 56-55 win over Upper Arlington. This article will talk about the Top Players from these games.
In a highly contested game all night and one when Hilliard Bradley trailed a lot, Norris showed his veteran leadership and poise. He is a next-level playmaker and that is what he did all night. He was getting to the lane and making the right play, theater that was getting buckets himself or dishing it to open teammates. He uses his size and strength well when getting to the rim. He understands angles and has a very high IQ. He led the game in scoring with 30 points, more than half of his team. Illinois State got a good one.
McClure was my MVP of the game on Tuesday versus Dublin Coffman because he took the game over and won it. He had only 5 points at halftime and had no real rhythm in the game. In the second half, he started to get his teammates going with some next-level passing. Making the defense gives him less of their focus and once that happens he took advantage. He got a lot of points off of turnovers and around the rim. He got his points around the rim and in transition to see the ball go in the rim. Once that happened he got his rhythm then he took the game over. He was making and-1 threes and breaking ankles. Impressive performance.
Highlights
McClure was extremely impressive in his performance on Tuesday night. He has the unique role of being the point guard who runs the offense but the primary scorer who needs to put the ball in the rim for his team to have a chance to win. I was mainly impressed with his efficacy in getting buckets from all over the floor. He was getting to his spots and making good decisions off of ball screens. He used his body extremely well to create contact and absorb it to score. He made multiple tough shots and moves with the ball. Once Westerville South had all the momentum going into the 4th, McClure showed some real maturity and confidence by coming out and scoring 5 points quickly to halt it and give his team a chance. He does it all for Dublin Coffman and looked good while doing it.
Gregg was phenomenal for Upper Arlington on Friday night. He was very tough and strong. Everything he did was strong. He posted strong, rebounded strong, attacked the rim strong, everything. He was physically dominant in the post. He had a ton of 2nd chance points. He is only listed at 6’2 but was playing like 6’10 with his presence in the paint. They couldn’t keep him off the board. He did this because of his energy and competitive edge. He started the game and ended the game by talking to the opposing team and giving it to them. I loved every minute this kid played.