Star-Studded Battle; Thousand Oaks Lancers vs Westlake Warriors

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Friday 1/26, a highly anticipated rubber match went down between Thousand Oaks High School and Westlake High School. 2 weeks prior, the Lancers won convincingly by 13 points on their home floor. You could tell from before tip, the roughly thousand people at Westlake High wanted vengeance. The crowd was rowdy and ready to go, making this a memorable entertaining game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thousand Oaks started off hot, whipping the ball around offensively and making every shot a contested one for Westlake defensively. [player_tooltip player_id='1630649' first='Trent' last='MacLean'] and Elias Chin were starting to look like they might be too much for Westlake again. Halfway through the first half, with Kayden Elsokary in foul trouble, it looked like their was a chance TO was going to run away with it. After Coach Kegley called a timeout in a second quarter, the wheels started turning for the Warriors as a last minute 3 from [player_tooltip player_id='1674773' first='Austin' last='Maziasz'] gave them the lead back, with the Warriors going into halftime up 33-30. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2nd half became the Danny Bao show, a player not necessarily known for his offensive game, stepped up big time in a game he will never forget. He was on fire, and his team and the crowd were loving it. The Warriors took advantage of the lack of defensive pressure on Bao and sent him to work, leading him to scoring a team high 20p and 6r. Westlake was able to stop Chin and MacLean, closing the game with a final score of 65-60. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This was a game, as a fan, I'd love to watch every day. A rivalry of 2 schools in the same city, lasting decades, and it seems to be as juicy as ever. Below, I breakdown some of the standout players from this game. Some of these players I assume will have great careers even after their high school days are over. This was a game to remember for me and I bet it was for the players below as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Danny Bao","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'4u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"77245","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Westlake High School","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"To emphasize what I had said above, this game was the Danny Bao show. First possession of the game, he caught the ball in the corner while his defender was sagging off about 8 feet standing just outside the paint. Bao hesitated, made a couple shot fakes to see what the defender would do. The defender didn't budge. Bao put up the shot... swish. From then on out, his confidence grew while he was realizing it was his night, as he was getting whatever he wanted. Everyone in the gym knew it was his night. Bao has consistently been the 'glue-guy' for this Warriors team. Normally asked to guard the oppositions best player and be a grinder on the boards. On this night, he did it all. Big props to a game saving performance from Danny Bao.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"Elias Chin","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"6'4u0022","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"77246","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"Thousand Oaks High School","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_1_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"At the high school level, it is rare to see the Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Tony Parker type of players. High assist, low turnover lead playmakers. Elias is a unicorn to me in that sense. You can tell from the tip that he is the player that will control the pace and tempo of the game. He can play at whatever speed his team needs, slowing it down and letting the offense run through him in the half court, or getting rebounds and outlets and pushing the pace in transition. He has a special mind for the game and his athletic gifts give him even more to control the game. As impressed as I was on the court, I was more impressed to hear Chin is a valedictorian candidate at Thousand Oaks High as well. To add to his resume of him being a unicorn the court, the extra stat in his off court game leads me to believe he has a bright future, on the court and off.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["1674773"],"_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":"[player_tooltip player_id='1674773' first='Austin' last='Maziasz'] passion is something that is a massive catalyst to his teams success. The Warriors feed off of his demeanor and charisma on the floor. Sometimes, his motor can push his opponent to a level that they can't handle like he can. Maziasz stays composed while using his passion to play big against opponents and be a threat on both ends. Having to guard 6'9 [player_tooltip player_id='1630649' first='Trent' last='MacLean'] in this game, he continued to be a pest, forcing turnovers and making life tough for MacLean. Maziasz is having an all-county season and I expect him to earn high honors again this season.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["1630649"],"_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":"A standout anytime you watch him, [player_tooltip player_id='1630649' first='Trent' last='MacLean'] is a problem for any team any time he is on the court. The lanky big man uses his quick feet and agility to be a high level shot creator on offense. With a well-trained handle, Trent has shown the ability to create his own shot at will. Defensively he uses his high IQ to be an outstanding on ball and help defender. MacLean will have his choice of D1 schools, as he already has some big schools knocking on his door. The genes clearly run in the family. I'm excited to watch this young man play for years to come.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_4_player_details_player_name":"Dante Deshautelle","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_4_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_4_player_details_height":"6'2u0022","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_4_player_details_position":"77248","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_4_player_details_school":"Westlake High School","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_4_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_4_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_4_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"Dante impressed me by doing something a lot of young players tend to struggle with at this level. Deshautelle has had an amazing season, becoming one of the star players on this Westlake team, but the 1st half did not go his way. Jumpers just rimming out all over the place, leading him to halftime frustrated with his play, but as soon as the 2nd half started, he knew he had to change up his game plan. Dante became even hungrier, instead of looking for his patented jumper, he knew putting the ball on the deck was going to be what his team needed to take home the victory. It felt like every time the Warriors needed a big play, he was the one getting to the cup at will, realizing what his team needed most at that moment. It was a mature moment for Dante in that second half, not keeping his head up or getting discouraged, as he led the charge in the 2nd half getting to the cup with ease, boosting the moral of his teammates immediately. I am not sure if this game ends up in the win column for Westlake if Dante doesn't keep his head up and persevere through some struggles. High class and high level adjustment from the young wing.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65b899ae81154"} /-->