2024 Liberty Tip-Off Tournament Day Two Recap + Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2024-25 High School Basketball Season is here! My second stop of the season was Liberty High School in Pickens County, South Carolina for the 2024 Liberty Tip-Off Tournament featuring Liberty High School, Green Upstate Charter School, Greer Middle College, Crescent High School, Rosman High School (NC), West-Oak High School, Pickens High School, and Carolina Academy. It was a fun day of action, a great appetizer for feast week, and a great way to get the 2024-25 Season started!&nbsp;<strong>Check out some notable performances, game recaps, and the six standout prospects from Friday Night's action:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Final Scores:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>West-Oak 54, Rosman (NC) 18</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pickens 39, Carolina 33</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Liberty 64, Green Upstate 60</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Greer Middle College 81, Crescent 55</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Notable Performers: </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2642289' first='Harry' last='Burgess']</strong> (West-Oak) - 27 Points, 9 Rebounds + 5 Steals</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lane Respass</strong> (Pickens) - 7 Points + 4 Assists</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2459702' first='Kendrick' last='Jackson'] (Liberty) - 39 Points, 8 Rebounds + 6 Steals</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2642292' first='Caiden' last='Butler']</strong> (Green Upstate) - 30 Points, 8 Rebounds, 4 Assists + 4 Steals</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2346058' first='Braylen' last='Silver'] (Greer Middle College) - 19 Points + 5 Assists</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2642295' first='Jeremiah' last='Wardlaw']</strong> (Crescent) - 7 Points + 8 Assists</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>West-Oak Impressive in Day Two Opener</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first game up on Saturday at the Liberty Tip-Off Tournament was a battle between West-Oak High School and Rosman High School. Although in two different states, the two schools are located just 50 miles apart and were pretty even in terms of last season's success. However, the Warriors looked to be much improved. Led by Sophomore Guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2642289' first='Harry' last='Burgess']</strong>, West-Oak opened the first quarter on a 12-0 run and the second quarter on a 9-0 run forcing 18 first-half turnovers. Burgess was terrific, scoring at all three levels and doing his part on the defensive end to help boost his squad. The Warriors had success running a 1-3-1 Zone and prevented Rosman from ever establishing an offensive rhythm in the blowout loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pickens Edges Carolina in Consolation Bracket</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the second loser's bracket matchup, Pickens and Carolina played a tightly contested affair. It was a more old-fashioned, slow style of pace and neither team made a three in the first half as just 24 total points were scored. Trojan big man <strong>Neperian Harris</strong> had some success in the paint while <strong>Cameron Blakely</strong> caused chaos on defense in transition. <strong>Lane Respass</strong>, a calm and composed figure in the Blue Flame backcourt helped balance the flow of the game in the second half connecting their offense well. However, in the fourth quarter, <strong>Gavin Mock</strong> stepped up off the bench scoring all 7 of his points in the final period to help propel Pickens to a win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jackson and Butler Battle in Thriller</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The most entertaining game of the day came in the first semifinal as the hosts faced off with Green Upstate Charter. It featured a terrific head-to-head battle between [player_tooltip player_id='2459702' first='Kendrick' last='Jackson'] and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2642292' first='Caiden' last='Butler']</strong> who combined for 69 points, each scoring at least half of their team's points. In the first half, the Owls got more from their supporting cast as <strong>Sean Garrett</strong> and <strong>Chris Campbell</strong> stepped up with perimeter shooting. But, after Jackson shrugged off a slow start with 3 straight threes and the Red Devils opened the second half with a 12-4 run, Liberty controlled most of the remainder of the game. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2721013' first='Logan' last='Smith']</strong> was a man on a mission for the home team, doing all of the dirty work on both ends of the floor and putting up 14 Rebounds, 5 Steals, and 3 Blocks - all of which felt extremely crucial.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Blazers Balanced Effort Enough to Defeat Tigers</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the final game of the day, Greer Middle College went up against Crescent High School for the second spot in Monday's Championship Game. Although it took the Blazers' Star Man [player_tooltip player_id='2346058' first='Braylen' last='Silver'] a little bit to get going, I was impressed with how many scoring options GMC had. On the night, they got double figures from <strong>Derrick Durham</strong>, <strong>Nicholas Dyenson</strong>, and <strong>Griffin McClain</strong>, along with Silver. The Blazers shared the ball well, were tough on defense, and knocked down several open looks from behind the arc. For the Tigers, they have a couple of nice young pieces in Sophomore <strong>Max Locke</strong> who was successful in the paint with 11 + 9, Freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2642295' first='Jeremiah' last='Wardlaw']</strong> who ran the show with 8 Assists, and Freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2642298' first='Phillip' last='Deveaux']</strong> who led them in scoring with 12 Points and caused lots of trouble on defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Biggest Standouts</strong>:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2642076,"width":"425px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/Image-11-24-24-at-12.16-AM-2.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/Image-11-24-24-at-12.16-AM-2.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2642076" style="width:425px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2642289' first='Harry' last='Burgess']</strong> (West-Oak) - First up on my list of standouts is <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2642289' first='Harry' last='Burgess']</strong>. The Sophomore Shooting Guard was superb for West-Oak in their win over Rosman on Day Two, putting up 27 Points and 9 Rebounds. He has a very balanced game capable of getting to the rack, finding his spots in the mid-range, and scoring from behind the arc. Although he did convert on two attempts from three, that would probably be the area of his offensive game that could use the most work. Harry is also a tremendous passer and is unselfish when the defense collapses around him. Burgess' production translated to the defensive end too where he forced multiple turnovers playing in a 1-3-1 Zone.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2642078,"width":"425px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/Image-11-24-24-at-12.15-AM.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/Image-11-24-24-at-12.15-AM.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2642078" style="width:425px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2459702' first='Kendrick' last='Jackson']</strong> (Liberty) - Kendrick was terrific playing in his own gym on Saturday. After putting up 21 Points in as many minutes in the Round 1 Win, he did start slow in Game 2. But, he found his rhythm by scoring 5 points in the last 30 seconds of the first quarter, hitting two quick threes in the second quarter, and cracking down on the defensive end. Jackson has terrific instincts when it comes to jumping passing lanes and poking the ball away from a handler. There wasn't much in-between game from Kendrick tonight, but that is because he was so successful scoring in the paint and behind the arc. His high release-point made it tough for defenders to affect and he knocked down 6 threes in the game. Overall, Jackson looks to be on a mission in his Junior Year which will only spell good things for the Red Devils.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2642084,"width":"424px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/Image-11-24-24-at-12.16-AM-1.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/Image-11-24-24-at-12.16-AM-1.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2642084" style="width:424px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2642292' first='Caiden' last='Butler']</strong> (Green Upstate) - Also standing out in the third game was Butler. He is a Sophomore Point Guard Transfer from Riverside High School who has a bright future with good positional size and a knack for putting the ball in the bucket. Caiden showed signs of composure whenever he had the ball in his hands, both under heavy ball pressure on the perimeter and when forcing the defense to collapse on dribble drives. Butler has a nice hesitation move, pure jump-shot stroke, and strength in playing through contact. After putting up 16 first-half points, Caiden had to earn his opportunities in the second half including having all 7 of his points come from the charity stripe in the third quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2642085,"width":"429px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/Image-11-24-24-at-12.16-AM.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/Image-11-24-24-at-12.16-AM.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2642085" style="width:429px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2642295' first='Jeremiah' last='Wardlaw']</strong> (Crescent) - Another new name to monitor coming out of the Liberty Tip-Off Tournament is Crescent's Freshman Point Guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2642295' first='Jeremiah' last='Wardlaw']</strong>. Jeremiah is a terrific talent who is patient, sees the game well, and can make all the passes needed to run an offense. Wardlaw has a nice set of change-of-pace moves that he will use to get past primary defenders and into the paint. He is fundamentally sound in finishing around the rim but showed some creativity too. Jeremiah's game was extremely balanced with 7 Points, 8 Assists, and 2 Steals, even showing good signs with his jump shots despite not making a three.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2346058' first='Braylen' last='Silver'] (Greer Middle College) - Rounding out the standouts from Day Two at the Liberty Tip-Off Tournament is [player_tooltip player_id='2346058' first='Braylen' last='Silver']. I got the chance to speak to Silver at the recent SCBCA Media Day where he was announced a Top 5 Senior in the Class 3A and expressed excitement to be the #1 Option for the Blazers this year. Although it was a balanced attack from GMC on Saturday, it was clear to see who their guy was. The threat of Silver's shooting will keep defenses on edge throughout the season because of his deep range, catch-and-shoot ability, and skill in creating his own shots. Braylen also had success getting downhill and to the free-throw line, finishing with 19 Points in a win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Day Three Matchups:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Monday - 6:00 - 7th Place Game - Rosman (NC) vs Carolina - Aux Gym</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Monday - 6:30 - 3rd Place Game - Green Upstate vs Crescent - Main Gym</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Monday - 7:30 - 5th Place Game - Pickens vs West-Oak - Aux Gym</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Monday - 8:00 - Championship Game - Liberty vs Greer Middle College - Main Gym</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->