Liberty at West Point Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Thursday, Nov 21st I attended the 6A match-up of West Point hosting Liberty. Liberty hoisted the 6A trophy last year so it was a good early test for the home team to see where they stood. [player_tooltip player_id='1591734' first='TJ' last='Harris'] (transfer) and [player_tooltip player_id='2282925' first='Jacob' last='Hunter'] (inj) did not play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> I checked out all three levels with Freshman, JV and varsity.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Here were the standouts on the night&nbsp;</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Freshman Game (25+) Liberty wins&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2640541' first='Jason' last='Clancy'] Liberty&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A fluid forward who plays both forward spots for them. He is currently a power forward but shows a ton of upside to becoming a wing. He will score with offensive rebound put backs, he will step out and shoot it from the perimeter and had an impressive steal and a dunk on the break that caught everyone's attention.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2640542' first='Jordan' last='Brock'] Liberty</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A high IQ and highly skilled wing forward. He is a catch and shoot type of three point shooter who has a very quick release. He is always shot ready and lets it fly. He can also give a shot fake and drive by and score with the floater game.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2554653' first='Jamir' last='Malone'] Liberty</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A strong and stocky shooting guard can score from inside and out. He can hit the catch three with a quick release and he is a long strider who blows by his defenders. He is very athletic and strong and had one alley-oop attempt showing off his bounce. He is a sneaky good passer and will dig in on defense.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2640543' first='Josiah' last='Sumare'] West Point</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A strong power forward with a big base to utilize. He will rebound and block shots and is very skilled around the basket to score. He can shoot it from mid-range and with reverse layups using his soft hands.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Junior Varsity Game (51-48 West Point won)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2640544' first='King' last='Kalikilwa'] West Point&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The younger brother of [player_tooltip player_id='2339084' first='Samuel' last='Kalikilwa'] is also talented. He, like Samuel, is a top-notch defender. He has quick hands and plays the passing lanes and collects a bunch of steals. He actually had a nice block inside and affected the game with his defense. He scores getting downhill with counter moves, he has the floater game and he made a clutch three in their win.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2552780' first='Nemiah' last='Estes'] West Point</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A scoring guard who is a natural slasher with a quick first step. He is very fast in transition and shows nice body control to score around the inside defenders. He smartly plays off of two-feet and shows upside.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1758558' first='Trey' last='Barker'] Liberty&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A strong wing who comes with some athleticism. He has a quick first step to get to the basket and shows advanced body control to finish in traffic around taller players. He takes contact well with his frame and rebounds the ball at a good clip in his area.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Varsity Game (69-61 Liberty won)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1364929' first='Jackson' last='Hunter'] Liberty&nbsp;(Pictured)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The standout of the night was Jackson. He showed off in the first half with 17 points and had a game high 23. He gets to the line with a nice handle and his catch three is one of the best and quickest releases in the AIA. He had a nice ball fake into a pull-up after a spin dribble. Once he gets to his spots and rises up from mid-range, it is two points. He rebounds well in his area and knows when to take a game over.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2279895' first='Stephan' last='Miller'] Liberty</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A strong framed shooting guard is a two-way player. He likes to drive by his defender using his stronger body and great size for position and absorbs the contact to score or gets to the foul line. He collects steals in bunches and he got hot in the fourth quarter from the field with a top of the key three and jumpers.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2628981' first='Mark' last='Duguid'] Liberty&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The glue guy for the Lions is easily Mark. He seems to live in the paint and grab every rebound in and out of his area. He grabs steals and scores it effectively around the basket and made actually seven important free throws Thursday night.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2257790' first='Nicholas' last='Topolosek'] Liberty&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A scoring point guard has a stronger upper body than a year ago. He has some athleticism to rebound for position and he is a quick driver and can score the bucket with a bump using his frame. He often will get himself to the free throw line or score it.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1736172' first='Keegan' last='Colter'] Liberty</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A bigger guard who came up clutch Thursday night. He hit big shot after big shot. He is a catch three point shooter but he can also get downhill in traffic and takes contact well using his size. He uses his height and length to defend on the perimeter.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1758925' first='Vincent' last='Busalacchi'] Liberty</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The strong and highly skilled thicker wing got the start last night with a couple not able to play yet. He rebounds well in his area and he can shoot it to spread the floor out for his teammates. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2339084' first='Samuel' last='Kalikilwa'] West Point&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A stock riser for me is a true two-way shooting guard. He hounds his opponents with a strong frame and collects steals and hustles for rebounds. He may have had close to 15 rebounds on Thursday night. He is shooting the ball better with a quick release from the line off the catch or pull-up from mid. He will drive and kick it to a shooter and block shots plus closes out quickly on D. He had 22 points.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1875723' first='Edgar' last='Hardwick'] West Point</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An athletic wing who loves getting downhill in traffic and will score and-1's in traffic. He rebounds well in his area and he is a plus athlete. He is very quick with his first step and is so hard to keep out of the lane. He has an obvious big motor to compete and scored&nbsp;16 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2466738' first='Dewey' last='Henry'] West Point</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The future point guard on the roster is Henry. He is a tough shot taker and maker. He has a very tight with an elusive handle. He comes with real shift and he is very quick to get to the basket. He made a couple incredible passes that led to fouls or buckets. He scores from all levels, even though he was a little off from deep, but the game is there for him to be successful for four years in the West Valley.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1876304' first='MJ' last='Baldwin'] West Point</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A quick scoring point guard can dime his teammates. He has a tight handle and confidence with the ball. He can score with pull-ups off the dribble from mid-range and get to the basket plus shoot it from deep. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2339090' first='Trevion' last='Ziaire Turman'] West Point</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A high motored wing forward is the Dragons glue player. He rebounds well in and out of his area as a plus athlete. He comes with some length and decent size. He made a couple nice blocks from behind and had some alters. He is very good in transition but anything he gives them on offense is gravy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->