Sandra Day O'Connor at Desert Vista Standouts

On Friday, Nov 22nd I attended the 6A match-up of Sandra Day O'Connor traveling about an hour to take on Desert Vista. Both teams have OPEN aspirations on their mind and it was a good early test. DV has two forwards who weren't eligible yet with the transfer portal.   I checked out all three levels with Freshman, JV and varsity.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Here were the standouts on the night </h2>   Freshman Game (63-54 SDO won)   [player_tooltip player_id='2641713' first='Jayden' last='Davis'] Sandra Day O'Connor    A two-way combo guard is tough. He scores it with put backs in the lane with quick springs and super long arms. He takes long strides to the basket and can euro step to score. He can hit the three off the catch and he is a good on-ball defender. He scored 21 points  He also plays JV.   [player_tooltip player_id='2641714' first='Hudson' last='Hancock'] Sandra Day O'Connor   A fluid power forward is a good runner with sneaky bounce. He will score with offensive rebound put backs and uses his easy athleticism to rebound with a big motor. He plays way taller then his size suggests.         [player_tooltip player_id='2641716' first='Tanner' last='Hawkins'] Sandra Day O'Connor    A combo forward can play both positions. He can score with drives inside with either hand and will jump stop and rise up with hook shots. He is a plus rebounder as he boxes out well. He will block a shot in his area and he is a sneaky good passer.     [player_tooltip player_id='2641715' first='Canon' last='Dunn'] Sandra Day O'Connor   A combo guard who is a good passer and can score. He has a pretty shooting stroke from the three point line. He has quick hands to collect steals and throws passes up ahead to his teammates with a high IQ.   [player_tooltip player_id='2641718' first='Chad' last='Suell'] Desert Vista   The Thunder's top freshman on this night was Suell. He is a long and lean guard who changes speeds well. He handles the ball well and has a nice floater game. He shoots the three off the catch and can get hot quickly.    Junior Varsity Game (62-41 SDO won)   [player_tooltip player_id='2156657' first='Liam' last='Pavey'] Sandra Day O'Connor    A true combo guard who can make plays and score. He made a few no-look passes perfectly in stride and racked up a bunch of assists with a high feel. He has a polished mid-range pull-up and knows how to changes speeds and blow by his defender to the basket. He is very calm and controlled and will euro step down the lane. Stock up.   [player_tooltip player_id='2641719' first='Jaxson' last='Sullivan'] Sandra Day O'Connor   A point guard with a very confident handle and good pace to his game. He will drive and kick it and find his teammates in stride. He can score with a jump crow hop into a reverse layup and get himself to the foul line.    [player_tooltip player_id='2641723' first='Xander' last='Mitchell'] Sandra Day O'Connor    A wing forward who is built like a Mack truck. He is a plus athlete with a man's body for a freshman. He has some bounce and will rebound and block shots in his area. He will literally outrace his opponents up the court and plays best around the basket.      Carter Glass SG 5'8 2027 Sandra Day O'Connor   A scoring guard is a true specialist. He will rattle in three off the catch one by one. Once he is older he will play off of their top players in the program and be a floor spacer.   Varsity Game (98-71 SDO won)   [player_tooltip player_id='1333492' first='Michael' last='Simcoe'] Sandra Day O'Connor     The star of the night belonged to Michael. He had an impressive stat line of 31 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists and two blocks. He showed off his full arsenal of skills with mid-range jumpers, deep threes, alley-oop dunks, advanced body control finishes thru the contact and reverse layups. What also stands out is his timing to make plays for his teammates with his passing.     [player_tooltip player_id='1217315' first='TayVion' last='Wilson'] Sandra Day O'Connor   Wilson had a big game with 24 points. He scores it with quick driving layups, multiple and-1's in traffic thru contact, high level pull-ups off the dribble and catch threes with a super quick release. He also found teammates in stride with seven assists.    [player_tooltip player_id='1490240' first='Colton' last='Watson'] Sandra Day O'Connor    A bigger lead guard or point forward type filled up the stat sheet with 10+ points, 5+ assists mixed in with multiple steals, blocks and rebounds. He showed an improving three ball off the catch, drive bys thru traffic using his stronger upper body and dunks. He also defends the 1-4 for the Eagles.    [player_tooltip player_id='1697292' first='Rylan' last='Parsley'] Sandra Day O'Connor   A long, tall and lean bigger guard or wing forward. He has one of the easier strokes from the three in the class and a quick release. He rebounds well and will throw it down way above the rim with alley-oop dunks. He is also a sneaky good passer.    [player_tooltip player_id='1986858' first='John' last='Simcoe'] Sandra Day O'Connor   A strong power forward is slowly becoming a specialist for the Eagles. He has a very confident shooting stroke from the three point line and loves the corners. He rebounds well in his area and brings some senior leadership to the court.   [player_tooltip player_id='1364143' first='Landon' last='Wilson'] Sandra Day O'Connor   The top guard off the bench is definitely Wilson. He shoots it very easily from the three point line and made multiple extra passes giving up his own shot for a better shot. He also is scrappy on the ball defensively.    [player_tooltip player_id='1697293' first='Ryker' last='Hughes'] Sandra Day O'Connor   The top bench power forward comes in and is very active. He rebounds well in and out of his area with a high motor. He can score it in the paint with a quick spin move and makes smart decisions, as he plays within himself.    [player_tooltip player_id='1676631' first='Nico' last='Velez'] Desert Vista    An undersized scoring point guard is tough and fearless. He will often blow by his defenders with his super tight handle. He uses his body to shield a defender in the paint and has a polished floater game. His skill from the three off the catch or pull is vastly improving. He had a team high 20 points. Stock up!    [player_tooltip player_id='2146175' first='LJ' last='Diamond'] Desert Vista    An athletic lead guard is super quick to get downhill. He is just as fast as anyone in the state on the break. He takes a bump well with his stronger frame to score or often finds himself at the free throw line. He has good court vision and rebounds well for a guard.    [player_tooltip player_id='1463230' first='Tyus' last='Thomas'] Desert Vista   One of the top pure point guards in the state sees the court with next level court vision. He can throw teammates open and score it. He has the off the dribble three, floater game, mid-range pull-up, blow by speed and a beautiful tear drop he can utilize.     [player_tooltip player_id='2039513' first='DJ' last='Spencer'] Desert Vista   One of the tougher undersized forwards in the class. He is polishing up his jumper from mid-range and he gets himself to the foul line often with strong takes in traffic. He has nasty spin moves in the lane and comes with a multitude of ball fakes.   [player_tooltip player_id='1950115' first='Alex' last='Taylor'] Desert Vista   An athletic wing forward does a lot of little things for the Thunder. He defends multiple positions and will rebound in and out of his area. He scores it on the break and will euro step down the lane.

On Friday, Nov 22nd I attended the 6A match-up of Sandra Day O'Connor traveling about an hour to take on Desert Vista. Both teams have OPEN aspirations on their mind and it was a good early test. DV has two forwards who weren't eligible yet with the transfer portal.