Semifinals Stars at Tournament of Champions

The Friday boys action at the Tournament of Champions started off with two of Oklahoma's most prestigious programs met for the first time in a decade. With a nightcap between Class 4A juggernaut Weatherford and Class 6A defending champs Owasso.   5:30 PM Semifinal   Booker T Washington 65   Millwood 66   8:30 PM Semifinal.   Owasso.   Weatherford.    Game high 23 points. Attacked mismatches on the block. Finishing is night and day from last year, big improvement and growth. Unbothered by contact, acrobatic finishes thanks to hangtime and long arms. Consistent signs of full offensive growth to go along with scrapping around the bucket. Hit a tough, one legged stepback in the mid-range. Also casually buried a stepback three after pushing it off a defensive rebound. Remains one of the great defenders in the state. His reward for good work, is a new challenge in matching up with a former AAU teammate (Montonanti) tomorrow.     Physical, big body guard, who produced 11 point and 10 rebound double double. Made the biggest play of the night when he was the one to coral a hot potato loose ball and score the game winning bucket. Along with crashing the glass and scoring at the rim, hit in the mid-range too. Good upside player, who has found and is thriving in a role for the Falcons.     Even in the fast paced game, Mitchell still looked like pure dynamite. Fast and strong, had moments where he weaved through opposing defenders and took contact at the rim with ease. His springy hops were evident in the game high 14 rebounds he pulled down. Finished with 13 points, as after a strong scoring first half he cooled off a bit. Handed out 4 assists, with improved vision and unselfish play. But will need to refine some of the passing as he did have some tough turnovers. Still, strong all performance from one of Oklahoma's elite sophomores who is just starting to scratch the surface of his potential.     The box score said the skilled Millwood guard only had 11 points but every one of them felt much more impactful. Every time Booker T threaten to pull away and control the game, it seemed like it was Clay in particular who would respond with a big three. Friday night was clear evidence that he's thriving in his role as a floor spacer and timely scorer for one of the very best teams in Oklahoma.     Even in a fast paced game of chaos, Harris' steady presence was still felt. It's been that way since he stepped into the starting lineup as a sophomore. Does a good job of using his natural strength to be a steady ball handler, and is a tank at the rim. One addition to his game this year has been a more consistent jumper. Even with the loss on Friday, he is enjoying a strong start to his senior year. And his presence will be crucial to Booker T Washington's State Title dreams. Finished with a team high 16 points.     Friday's contest for Owasso was stuck in the mud for much of the game. It was the speedy Freeman who helped dig them out of the mud. Quick and fast, he turned into a change of pace guard which injected some unpredictability into the Owasso attack. He did this by pushing it ahead and making the right pitches to teammate.   The biggest sequence came in the third quarter where he snatched a rebound, pushed it and found his teammate Williams for a three. The next possession, it Freeman in the corner draining a three. Seems to be finding a good balance between being a floor general, and knowing when to inject unpredictability by pushing the tempo. His timely scoring throughout the second half was crucial. Finished with 15 points and even though he was often the smallest player on the floor, 7 rebounds.     A few years ago when Weatherford was breaking onto the scene as one of the top squads in Oklahoma, they would often rely on a 1-3-1 zone. Which even brought out national attention after one game ended 4-2. While they still do break out the zone at times, because it's hard for teams to deal with their sheer size, the days of Eagles siting back and only playing zone is a thing of the past. And that's in large part due to the effort Sage has made as an on ball defender.   The recent Pitt State commitment was given one of the toughest covers in the state, and he thrived. Great one on one defense, even with left on an island. Didn't bite on ballfakes, just stayed tall and moved his feet. Played physical to deny entries, never backed down or flinched. Outstanding effort overall along with the one on one defense. Even sprinting and going headfirst into the baseline in efforts to chase down a looseball. Playing defense like that on elite perimeter scorers is a sure ticket to early playing time at the next level.

The Friday boys action at the Tournament of Champions started off with two of Oklahoma's most prestigious programs met for the first time in a decade. With a nightcap between Class 4A juggernaut Weatherford and Class 6A defending champs Owasso.