Stars Come Out In The Villages V. OLSM

Matchups like these don't come around too often. The Villages came north to chilly Michigan for a primetime matchup against Orchard Lake St. Mary's. This was nothing short of 2 of the most talented teams in the country squaring off in an early season tilt. The teams and players definitely didn't disappoint. The Villages earned a hard fought 65-60 win against Orchard Lake St. Mary's. Since there was so much top notch talent in the gym, we're going to break this down into 2 parts, each looking at 5 players combined from the 2 teams.    McKenney seems like a great place to start. The University of Michigan commit showed exactly why he's considered a premier national prospect. McKenney finished with a game high 32 points. He hit at least 7 triples in the game, and I might be missing a couple in my notes. McKenney was lights out with his pull up jumper from beyond the arc. He even hit 1 that was probably through contact. McKenney needed very little space to get his shot off and showed DEEP range. At times it almost looked like he was shooting through defenders. In the second half we saw his game expand. He initiated contact on a lefty drive and drew a foul and also scored off an offensive rebound and put back.     I came away thoroughly impressed with the way Bernard played in the win and his upside as a prospect. It really felt like Bernard was critical to his team's success on Saturday. Based off the game against OLSM, I don't think there's a next level program in the country that this young man can't play at. Bernard is a long and athletic wing with next level size and ball skills. For a young 6-7 prospect, he saw the floor and passed incredibly well, almost looking like a point forward at the top. Bernard sliced through he defense with a bounce pass for an assist and connected on an over the top pass from the free throw line for another assist. Bernard even showed a pretty touch pass for an assist under the rim. He was tough on D as well, showing the use of angles on a trap and using his length to challenge shooters.     Brutus battled through foul trouble in the game, but it was easy to see what all the fuss is about when it comes to him and his game. His size, strength and skill with the ball is an instant mismatch. I actually think that it will continue to be at the next level as well. The best part is that he's intelligent and well versed enough in the game of basketball that he knows how to use his matchups. Brutus has very soft feet and excellent footwork, which really helps him go to the rim and be a north-south player. He showed strong hands, catching a pass in traffic and earning an and 1. Brutus cut baseline, caught the ball and finished with a dunk. Defensively he used his length to close out high on shooters.     The Western Michigan commit is well known for his elite perimeter defense, but it was probably his offensive contributions that stood out the most. OLSM needed him to be aggressive offensively and he rose to that challenge. Barnes showed that he can play with both physicality and finesse. He started off his scoring with a pretty catch and shoot corner triple. Barnes got really active in the 3rd quarter attacking the rim on the left side with bulldog type drives. He powered up finishes through contact and got to the line.     Corbin was lights out in the win on Saturday. He finished the contest with 18 points, catching a bit of a heater mid game. While he hit a few triples, I was impressed with his ability to create and convert from all 3 levels. Basically, Corbin was a constant threat. In addition to his triples, he buried a tough free throw line pull up jumper. Corbin showed his ability to finish at the rim with a swooping drive across the lane with a nice lefty finish. He put his court vision on display as well, twice hitting shooters with on target swing passes.

Matchups like these don't come around too often. The Villages came north to chilly Michigan for a primetime matchup against Orchard Lake St. Mary's. This was nothing short of 2 of the most talented teams in the country squaring off in an early season tilt. The teams and players definitely didn't disappoint. The Villages earned a hard fought 65-60 win against Orchard Lake St. Mary's. Since there was so much top notch talent in the gym, we're going to break this down into 2 parts, each looking at 5 players combined from the 2 teams.