This Weekend's Top Senior Performers

21p 3r 1a vs New Hope   -The senior stepped up in a matchup with New Hope that had GCS missing several starters, showing his ability to impact the game at both ends of the floor. Baker got the scoring started early with a corner 3, had a leakout 2-handed spike in transition, hit a three from the top of the key, and hit a face up 2 from the elbow. The twitchy guard finished several plays above the rim and applied a ton of ball pressure in the halfcourt to force turnovers and get his team going in transition. Liked that he kept his intensity up throughout the ups and downs of the game, eventually putting it away for his team in the second half.     31p 5r 3a 1b vs Glenelg   -Muhammad overcame a rough shooting start for the game by getting his team (and by extension, himself) going in transition. Muhammad's full scoring bag was on display from the second quarter on to keep the lead under 20 and to as few as 9 throughout the game. He scored off a floater, hit a transition 3, had a beautiful dime through the trap to the backdoor cutter, hit a face up wing 3, hit a filthy spin move in traffic into the lay off glass, hit a buzzer beating 3 at the end of the 3Q, executed a high pickup euro step to score at the rim, and hit a layup to make it a 9 point game midway through the 4Q. I thought his attention to detail defensively was much better on the ball, with the highlight being a good recovery block on the ball when he showed too hard in help on a ball screen. His ability to score from all 3 levels against a variety of defenders makes him one of the most valuable players to his team in the area.     12p 10r 7a 8b 3s vs PGCS Regional   -Samuels impressed with his usual devastatingly-athletic plays with a flurry of blocks (8!!), two-handed dunks in transition, and rebounds. But it was his play-making progression that impressed me the most. A dynamic athlete that uses his athleticism well to get to his spots, Samuels did a great job of getting two feet in the paint and kicking out to his shooters on the perimeter despite the fact that he usually could've drawn a foul and shot some FTs. His unselfishness led to some great performances from his backcourt space but also opened up the paint a bit more for him to get his own at the rim. Samuels had several chasedown or help spikes at the rim, showing off his court awareness to protect the key for a Takoma Academy team that doesn't really have a true big this season.       12p 5r 2b 1s vs Ireton   -Really liked the workmanlike contributions from CG's sturdy big man in a narrow loss to Ireton at home. A stock-rising forward that should see a nice bump in the next set of rankings, Adams was a mainstay for CG throughout the night on the glass but also showed that he has worked hard on the perimeter jumper with a C+S pick n pop three from the top of the key in the beginning of the game. Adams scored on slips to the rim, rotated well defensively to erase shots at the rim, and had a massive putback bucket with under a minute left with one arm being held down as he fought with an opponent for the rebound. His slip to the rim cut it to 3 with 25 seconds left. Love his ability to generate his own offense on the glass and within the flow of the game as he develops chemistry with an entirely new starting five on the floor for CG.     9p 4r 1b -A new name to me, Hegwood impressed with his raw athleticism throughout a comeback win for DCI over Cesar Chavez. The senior forward struggled in the 1H with foul trouble on 2 great help-side blocks off the glass. Hegwood is a little raw offensively and struggled to finish in traffic due to some physical digs from the CC guards but he hit the glass hard. The timing of his rolls to the rim after setting high ball screens got better as the game went along, cutting to the rim just as the ballhandler turned to face the rim to deliver an easy pass. Hegwood's thunderous 2-handed spike in transition cut the lead to one and after his guards forced a turnover on the inbound, he scored on another 2-handed punch to send the game to OT. His physicality, rebounding, and defense were instrumental into the comeback win.     8p 4r 1s 1b vs Takoma   -The big dog flashed his inside-out scoring ability by hitting the glass to grab timely rebounds in traffic while showing an ability to hit perimeter shots. Caldwell's biggest play of the day came when he collected a big offensive rebound before hitting a stepback 18-footer to cut the Takoma lead back down to 2 with jus under 3 minutes left in the contest.