Bourgade Catholic at Ben Franklin Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Thursday, February 6th I attended the match-up of #3 in 3A&nbsp;<strong>Benjamin Franklin</strong> hosting West Valley #31 ranked in 3A<strong>&nbsp;Bourgade Catholic</strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ben Franklin won it convincingly<strong>&nbsp;63-31</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ben Franklin is a legit threat to compete in the OPEN, or if they do somehow get knocked out early, they can win 3A. They are balanced with a nice combination of older players and youth.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bourgade is in rebuild mode. They play many freshmen who are getting valuable playing time on varsity already. That being said, this team will be dangerous in the next few years.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Here were the standouts&nbsp;</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2249646' first='Talan' last='Speir'] Ben Franklin</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An athletic scoring guard has grown three inches since my last viewing. He is a multiple sport star and brings some real athleticism to the team. He takes very few steps to get to the basket and will throw it down easily. He scores with runners, floaters, dribble drives to the basket, catch threes and blow by's with his speed and next level athleticism. He collects steals and blocks shots. He scored 18 points. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2533653' first='Bennett' last='Christensen'] Ben Franklin&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A good sized point guard has a great feel for the game. He is a next level passer and will whip the ball out of his hands so effortlessly into a shooting pocket or will dump it off and is extremely patient to see the play develop. He will score with blow by's to the basket and will grab a steal and lay it in. He scored 10+ points with multiple assists.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2136460' first='Landon' last='Christensen'] Ben Franklin&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A bigger shooting guard can rattle in threes off the catch when he gets hot with range. He will score with mid-range pull-ups, floaters and dribble drives to the rim. He rebounds well and plays a smart floor game. Their main scorer is also a top-notch golfer with some offers. He scored 14+ points.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2136461' first='Tyler' last='Pluid'] Ben Franklin</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A scoring combo guard has skill and he is a sneaky good passer. He scores with off the ball cuts to the hole for layups in traffic, mid-range pull-ups and euro steps down the lane. He boxes out well to rebound and scored 8 points.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2620730' first='Drew' last='Taylor'] Ben Franklin</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A tough defensive minded scoring guard is the glue player of the team. He is a good rebounder despite his size and he is a very physical player to collect steals and score on the other end. He will also score with fall aways off of his defender. He probably had close to 5 steals.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2766897' first='Jonathan' last='Hall'] Ben Franklin&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A long power forward is a newcomer for me. He uses his size and length to give the 3A team some much needed size on the interior of their defense. He will also face up and shoot the three off the catch and score it around the hoop with longer strides.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2574799' first='Quinton' last='Tillmon III'] Bourgade Catholic</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A quick on quick scoring lead guard. He has a super tight handle and speed with the ball. The lefty comes with deep three point range and can pull-up on a dime off the dribble very suddenly. He has a polished floater game and plays smartly off the pick and roll game and will shoot it or find a cutter. He scored half the teams points with 15. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2628063' first='Jacob' last='Banja'] Bourgade Catholic</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The big man for the 3A is a natural runner with some size. He is a tad raw but has only been playing over a year. He is a natural rebounder in and out of his area and plays with a motor. He rebounds at a high level and will come over to alter or block shots at a nice clip. He collected 7+ rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2766906' first='Julian' last='Moreno'] Bourgade Catholic&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A very long armed power forward plays well inside to rebound. Once he fills in, he will be more effective but he is very active and fights hard despite his leaner frame.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->