St. Paul's School vs. Milton Academy Standouts

St. Paul's School traveled to Milton Academy on Saturday, February 22nd for a highly contested matchup. St. Paul's got off to a quick, early lead, but Milton responded by settling into the game and finding a groove offensively. They cruised to a 73-66 win.   Here are my standouts from the game.    To me, [player_tooltip player_id='2470857' first='Reece' last='Ayala'] looked like the best player on the floor for both teams, and he's only a sophomore. The 6-foot-4 point guard is the entire offensive engine for Milton Academy and can do it all offensively; he can shoot it from three and the mid-range, and he can get to the hoop with utter ease. He has a great handle and awesome footwork in the paint, and his length and athleticism allow him to finish at the rim against anyone. He also has really solid vision and throws hard, crisp passes. Ayala is probably one of the better sophomores I've seen this season and should absolutely be on the radar of D1 college coaches at ANY level.     Reddicks is an awesome role player for Milton. He defends hard, attacks the paint well off of second-side actions, and is a really good cutter off the ball. When I first saw him during the AAU season, I'm not sure I remember him taking an outside shot. But the junior showcased an improved stroke from the perimeter and free-throw line that bodes well for his development moving forward and should get the eyes of some D2 coaches. He's a great athlete who has a lot of room to continue to become more confident with the ball in his hands.     Williams is a nice, calming force for Milton. When the double teams and full court pressure come to Ayala, he's very confident handling the ball and starting the offense for his squad. He has solid quickness and speed and a great handle which allows him to get into the paint consistently, and he pulls his game together with a great-looking shot. From the free-throw line, he essentially put the game out of reach in the final few minutes. Defensively, Williams is a hound and really understands help-side rotations. He already has one D1 offer from Bryant and should continue to improve in the next couple years.     Clark was easily the most important part of St Paul's offense against Milton, as both a shooter and a facilitator. When off the ball, Clark moves well and is able to shoot coming off screens with very little space or balance – the lefty can get his shot off while his feet are pointed in the wrong direction, and he has a super pretty release. But on the ball, Clark showed off some solid vision and the ability to make cross court passes out of the post. His size also allows him to finish over smaller defenders and guard a wide variety of players defensively. He won't do much on-ball creation at Princeton, if I had to guess, but he should be a good shooter for them.     Pelletier is a big, strong man out there on the court. Admittedly, the Harvard football commit plays basketball like a football player; he's incredibly strong and moves people around the court quite easily, but he can throw passes a little too hard sometimes or use his strength a bit too much. However, in the second half against Milton, Pelletier settled into his role and was great on both ends – grabbing offensive rebounds, scoring over smaller defenders in the mid-range and at the rim, and defending anyone and everyone. The 6-foot-6 physical specimen should be an excellent WR/TE in college.     At 6-foot-5 and with very solid athleticism, Huang is an intriguing scholarship-level prospect, especially when you consider his shooting ability. Against Milton, he was flying off screens with great pace and was able to shoot with absolutely no balance, much like his teammate Clark, from both the mid-range and beyond the arc. When he gets a head of steam, he can also finish above the rim with good body control and leaping ability. He plays hard and never holds the ball too long – he'll always make the simple extra pass. Huang recently de-committed from the US Naval Academy and reopened his recruitment.

St. Paul's School traveled to Milton Academy on Saturday, February 22nd for a highly contested matchup. St. Paul's got off to a quick, early lead, but Milton responded by settling into the game and finding a groove offensively. They cruised to a 73-66 win.