WCAC Final Standouts

Every time I watch [player_tooltip player_id='2148767' first='Jordan' last='Smith'], I run out of superlatives to describe how good he is. Jordan was otherworldly today, and this might have been the most impressive outing of his outstanding PVI career. Jordan was aggressive and hunting his own shot from the second this game started. Jordan scored the ball from all three levels, and he commanded this game. I've talked about Jordan's improvement as a passer and shooter, but the big thing that he has done is that he now can dominate a game handling the ball. He is this team's primary ball handler because of his gravity as a scorer, specifically as a slasher. When he attacks the rim, naturally, players collapse on him, and he does a great job of finding shooters. He found turk brown and others today. He had some athletic finishes at the rim, almost defying gravity, and he put in 29 points. PVI has had a lot of talent over the years, but Jordan may have the highest ceiling of them all.     [player_tooltip player_id='1494103' first='Jaquan' last='Womack'] has played in 4 straight WCAC titles and has won 3. That in itself is a tremendous accomplishment, and the fact he's been a major factor in all three wins is that much more impressive. Jaquan was great early in this game, and he, along with [player_tooltip player_id='2148767' first='Jordan' last='Smith'], carried this PVI offense early. Jaquan hit two very timely buckets, one of them being a mid-ranger that stopped a 14-0 Gonzaga run and the other being a deep contested three that pushed PVI's lead to 6 with 2 minutes left. Jaquan is not new to big moments in the WCAC final, and he again was huge for this team. Jaquan finished with 12 points and 7 rebounds.     PVI got super physical with [player_tooltip player_id='1409272' first='Christian' last='Gurdak'] for a lot of this game, and I think he handled it well. Last year in the final, Gonzaga ran a lot of their stuff through him, and he had a great game. PVI dealt with him better in the sense of him being a guy Gonzaga dumped the ball down to and got a bucket, but Christian was still a major factor. Christian was outstanding on the offensive glass, clearing people out and getting easy buckets. He had a nice spin early to get an easy bucket, and you could see the attention he was getting from his former team. Christian was great on defense, and if you are a big man who isn't particularly athletic, Christian is a guy to emulate some things after. He has a high IQ, and he is always in the right spot defensively. He has great hands and does a terrific job contesting shots. He finished with 12 points, 15 rebounds, and 6 blocks.     In games like this, you will need players who give you everything they have when it comes to doing the little things. [player_tooltip player_id='2146762' first='Jacob' last='Moore'] gave that today. Jacob knocked down a three early and spent the rest of the game all over the glass. He attacked misses and had a handful of offensive boards. At 6'8 when you put out the effort Jacob did you'll be a factor in a game one way or another. Jacob had 9 rebounds, 6 of which were offensive.     [player_tooltip player_id='1434219' first='Alex' last='Touomou'] was great in the first half of this game, and he has been one of the biggest standouts over the past few days. He has been impressive defensively and has done great as a spot-up shooter. Alex is a tremendous athlete and a nice plug-and-place player at the next level. He finished with 10 points on 4/6 shooting.     [player_tooltip player_id='1370496' first='Derek' last='Dixon'] was the player of the year in this conference, which is an incredible accomplishment with the talent the WCAC has. Derek made some big plays at the end of this game. He hit a few free throws late and had a tough finish at the rim. He knocked down a contested three that cut the game to two. He had 13 points.