Worcester Academy defeats CATS Academy for NEPSAC Class AA Title

Worcester lost to CATS by three a few weeks before their rematch in the NEPSAC Championship game on Sunday. Worcester certainly learned from their first matchup, and they put on the performance of a lifetime in the biggest game of their season. Such an impressive win from a team that was undersized and less athletic.   Here are my standouts.    Jenkins had a performance for the ages in maybe the biggest game of his basketball career thus far. The junior guard was able to get into the lane at will – even against incredibly difficult defense from [player_tooltip player_id='2487641' first='Desmond' last='Bellot'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2470840' first='Josiah' last='Adamson'] – and made multiple phenomenal finishes over the trees, most notably 7-footer [player_tooltip player_id='2633517' first='Leo' last='Curtis']. He has superb hang time and craft in the lane and can finish better than virtually any guard in the region. Defensively, Jenkins is an excellent on-ball defender and has great hands. He was the best player on the floor in this game, and that's with multiple other high-major players. He is SO legit.     Hailey is so cerebral at the point guard position. Even when getting hounded for 94 feet, he takes his time to get to his spots on the floor and elevates for mid-range jumpers and floaters in the paint. His change of direction and change of speed moves are incredible; he had a lefty drive and finish that was probably the most impressive play of the game. He can also succeed as an off-ball shooter. Hailey and Jenkins are already the best backcourt in the region, and they have another year ahead of them – and, given both of their intensity levels, I bet they'll come back even better.     Swider is normally known for his shooting -- admittedly, that's all I've really noticed about his game in the past. But in the championship game, he made a name for himself by making hustle plays. He had two offensive put-backs and some other offensive rebounds and loose ball recoveries, and he also always moves the ball well as an extra passer. He also had a clutch drive and finish at the end of the game. If he can consistently do the little things, he'll be tough to take off the floor at the college level because of his size and shooting ability.     Curtis was critical in CATS Academy's game plan in the championship. He took advantage of his massive size difference over [player_tooltip player_id='2325866' first='Ryan' last='Sullivan'] by attacking the offensive glass and finishing over the defense with ease. He also stepped out and hit a three, as well as his free throws. I was especially impressed with his ability to keep the ball high against all of the little guards. Defensively, Curtis provided his usual rim protection, though Jenkins certainly fooled him a couple times at the rim. Can't wait to see whether his rim protection translates well to the next level.     Harrell is the heart and soul of CATS. He had some foul trouble early on and therefore played fewer minutes than he normally would, but he certainly made them count. He hit threes and also bodied smaller defenders in the lane, but I was most impressed with his passing ability. He does such a good job passing out of the double team and also sees the right read before it's happening. I'll be so curious to see what Harrell's role on Providence is next year and moving forward. Does he shoot tons of standstill threes? Does he get post touches against smaller guards? Time will tell.     Williams-Crawford was playing on a sprained ankle and still showcased some ridiculously impressive defense. He guarded [player_tooltip player_id='1157225' first='Payton' last='Kamin'] – one of the best scorers in the region – and shut him down. He slides his feet incredibly well and even though Kamin seems thicker than him, he was still able to hold his own strength-wise, which few are able to do with Kamin. Not that he wasn't before, but this performance really solidified Williams-Crawford as maybe the best defensive player in the region. He also does the little things offensively, like making quick extra passes and attacking the offensive glass.

Worcester lost to CATS by three a few weeks before their rematch in the NEPSAC Championship game on Sunday. Worcester certainly learned from their first matchup, and they put on the performance of a lifetime in the biggest game of their season. Such an impressive win from a team that was undersized and less athletic.