Week 1 Friday Night Action: Standout Wings & Forwards

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There were some really good matchups across the state, so I tuned into three different games: MOT Charter at Tatnall, Concord at Delcastle, and Hodgson at Odessa. Although the final scores varied, so many prospects flashed that I had to recap the night with a two-part series. Here are the wings and forwards: </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1755072' first='Mason' last='Collins'] | 6'7 G/W 2028 Tatnall </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Limited by foul trouble in the first half against MOT, Collins came out swinging in the second. The fouls didn't stop him from crushing it on the boards and wrecking the Mustangs defense though. He made multiple contests within the same possession and initiated fastbreak offense as soon as he snatched the ball out of the air. His motor got him easy buckets on putbacks and takeaways that he turned into scoring opportunities. In the end, Collins put up 17 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2815764' first='Kohen' last='Gaines'] | 6'5 F 2028 MOT Charter </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gaines held his own against Tatnall as a physical presence inside the arc. He crashed the boards instinctively, coming away with multiple on offense. His defensive rebounds helped protect the rim, and so were the shots he rejected. Gaines also flashed some touch from deep with a spot-up three. One of the bright spots for the Mustangs, he tallied 6 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals, and 3 blocks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2628290' first='Cinese' last='Kamara'] | 6'4 F 2028 Delcastle </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kamara's rugged play inside helped the Cougars deliver some body blows when they faced Concord. He was effective early, moving around to get open in the paint and using his strength to create angles to score. His work on the glass helped too. Kamara pulled down rebounds after rejecting shots around the basket. He had 10 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2534590' first='Shawn' last='Neurell'] | 6'5 F 2027 Concord </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Raiders stormed the Castle and pulled the win, in no small part due to Neurell rumbling inside the paint. Half of his points came from the second-chance opportunities he generated. Neurell's ability to initiate and absorb contact allowed him to get shots off, particularly when he was getting fouled. And even when he was bottled up in the second half, he still dominated on the glass. He finished up with a double-double on 18 points and 16 rebounds. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2386201' first='Sethian' last='Reed'] | 6'5 W/F 2027 Delcastle </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Reed played exceptionally well on defense against Concord. His deflections forced a number of turnovers as he had a very loud first half on that end. But what doesn't show up statistically is how well he switched and guarded in space versus perimeter players. Offensively, Reed managed to score efficiently off-ball. He led the Cougars on both sides of the ball with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, and 2 blocks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->