Arcadia edges out Saguaro on the road

On Wednesday, Jan 14th I attended the match-up of 4A Saguaro Sabercats hosting the 4A Arcadia Titans. Both teams will be in the OPEN playoffs and potentially make very deep playoff runs.   I checked out all three levels with Freshman, JV and Varsity.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Here were the standouts on the night </h2>   All the stats are unofficial.   Freshman Game (73-71 Arcadia won)   [player_tooltip player_id='3354660' first='Tyson' last='Delano'] Arcadia    A long scoring combo guard with a high feel for the game who is trying to make plays. He will drive and kick it and score. He will shoot the three off the catch, fall away from mid-range and will stop and pop from mid. He can take it coast to coast with tough layups and he has good length to collect steals and even block shots. He scored 13 points.    [player_tooltip player_id='2716510' first='Spencer' last='Goldberg'] Arcadia    A facilitating wing forward is a good rebounder and team player. He is looking to make a play for a teammate and will score with offensive rebound put backs as he keeps the ball high when he goes up and uses the runner. His best skill may be his shooting from the three off the catch and he will also block shots in his area. He scored 13 points.    [player_tooltip player_id='3355648' first='Greer' last='McClune'] Arcadia    A skilled scoring guard can shoot the three off the catch one by one. He looks for his shot and gets open moving without the ball. He uses runners and will score it inside. He will rebound and block an occasional shot. He scored 18 points.    [player_tooltip player_id='3068059' first='Caden' last='Lewis'] Arcadia    A highly skilled scoring guard had his middle game working in this one. He has a high level mid-range jumper off the pull or catch he often uses getting to his spots. He will also hit the three and use dribble drives into runners in traffic or score with layups. He will take the charges and scored 15 points.   [player_tooltip player_id='3355531' first='Kam' last='Schaeffer'] Saguaro    A thicker framed lefty point forward type who is consistently looking up and making plays for his teammates with advanced court vision. He will score with mid-range jumpers, threes off the catch and rebounds well with his girth plus blocks shots. He is a quick second jumper to clean the glass and scored 12 points with multiple assists.     Junior Varsity Game (59-48 Arcadia won)   [player_tooltip player_id='3354402' first='Jalen' last='Knighton'] Arcadia    A scoring lead guard or combo who is very smooth. He has a pure stroke from the three off the catch and he has a quick pull-up from mid to the three point line. He scored 17 points and look for him to be on varsity next season.     [player_tooltip player_id='2689907' first='Matthew' last='McGadney'] Arcadia    A bigger sized combo guard can play on or off the ball. He plays off of the pick and roll game well and he will score. He will hit the pull-up three after a tough crossover, he runs the floor for layups and he can get to the basket and earn trips to the free throw line. He scored 10 points.    [player_tooltip player_id='2869831' first='Matthew' last='Draper'] Arcadia    An undersized skilled scoring point guard will throw up the court passes and drive and kick it. He will score with threes off the catch and score with drives to the basket and shoot it from mid-range. He scored 8 points.      [player_tooltip player_id='3354622' first='Deshaun' last='Owens'] Arcadia   A long and lean defensive wing forward has good length to contain his opponents on defense and make it difficult to score on him. He is a good passer and plays unselfishly. He can get a step on his defender and he is a capable three point shooter. His best basketball is ahead of him.      [player_tooltip player_id='2912687' first='Ikenna' last='Epum'] Saguaro    A thicker framed freshman guard can play on off the ball with a good feel to make a play and will advance pass like you should. He will score with and-1's in traffic and is very patient inside,  He will score with runners, pull-up threes or off the catch and he will rebound and block a shot as a plus defender. He scored 10 points.    [player_tooltip player_id='2689912' first='Kingston' last='Berry'] Saguaro    A strong framed lead guard controls the offense and will drive and kick it to a shooter. He will score with downhill takes, he can hit the three and he is strong inside. He is a physical on-ball defender and he also played on varsity and scored 5 points.    [player_tooltip player_id='2756822' first='Isaac' last='Hnat'] Saguaro    Another JV and varsity player has decent size to rebound and defend a few positions. He will score with the three off the catch and he can rip thru to the basket and score it in traffic. He scored in both games and brings some skill to the floor.      Varsity Game (84-73 Arcadia won)   [player_tooltip player_id='1986845' first='Mason' last='Kendrick'] Arcadia    A scoring guard who steadily scored it all night long. He put points on the board with offensive rebound put backs with his left or right hand, dunks on the break, quick rip thrus into a floater and he will rebound and go coast to coast with contact. He scored 19 points.   [player_tooltip player_id='2767903' first='Jacobi' last='Thompson II'] Arcadia    A true point forward is a next level passer and sees plays developing quickly with next level court vision. He defends multiple positions and will score. He rebounds and will take it coast to coast. He will get downhill with long strides to the basket and flush it down way above the rim impressively. He will score with lobs and fast to slow euro steps making it very hard to defend. He scored 14 points.    [player_tooltip player_id='2146268' first='Brock' last='Knee'] Arcadia    A scoring guard set the tone with 20 points in the first half. He was rattling in threes one by one off the catch but scored it other ways with blow by's with either hand, fall aways from mid-range and dribble drives to the rim. He scored 22 points.      [player_tooltip player_id='2315516' first='Max' last='Straus'] Arcadia    A scoring point guard is very crafty and cerebral. He will throw passes up the court and score it. He will score with and-1's in heavy traffic, reverse layups and speed dribble drives to the basket or he will get trips to the free throw line. He rebounds well and will collect steals. He scored 19 points.      [player_tooltip player_id='2432466' first='RJ' last='Detroy'] Arcadia    A versatile wing forward will score it with downhill takes to the basket, he will spin off of his defenders and get to the rim or earn trips to the free throw line. He rebounds well in his area and scored 5 points.    [player_tooltip player_id='2386974' first='Nasir' last='Hailey'] Saguaro    A strong framed scoring lead guard can pour in points with downhill takes with either hand scoring thru contact, fast break points, offensive rebound put backs and mid-range pull-ups. He also threaded the needle to teammates. He scored 25 points with a few assists.      [player_tooltip player_id='2533651' first='Bentley' last='Elrod'] Saguaro    A wing forward who is leaning out a little and his athleticism is starting to truly kick in with dunks on the break or dunks in traffic. He will hit the three off the catch and get to the basket or fouled. He will rebound the ball at a good clip and block shots with his bounce. He scored 15 points.   [player_tooltip player_id='1938808' first='Justice' last='Hinds'] Saguaro    A physical defensive point guard is tough on the ball with his strong frame, long arms and lateral quickness. He rebounds well and will score with downhill bursts of speed, which is tough to contain, mid-range pull-ups and seems to live on the free throw line. He scored 12 points.    [player_tooltip player_id='2194803' first='Pierce' last='Harrington'] Saguaro    A combo guard is a natural bucket getter with threes off the catch, runners in the lane after a burst of speed using his tighter handle. He will also score with off balanced floaters. He finished with 14 points.

On Wednesday, Jan 14th I attended the match-up of 4A Saguaro Sabercats hosting the 4A Arcadia Titans. Both teams will be in the OPEN playoffs and potentially make very deep playoff runs.