Mount St. Joe v Glenelg Country: Standout Prospects

As we return to the court after a historic snow/ice storm that took over the DMV, Mount St. Joe hosted Glenelg Country for a MIAA A Conference divisional matchup. The stage was set early for a close, competitive game but unfortunately, the chances of that unfolding came to a screeching halt when a referee ejected the Glenelg Country head coach after one technical foul. It was something that I've never seen before in my time covering high school sports.   Nevertheless, the Dragons from Howard County took a punch from the Gaels out of halftime, but remained in striking distance with responses of their own. In the end, Mount St. Joe would gain some breathing room and walk off with a 79-66 win to improve to 23-5 overall while Glenelg Country falls to 12-6.    One thing that I tend to pay close attention to is how players prepare in warm-ups to see if how they're approaching the 20 or so minutes before a game translates under the whistle. Every movement, every shot and every dribble-drive action that Ranson performs prior to the game is what takes playing during the game. The St. Joe's pledge has 'in the gym' range to go with a silky smooth load-up on his jumper and things got started right away as he buried a three from the left wing. The Dragons' defense reverted around staying glued to Ranson and running him off the three-point line. No worries for Ranson as he draw a foul on a three the ensuing possesion and then spent the rest of the first half attacking off the dribble on closeouts or in transition where he used his length to extend the ball toward the rim before opposing shot blockers could get a finger on it. Everything Ranson did looked fundamentally sound, effortless and smooth as he led the Gaels to another win with a game-high 29 points.     In comparison to the first meeting against Mount St. Joe this season, Harris completely flipped the script and came out like a man on a mission with aggression on both ends. The young, high-upside forward is one of the more intriguing long-term bets in the area due to his size, elite length and skillset that continues to improve. Last night, Harris spent time showing off some touch from mid-range after getting to his spots. Whether it was in a designed mid-post touch or Harris taking his man off the bounce from beyond the arc, he'd use his size to rise over the defender and didn't allow a contest to contort his mechanics. He made over a handful of impressive plays above the rim, but no sequence was more loud than Harris pinning a lay-up against the backboard and and trailing in transition where a teammate found him in stride as he finished the job dunking over defender with one hand. The high hopes that we have for Harris as he prepares to head to Brown for his collegiate career will continue after a strong 20-point outing despite the loss.     Coming out of halftime, Mount St. Joe built a 6-point advantage, but that would balloon into double-digits with breathing room as Word decided to tee off from deep in the first four minutes of the third frame. The 5-foot-11 lead guard knocked down 4-straight (!!) three's and it came to no surprise for me. Word is a fiery competitor and a dangerous, streaky shooter who can quickly change the momentum of a game. He showed those chops agains last night, but his impressive shooting performance in the first four minutes of the third quarter wasn't all he did. Word followed Ranson with 22 points and used the gravity demanded after his run to tap into his bursty first step to establish advantages on drives and finishing through contact. He brought his usual infectious energy guarding the ball and speeding up the Glenelg Country offense into mistakes.     Another viewing and another performance from Leggett that left a big impression on me. First came as he led GC to a win over St. Frances down on Chase Street a few weeks ago and for awhile in this one, he had the Dragons in control. He's not going to 'wow' you with blazing quickness, unbelievable athleticism or even functional fluidity, but the kids gets stuff done. Unfortunately with a few minutes left in the game, Leggett came down awkwardly on his ankle and he had to be assisted off the floor, but that wasn't until he scored a team-high 24 points. He's a tough check because of his herky jerky attack where he never seems to look on balance, but is fully capable of pulling the trigger midway through a dribble and burying a three. He does a really nice job of using his strong frame on drives to create contact and separation before getting to the rim and if he puts his defender in a fouling situation, he's very efficient at the charity stripe. Leggett put his hardhat on when it came to hauling in rebounds next to Harris and continues to be the leader for this Glenelg Country team.     This MSJ team thrives when Ranson has another guy with him to fuel the scoring production and while Word exploded in the second half, Etolue was that guy in the first two frames. Particularly in the second quarter where he scored all of his 11 points as Glenelg Country looked to gain control of the game. The 6-foot-3 bully guard had a response for every bucket that his team gave up and he was most effective getting downhill or attacking gaps in the zone off swings and drawing contact in the air. He forced the Dragons out of their zone look when he knocked down two catch-and-shoot three's to add to the Ranson outpour. Defensively I think I saw Etolue guard just about every position, especially when head coach Pat Clatchey used a smaller lineup, but he's able to with Etolue's physical traits to make up for the lack of size battling against opposing bigs.

As we return to the court after a historic snow/ice storm that took over the DMV, Mount St. Joe hosted Glenelg Country for a MIAA A Conference divisional matchup. The stage was set early for a close, competitive game but unfortunately, the chances of that unfolding came to a screeching halt when a referee ejected the Glenelg Country head coach after one technical foul. It was something that I've never seen before in my time covering high school sports.