Five Standouts from Mount Vernon vs. CPU

A player I was unaware of prior to Friday night's contest, Hayden Covington is now on our radar as one of the better sophomore forwards in Class 3A.   At 6-foot-4 and on a relatively small team, Covington will serve as a big for the Pointers, but he can do a variety of different things despite his frontcourt position. As a big, he can step out to about 15-feet and regularly knockdown a jumper, he runs the floor well in transition for easy twos, positions himself advantageously at the basket to get layups, has soft touch at the rim, athleticism to get there, and in the halfcourt, he's patient to wait for efficient shots.     Always in attack mode as the primary scorer for CPU, [player_tooltip player_id='1765520' first='Cooper' last='Grimm'] is one of the better scorers in the eastern part of the state. Willing and able to launch from anywhere behind the three-point line whether its off-the-catch or off-the-dribble, Grimm can and does rise and fire when he wants to, given the greenlight to score.   Opposing defenders can't go under screens like the Mustangs did at times on Friday, as Grimm immediately recognizes the drop coverage and fires away with his smooth, quick release from outside. In the first half against Mount vernon, he made almost everything from three, including step back and-one triple.     Barely scoring in the first half, the CPU defense made things difficult on the Mustang's leading scorer for a good chunk of the night. Either double teamed or forced to give up the ball, [player_tooltip player_id='2413532' first='Kellen' last='Haverback'] was held in check for much of the night. Refusing to be shut down, though, Haverback appeared to actively make the decision to try to get to the basket.   Putting the ball on the floor and getting to the rim, Haverback drew fouls and forced the Pointers to foul. Collapsing the defense, too, Haverback created open shots for his teammates on the perimeter.     The junior guard isn't the the primary scorer for the Pointers, but he showed against Mount Vernon that he can be a reason they win. Often in the right places at the right times to score, Kane finds a way to get open on the perimeter and at the rim.   Content to be a role player for CPU, Kane doesn't always have to have the ball in his hands, but when he does, he does the right thing, either taking an efficient shot or dishing it off to one of his teammates. With good vision and the selfless mindset, he has a sneaky-good passing ability in his game, too.     A starter that provides complimentary shooting to Haverback and others, [player_tooltip player_id='2906497' first='Seth' last='Rushford'] made back-to-back triples to start the game for the Mustangs.   With a lightning quick release, Rushford doesn't load up his shots, he rises and fires from three to help space things out for the Mount Vernon. It's not just catch-and-shoot, either. A pick-and-pop threat on the outside, he can turn and fire after the ball-handler finds him for a shot. Also a capable ball-handler himself, Rushford uses an effective jab step that can get his defender on their heals, giving himself just enough space to fire from deep.