MoCo Playoff Standouts

New readers: Use code Proia30     Montgomery County Playoffs consist of the two top teams in the region facing off in the title game, with the Blake Bengals winning the top spot and Whitman winning a coin toss with Magruder for their place in the title game. Both teams will rebound quickly to begin their regional MPSSAA playoff sets tomorrow. Let's break down some of the top performers from the MoCo Championship!    20p 4a 2r 5s   -The heartbeat of this Blake team performed well in a hard-fought win for the Bengals, showing his full offensive arsenal throughout the game. Fowlkes served as a menace POA defender throughout the game thanks to a lightning-quick set of hands, coming away with 5 steals and dove to throw a loose ball off an opponent's leg to force the turnover on a few different occasions. Fowlkes knocked down C+S jumpers behind the arc, got to his elbow pull-up frequently, drew several fouls going to the rim, and showed a better understanding of when to push the pace in transition to create advantage opportunities for his team and when he needed to bring the ball out to set up the offense. He then used that scoring gravity to hit teammates with crosscourt skip passes and wrap-around drop-offs around the rim.     29p 10r 1a 2s   -Really liked the bounce back in the 2H for the junior guard as Williams scored 25p in the 2H and 13 in the 3Q alone to bring his team back and even give them the lead for a nice stretch. Walton knocked down 3s off the bounce and off the catch (hitting 3 straight in the midst of that 3Q run), got into his defender's chest throughout the afternoon to draw fouls around the rim, drew offensive fouls at key junctures by fighting over screens, and hit a flurry of different touch shots around the paint. His ability to stop on a dime to quickly raise up for a floater or pull-up jumper makes him more difficult to guard because of how quick and effective he gets downhill with or without a ball screen. His most impressive stretch showed that versatility with a 3 off the catch, another off the bounce at the top of the key, a spinning double clutch lay through the double team, a bump and mid-paint fader in transition, and a steal and layup to give Whitman a 3-point lead heading into the 4Q. One of the more dynamic 2-way athletes that we have in the class.     15p 4r 1a 1b top key 3 then an OTB 3   -Kennard started things off hot, with back to back 3s in the 1Q that gave Blake a lead that they would rarely relinquish throughout the course of the game. When the perimeter jumper went cold in the 2H, Kennard showed the mental toughness to remain aggressive as a downhill driver and active as an off-ball cutter to complete three successful 2/2 trips to the FT line that helped Blake push the lead to double digits late into the 4Q. The utility in his game to make plays in PnR opportunities as a primary ballhandler or be an effective off-ball connector and shooter allows Blake to trot out dangerous 3-guard lineups that usually ramp up a frenetic pace in games to build nice leads.     9p 9r 2a 1s   -The physical combo guard prospect didn't have the best scoring performance but made up for it in other ways, impacting the game as a defender and rebounder to help Blake come away with a trophy. Thought that Martin did a great job defensively on his opponent's best scorer throughout the 1H until foul trouble relegated him to a different matchup. Martin uses a strong frame to bump drivers off their spot, switch onto forward prospects or rotate over to contest shots around the rim, and carve out plenty of space on the glass to finish with a near double-double. His best play came on a crucial rip through drive to the rim from the wing that saw him adjust in midair to reach back and stick the layup off the window from under the rim through the contact for a huge AND1 bucket. The unsigned senior completed an unofficial visit to Wright State earlier this month and will likely continue to boost his stock during the rest of postseason play.     6p 10r 3 b   -Ouattara gave some big minutes when an unexpected injury to the frontcourt inserted him into the game midway through the 1Q. Ouattara quickly capitalized on the opportunity by sprinting the floor to grab four offensive boards to extend possessions to game and hit a pair of FTs just before half. His 2H play was even better. Ouattara finished a well-timed lob with a 2-handed flush in transition, blocked 3 shots, and continued to eat up space on the glass against a smaller Whitman team. Really dynamic athlete to track in postseason play.     10p 8r 1a 1s 1b   -On a night where the signature jumper wasn't falling at its usual clip, Shapiro found ways to impact the game as a rebounder and off-ball mover to provide value for his Vikings team. Loved the timing of his cuts to the rim, waiting for the play to develop and his matchup to be distracted by help responsibilities to cut to open space and finish around the basket. Shapiro collected several hockey assists by keeping the ball moving around the horn, timed a nice weak-side block out of bounds as a helper midway through the 1H, and hit a dagger corner 3 that gave his team some hope late. Love that he never let his offense dictate his defensive energy as a loud communicator that sprinted to spots to contest shots or provide help.     3r 1a 2s 1b   -Shout out to the senior for leaving it all out on the floor as an energy forward prospect that never let his energy wane throughout the contest. Conroy set great off-ball screens to free up his shooters on the perimeter, threw around his weight in the paint against bigger forwards to prevent his opponent from snagging rebounds, and ran the floor hard to force the first back man to guard him. He came up with two steals that led to points during that 3Q push and stayed down on shot fakes before eventually blocking another shot that led to a transition bucket for his team.     4p 10r 3a 1s 2b   -The lefty had some nice moments throughout the game as a utility guard that can matchup with different position groups because of his leaping ability. Sow found opportunities to slice to the rim for weak side rebounds to extend possessions for his team, showed good patience to hit his defender with shot-fakes to earn FTs and finish a key AND-1 bucket in the 2H, and made the extra pass on the perimeter to his teammates to collect several assists in key moments. Loved the discipline to stay down on shot fakes facing off against one of the county's top backcourts and either contest or block several jumpshots.

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