3-Peat: Takeaways From PVI’s Comeback in The WCAC Title Game 

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Glenn Farello is an amazing coach and deserves a lot of credit.</strong><br>This is obvious but Glenn Farello is a great coach with a load of accomplishments, but this win over St. John's is some of his best work. [player_tooltip player_id='3336930' first='Jordan' last='Smith'] is going to be the big story of this game and rightfully so, but Glenn Farello pushed the right buttons late in this game. Putting in [player_tooltip player_id='2194779' first='Aiden' last='Acquah'], who hasn't been called upon much at all this season, was a huge decision that turned out to work out. Aiden's effort and defense were huge, and it helped PVI make their run. Jackson Sabrick was big as well, providing a lot of energy and using his length defensively. PVI was down 16 in this second half in the final and was behind a large portion of the first half against O'Connell. The resiliency and ability to adjust on the fly are why they won their 3rd straight WCAC title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>PVI Players Stepped Up<br></strong>In both of these games, the depth of PVI really showed up. It was very apparent that Bishop O'Connell structured their defense to not let [player_tooltip player_id='3336930' first='Jordan' last='Smith'] drive to the rim and to not let him catch it in the post without seeing a second body. It forced other guys to step up, especially [player_tooltip player_id='2916390' first='Ryan' last='Bahr'] in both games and sharp-shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id='3295789' first='Dylan' last='Harsanyi'] in the semis. This PVI team may not be as talented 3-8 as previous ones, but their contributions were game-changing.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='3336930' first='Jordan' last='Smith'] Jr. is the Best PVI player ever and had one of the best WCAC careers ever.</strong><br>[player_tooltip player_id='3336930' first='Jordan' last='Smith']'s ending to his WCAC career was poetic and incredibly fitting. Not just because he's one of the best players in the country, but because of the sheer dominance he and PVI have shown in his time there. This is Jordan's 3rd WCAC title in arguably the best conference in the country, and in Jordan's time there, the Panthers have lost 2 total conference games. Jordan took over his final WCAC game, and you can't help but look at his performance with awe. The competitiveness and ownership of this moment were special. In both games, especially the Bishop O'Connell game, you saw what makes him a truly unique prospect. The effect he has on the game defensively and the other intangibles he has make him such a high floor while still having sky-high potential. He took virtually every shot in OT and late in this game, and I think it's pretty cool he finished his WCAC career beating the same team that beat PVI in the final his freshman year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>St. John's has a great defensive makeup for [player_tooltip player_id='3336930' first='Jordan' last='Smith'] Jr.</strong><br>One of the big takeaways from this game was that St. John's had good personnel to guard [player_tooltip player_id='3336930' first='Jordan' last='Smith'] 1v1. Even though Jordan had 39, St. John's did a good job forcing him into tough shots early. In the O'Connell game, he struggled big time, but it seemed like O'Connell put a much more concerted effort to NOT let [player_tooltip player_id='3336930' first='Jordan' last='Smith'] beat them. That really wasn't what St. John's did. There is natural added attention to someone of his ability, but they played pretty normal defense overall. St. John's bigs did a great job switching onto him, and Kareem Smith Bey played some really good 1v1 defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->