Ninth Region Semifinals Standouts

I took a visit to Truist Arena on Sunday evening to catch the ninth region semifinals where Covington Catholic and Ryle both dominated their opponents to set up a fun championship battle set for Tuesday night.    A Mr Basketball candidate, McGillis was impressive as a downhill slasher who got to the lane when he wanted in the half court and as usual found easy buckets in transition thanks to the frantic pace Covington Catholic plays at which allowed them to score 62 first half points! Watching the pace and pressure Covington Catholic plays at reminds me of Nova Southeastern, the school McGillis will play at next season.     Harney came out the gates aggressive early, assisting the first bucket of the game and hitting double-digits as a scorer in the first quarter. Harney played on balance, hit mid-range shots at a high percentage and made some impressive drift passes off baseline drives on Sunday.     My second Covington Catholic game of the season and the second time Myrick has stood out defensively. With quick feet, hands and a long wingspan, Myrick was collecting cookies against unaware Conner guards early and often. One of the elite shooters in Kentucky's 2027 class, Myrick hit a fly-by 3-pointer and also hit another one off a nice off-ball screening action vs a zone defense. Extremely impressed with Myrick's improvement from the summer.     Dominant in the paint all game, Bradshaw was a man amongst boys in the paint on Sunday evening. With excellent hands for catching passes and rebounds, Bradshaw collects loose balls that many other forwards don't secure. I was also impressed with Bradshaw's touch on shots from the 5 foot range, getting friendly bounces off the rim on his looks. The Colonels will need that Bradshaw to show up the rest of this postseason run.     Ryle shot 65% from the floor in their victory as they found efficient offense all night long to cruise to a victory. Smith was leading the charge as the junior off guard did a nice job of being patient as a pick and roll ball handler, curling off screens when he was ran off the line and Smith's 3-pointer five seconds before the third quarter buzzer helped put this game away. I was also impressed with Ryle's defensive unity, something that Smith helped contribute to significantly. It will take an incredible performance to upset top ranked Covington Catholic but Smith and Ryle certainly passed the eye test on Sunday night.     Nsuti was dominant in the paint on Sunday night with five blocked shots, sending Lloyd Memorial guards packing when they tried coming inside his house. A strong forward, Nsuti used his physicality well when he caught the ball on the inside and had some easy layup finishes off seals on the block. He'll have his hands full against fellow Sunday semifinal standout [player_tooltip player_id='1558737' first='Donovan' last='Bradshaw'] on Tuesday but Nsuti impressed in Ryle's dominant victory over Lloyd Memorial.

I took a visit to Truist Arena on Sunday evening to catch the ninth region semifinals where Covington Catholic and Ryle both dominated their opponents to set up a fun championship battle set for Tuesday night.