Standouts of 4A Semi/Finals

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Monday, March 2nd and Thursday March 5th I watched the 4A semis and Finals. I watched <strong>Deer Valley </strong>defeat <strong>Cactus Shadows 64-56 </strong>and then <strong>Arcadia </strong>defeated<strong> Deer Valley 57-51</strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Here were the playoff Standouts </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2767903' first='Jacobi' last='Thompson II'] Arcadia&nbsp;(Pictured)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A top notch point forward type made his money in this game. He took over stretches of the game with dunks, tough takes in traffic with heavy contact but stepped out and hit two huge threes. He has good feel and finished with 20 points in the Final on only 9 shots efficiently with 6 rebounds 1 assist and 1 steal.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1986845' first='Mason' last='Kendrick'] Arcadia&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A bigger shooting guard showed his two-way abilities with blocking shots, collecting steals and grabbing tough rebounds in the important 4th. He scored it with drives, offensive rebound put backs and got to the free throw line 7 times. He scored 11 points in the Final with 8 rebounds 4 blocks and 4 steals.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2315516' first='Max' last='Straus'] Arcadia&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A super crafty point guard is very elusive and quicker then he appears. He will cut off the ball and get downhill and kiss it off the glass with deceptive speed. He keeps improving his game as a facilitator and had some dimes in traffic. He scored 9 points in the Final with 1 rebound and 4 assists. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2146268' first='Brock' last='Knee'] Arcadia&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the top shooters in the junior class with some size proved it with three clutch triples off the catch with a lightning quick trigger. He is rebounding better and better and scored 9 points in the Final with 3 rebounds and 1 steal. He will be leaned on more next year with a good group of seniors graduating. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2432466' first='RJ' last='Detroy'] Arcadia</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A versatile wing forward who showed off some toughness and grit to crash the glass and fight hard inside the paint. He does not mind the contact and will rip thru to the rim and go up quickly to score or get fouled. He scored 8 points in the Final with 11 rebounds and 1 steal.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1875720' first='Sergio' last='Gonzales'] Deer Valley&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A scoring PG shot the ball with high confidence from mid to the three-point line. He comes with deep range and he is very confident with the ball in tight quarters. His toughness shines through in every game he plays and he is intelligent and crafty. He made big shot after big shot in the Final-4. He scored 33 points in the semis and 19 in the Finals. He had a phenomenal career at DV.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2146267' first='Micah' last='Andrews'] Deer Valley&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A dynamic pure point guard is one of the quickest players in the class. He is a phenomenal on-ball defender, passer and scorer. He will score with stop and pop threes and nasty pull-ups off the dribble. He will blow by his defender with either hand and seems to be able to get a step on most defenders. He scored 17 in the semis and 17 in the Finals with a shocking 11 rebounds&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2145741' first='Elias' last='Riley'] Deer Valley</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A defensive bigger guard can play and defend multiple positions from the 1-3. He will collect steals, block shots and rebound with his twitch and bounce. He scores with contested layups and baseline dunks. He scored 4 points with 8 rebounds 1 assist and 1 steal in the Final.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2947346' first='Giovanni' last='Nielsen'] Deer Valley</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A versatile bigger wing for a freshmen has been starting down the stretch for the top notch West Valley team. He is one of their top defenders with his size, length and athleticism. He will make plays, block shots and scores it with downhill takes and put backs. He scored 4 points with 4 rebounds 2 assists and 1 steal in the Final.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2949118' first='Jayden' last='Hollie'] Deer Valley</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A long and leaner combo guard filled it up when he came into the game in the semi finals. He will hit the three with a pure stroke and quicker release and pull-up from mid-range plus uses the floater game. He scored 9 important points.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1875719' first='Simon' last='Gonzales'] Deer Valley</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An undersized scoring point guard is deceptively quick and hyper competitive. He is tough on the ball defensively and will score with quick drives to the basket and use the floater game and manages to get himself to the free throw line with his aggressive play. He scored 5 points with 2 steals.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2133646' first='Myles' last='Godfrey'] Cactus Shadows</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A true point guard keeps his handle alive versus heavy pressure. He is very crafty to get into tight spaces and will facilitate plus score. He changes speeds well to get downhill to score, he will pull-up and hit the three off the catch or pull. He scored 15+ points in their close loss.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2506524' first='Colin' last='Godfrey'] Cactus Shadows</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A defensive minded point guard plays with speed, poise and a ridiculously high motor. He plays aggressively throughout the game. He will fly on the break with great speed with the ball and makes contested layups in traffic with contact. He scored 12+ points with a couple assists and steals.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1875722' first='Ethan' last='Ulrich'] Cactus Shadows</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A bigger scoring guard is extremely athletic and he gets on the glass. He will score with offensive rebound put backs and will try some lob dunks. He will hit the three with range and brings energy on defense. He scored 6+ points&nbsp;and multiple junior colleges are interested in him. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2331641' first='Jackson' last='Kragel'] Cactus Shadows</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A wing forward had a good showing for himself. He was not high volume but was efficient with threes off the catch, layups and out of area rebounds. He scored 8 points and should have higher usage next season.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->