Ridgewood Live: Teddy’s Saturday Notebook (Part 2)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's the second part to my notebook from Saturdays action featuring games from the early afternoon. Stay tuned for a photo gallery!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Neuqua Valley Downs ESTL</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I had to take another look at Neuqua Valley and [player_tooltip player_id='2531981' first='Cole' last='Kelly'] since their loss to Benet two weeks ago. In the opening stages vs ESTL, Kelly and [player_tooltip player_id='2839878' first='Mason' last='Martin'] had the hot hand for the Wildcats as each buried triples. [player_tooltip player_id='2415557' first='Carter' last='Coviello'] also stood out with his ability to create off the dribble and play with pace. Kelly's screen play became more effective later on in the contest which free himself up for more buckets. Luke Balgro got going a bit in the 2nd half of this matchup with a. Strong cut to the rim off an inbound past for an easy layup while following it up with a tight transition bucket after creating a turnover on the other end. SG [player_tooltip player_id='2532320' first='Eli' last='Poulakidas'] came off the bench and hit a deeply contested catch-and-shoot triple to keep them in front at this point. QA three-pointer from [player_tooltip player_id='2531981' first='Cole' last='Kelly'] off an assist from Martin sealed the deal. Followed by a fast-break dunk.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Watch Out For Glenbrook North </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I heard good things about Glenbrook North heading into their two games against Buffalo Grove and Curie. They got off to an electric start vs Buffalo Grove as multiple guys found the bucket. That includes guard Nate Friedman who buried a triple while flashing crisp ball skills. Big man [player_tooltip player_id='2831340' first='Irakli' last='Kipiani'] was also a valuable presence in the opening stages with crisp post moves. Fridman continued to impress later on while showcasing a floater game. Then burying a corner three to give them a lead late against Buffalo Grove. [player_tooltip player_id='2405900' first='Charlie' last='Lappin'] also played well and impressed with his playmaking abilities and visions. He really got hot in the second game against Curie. Showing he can fly to the rim for tight buckets and even going up for strong rebounds. Opened the second half of that game with another acrobatic layup in transition. Displaying tons of creativity overall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>New-Look Curie</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Condors played a tight, gritty game against DePaul Prep yesterday. They did the same against a tough Glenbrook North squad&nbsp; this afternoon. Tobias Banks jr was super physical defending both on the ball and in the interior who also made decent plays as a passer and scorer. [player_tooltip player_id='2877501' first='Malik' last='Horton'] converted on a key four-point play at one point which helped them go on a big run, too to take a halftime lead over the Spartans. Horton stayed aggressive throughout this game and would continue to draw fouls. 6'5" F [player_tooltip player_id='2844456' first='Amir' last='Green'] became more valuable later on with his rebounding abilities. Tonias Banks jr made some key plays to dribble out of double teams and knocked down clutch free throws when necessary to seal a win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lane Beats Libertyville</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I concluded the day covering Libertyville and Lane Tech. A very tight game in the beginning which saw strong interior play by [player_tooltip player_id='2390523' first='Evan' last='Okey'] from Libertyville. Utilizing his feet well in the post with some solid finishes. Even working well off the pick-and-roll. For Lane, I was super intrigued by 2029 CG Ashton Grays with elite ball skills and strong hands. JJ Barnes also made an excellent flashing cut to close out the first half of this contest. [player_tooltip player_id='2436293' first='Cole' last='Christian'] utilized his own skills in the post to give lane their largest lead of the game in the 2nd half. That includes drawing some fouls in the low block and converting on some key second chance opportunities. The pace they played with was huge at this moment of the contest and it took no time for them to go up double digits with just a few minutes left.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->