Friday Round Up: December 18th

<p>As teams and players looked to build momentum heading into the winter break, the urgency, competitiveness, and performances ramp up in players across the state of Kansas. In today’s round up we look at the battles between St James Academy vs. Aquinas as well as Olathe West vs. Shawnee Mission South while also highlighting some of the marquee performances on the night elsewhere in Kansas.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>St James Puts Together a Quality Performance Against St Thomas Aquinas</strong></span></p> <p><strong>Top Performance</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="946269" first="Sam" last="Somerhalder"], 2022 6’7 Forward, St James (Pictured): Somerhalder made his return to the lineup on Friday and immediately made a massive impact. The big forward is a gifted inside scorer and is very explosive, quick, and strong in the painted area and he showcased that in this game. He was tremendous catching the ball on the baseline against the zone or behind the zone and maintaining balance and scoring the ball. Somerhalder showed his great running ability and converted in transition springing his lanes catching and finishing. The big fella scored 27 points on the night, mainly in the paint. The 2022 forward also rebounded the ball well and used his length to bother shots. Somerhalder also rifled in a beautiful over head two handed pass for an assist from the top of the key that threaded the teeth of the zone.</p> <p><strong>Other Notables</strong></p> <p>Brian Hawthorne, 2023 6’1 Point Guard, St James: The sophomore guard showcased a ton of ability on Friday night, he scored 13 in the game against Aquinas to compliment Somerhalder, but what really showed for me was his court vision and play making for others. The 2023 guard uses his vision well to see cutters and open teammates and passed the ball well on the perimeter and after driving through gaps. The scoring ability is there as well and he had a great transition euro finish that resulted in an and 1. Hawthrone is a good transition point guard as well advancing the ball up the floor when guys are running and can get it out quick on the dribble as well.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="889476" first="Michael" last="Cahill"], 2021 6’ Guard, St James: Cahill was as steady as I am used to seeing him in this ball game. He let the game come to him well and got guys in good spots especially helping Somerhalder get comfortable back on the court. The gravity Cahill creates from defenders due to his three point shooting ability is as good as his ability to knock donw the long ball. Cahill scored 11 and drilled a couple of big time shots.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="889518" first="Garrett" last="Alejos"], 2021 6’1 Wing, St Thomas Aquinas: Alejos put together probably his best game of the season. His energy and effort levels was some of the best on either side of the floor. He finished with 15 in the ball game and he did his scoring damage slashing off the dribble, catching and finishing inside, and getting himself to the foul line. Alejos was active around the glass on rebounds and did his best to cause some havoc on the defensive end.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="889478" first="Tank" last="Young"], 2021 5’9 Guard, St Thomas Aquinas: Young is such a fun player to watch when he takes the court. His competitiveness, leadership, and hard nosed playing is a great tool that he brings to his young Aquinas squad. The Aquinas guard has great ability as well and at his size, his toughness and quickness really take over and allow him to finish well on drives and get himself to the foul line. Young put together a 19 point scoring effort. A star on the football field, Young is also putting together a quality basketball season so far.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Shawnee Mission South Wins a Slugfest with Olathe West</strong></span></p> <p><strong>Top Performer</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="889480" first="Jack" last="Webb"], 2021 6’3 Guard, Shawnee Mission South: Webb had an all around great game and impacted the game in multiple ways. He finished with 7 points on the night, but scoring is not the only aspect of the game, and Webb’s impact in other areas were huge for SMS on this night. He made great plays off the dribble and had a back to back sequence of two great assists one passing through the zone and the other driving into the defense and sucking up help and dropping it off for a big late bucket to 2021 forward [player_tooltip player_id="1072877" first="Andrew" last="Brewer"]. Webb was great rebounding on both sides of the floor and created multiple extra possessions for the Raiders.</p> <p><strong>Other Notables</strong></p> <p>Point Guard Combo, 2021 G Erik Smith and 2022 G Harrison Hughes, Shawnee Mission South: These two guards do a great job of getting the Raiders into offense and in control when things start to speed up. Hughes and Smith also contributed 9 and 4 points respectively in the game. Smith is also really solid on the defensive end, stays in front of the ball well, good in help, and can rebound from the guard spot.</p> <p>Blake Potthoff, 2021 6’1 Guard, Shawnee Mission South: Potthoff is a tremendous shooter and he drilled a couple of timely threes in the ball game to keep Olathe West at arms length. Potthoff scored 12 in the game.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="946211" first="Tommy" last="Faseru"], 2021 6’2 Wing, Olathe West: Faseru has great length and athletic ability and both of those qualities really caused fits for the Raiders on defense. Faseru slashes both off the dribble and off cuts well, and can get up towards the glass with his finishes which makes him tough to block or disrupt in the lane. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><b>A Glimpse Around the Rest of Kansas</b></span></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="891912" first="Nahcs" last="Wahwassuck"], 2022 6’5 Wing, Royal Valley: The talented and versatile wing filled the stat sheet with 25 points, 3 rebound, 5 assists, and 5 steals in a win over Nemaha.</p> <p>Jake Jackson, 2021 5’11 Guard , Lansing: The guard erupted for 28 points in a battle with Basehor Linwood on Friday night, showing off his scoring ability especially from the perimeter.</p> <p>Ryan Meyers, 2021 6’2 Guard, Colby: Meyers is a really solid guard out in western Kansas who has a little bit of everything to his game. He scored 27 points on Friday in a wide variety of ways.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="730642" first="Tanner" last="Hecht"], 2021 6’5 Guard/Wing, Wamego: The versatile perimeter player had 22 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks in a win over Clay Center.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="889511" first="Eli" last="Wiseman"], 2021 5’9 Guard, Belle Plaine: Wiseman scored 23 points, but it was his final 8 that stand out, nearly single handedly erasing an 11 point lead for Berean in the final minute of the ball game. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>