Bishop McGuinness Classic: Star Spotlight

<p>The Bishop McGuinness Classic always welcomes some of the state’s premier talent across all classes. From the looks of day one, once again, the tournament didn’t disappoint whatsoever.</p> <p>While I couldn’t make it out to watch Norman North’s talented roster take on Deer Creek High School, I did witness three other games full of talent.</p> <p>Below is our star spotlight from day one of the Classic.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="981287" first="Terry" last="McMorris"], 2023, Del City.</strong></p> <p>McMorris is everything you want in a player, especially in high school, not to mention his character. Yes, the Del City wing is a great teammate and the clear vocal leader on the team. Besides that, he’s highly athletic, has a swift first step, plays forward but plays the game like a smaller guard at 6-foot-6 while also knowing how to use his size within 10 feet from the basket. McMorris is also very defensively aware for his age, with impeccable timing while blocking shots around the rim. He’s fun to watch and the best all-around player for Del City. McMorris tallied 11 points in a 58-44 win over Choctaw.</p> <p><strong>Tanner Williams, 2022, Santa Fe.</strong></p> <p>Although Williams was second in scoring for the entire game, he’s on our top performers’ list due to his all-around game. He’s an above-average scorer, with the ability and athleticism to get to the basket with ease but, his ball-handling ability makes him one of the best combo guards in the state, and his defensive capability is the reason he’s on this list. He scored 14 points in a 67-49 victory over Bishop McGuinness. Williams was one of the lead reasons for Santa Fe’s closeout victory over the host team.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="954194" first="JV" last="Seat"], 2022, Edmond Memorial.</strong></p> <p>Seat, the Abilene Christian signee, was understandably the best player on the court in Edmond Memorial’s matchup against Norman High School. He was the primary ballhandler for the Bulldogs and had the green light to control the offense. He’s a scorer, but more importantly, he’s big on getting his teammate involved. Seat scored a game-high 19 points and seven assists in a competitive 47-46 win over Norman.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1049318" first="Graham" last="Tawwater"], 2022, Bishop McGuinness.</strong></p> <p>Tawwater has become a familiar face in the Bishop McGuinness Classic, but not because he plays for the host team. He’s genuinely talented, and that’s something you’ll notice from the very start of the game. Tawwater is very underrated athletically, quicker than he looks on the court, and scores with relative ease within 15 feet from the basket. He’s a hot commodity for smaller colleges, and I fully understand why.</p> <p><strong>Trashaun Combs-Pierce, 2024, Norman</strong></p> <p>Combs-Pierce stuck out to me the most during the entire tournament. Before looking at the roster to check his height, I assumed he was a junior or a senior based on his overall poise. Standing at 6-foot-5, at 15 years old, Combs-Pierce is just scratching the surface, which is terrifying because he was the second-best player on the court, outside of [player_tooltip player_id="954194" first="JV" last="Seat"] on the opposing team. He’s the team’s second-tallest player, yet their primary ballhandler. He’s shown signs of being an elite big man, defensive stopper, and his best trait is his passing. He has the highest ceiling of anyone in the tournament.</p>