11th Region ~ Friday’s Semifinal: Henry Clay vs Great Crossing

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Prep Hoops Staff was in attendance for the semifinals of the 11th Region tournament hosted at Paul S. McBrayer Arena on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University. After the opening round games were hosted by the district winners, 4 teams advanced to the semifinal games on a neutral court. We bring you coverage on Friday’s best players from both games. </span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">District 42 Runner-Up Henry Clay vs </span></i></p> <p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">District 41 Champion Great Crossing</span></i></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Henry Clay - Junior Guard, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1221419" first="Konlin" last="Brown"]</strong> (PH Ranking #71)</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brown is a smart, disciplined guard that plays to his strengths. He is a pure, knockdown shooter that keeps the defense honest by forcing coverage at all times. Brown does a tremendous job of maintaining his availability to be an outlet guard but rarely puts himself at a disadvantage. He is a crafty guard that isn’t afraid to throw his body into the mix for a loose ball or a contested rebound.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Henry Clay - Senior Guard, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="801604" first="Kanye" last="Henderson"]</strong> (PH Ranking #25)</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Henderson is arguably the fastest guard in the state with the ball in his hand. There was a play in the game where he grabbed a long rebound off of a missed free-throw, advanced the ball down the court so quickly that he beat multiple defenders, and scored an easy layup in the paint. His downhill drives create havoc on the offensive end.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Henry Clay - Senior Guard, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1326306" first="Aziel" last="Blackwell"]</strong> (PH Ranking #44)</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Blackwell is a patient, deliberate player on offense. He uses his southpaw approach to his advantage to locate his favorite spots around the high post for jump shots. Once he makes it in the paint, he has a crafty knack and soft touch to drop in his floaters. He can score at all levels including connecting a clutch 3-pointer at the end of the 3rd quarter. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Great Crossing - Freshman Forward, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1130310" first="Malachi" last="Moreno"]</strong> (PH Ranking #1)</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Moreno is the most touted of the four freshman Coach Page started on Friday. Moreno is an intimidating post presence that has incredible IQ around the paint. He has the ability to alter shots with either hand and snatch rebounds from all over the paint. Moreno already has solid fundamentals including catching passes with two hands and jumping off two feet for put-back layups and tip-ins. His tip dunk midway through the 3rd quarter gave the Warhawks a short-lived lead.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Great Crossing - Freshman Guard, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="939114" first="Junius" last="Burrell"]</strong> (PH Ranking #16)</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Burrell is a shifty guard that uses his change of direction to find slashing gaps to the paint. He plays with other playmakers on the perimeter so he doesn’t have to create every play. This gives Burrell the opportunity to let the offense come in rhythm and remain in control. Being the primary ball-handler, Burrell does a nice job of distributing the ball throughout the game.</span></p> <p><br /> <b>Make sure you are following</b><a href="https://twitter.com/prephoopsky"> <b>@PrepHoopsKY</b></a><b> on Twitter for weekly top games &amp; top performers!</b></p>