Rapid Reaction: Western vs Great Crossing

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two of the top 8 teams in the preseason rankings played in a scrimmage in Louisville last night. Western dominated all 4 quarters and won 77-53 over the Warhawks. Here's a quick look at some storylines coming out of the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Western is super deep and athletic</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Call me Captain Obvious but the Warriors have a ton of talent and a lot of bodies to throw at opponents. Because of that, they play at a frantic pace with a lot of pressure. They had 5 scorers in double figures and probably forced 20+ turnovers by Great Crossing. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Great Crossing's Guards looked Terrified Early</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Except for [player_tooltip player_id='1110323' first='Vince' last='Dawson'], who wasn't rattled and showed no back down. The GC guards had turnover after turnover against full court and half court pressure. The game was physical and there was a ton of hand checking and aggressive trapping and their backcourt wasn't ready for that. When they got the ball into the half court, GC scored more often than not. But they didn't get through the pressure nearly often enough.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Western's 2025 class is ELITE</span></strong>...</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1144955' first='Julius' last='Edmonds'] was fantastic with 26 points on 12/16 shooting and showed more guard skills than he has flashed in the past. [player_tooltip player_id='1228478' first='Elijah' last='Clinton'] is a walking highlight reel and is eventually going to tear the gym down with a monster slam as he tries to dunk literally everything he can. His threes weren't falling but he did hit one late and his form isn't bad. [player_tooltip player_id='1269619' first='Josiah' last='Lawson'] added 13 and was the best perimeter shooter for the Warriors, hitting multiple threes. [player_tooltip player_id='1088829' first='Jayden' last='Miles'] didn't have a huge statistical game but he's the enforcer on the back end of the Western defense and never stops chirping at opponents. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">...And the Seniors are the Glue</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Sophomores will get a lot of the headlines but [player_tooltip player_id='1022270' first='Trent' last='Hinkle'] and [player_tooltip player_id='932793' first='Ondre' last='Wicks'] combined for 21 points and both play super hard. Wicks especially made some highlight plays including a big dunk in transition. Hinkle is the captain on the court and a very vocal leader. [player_tooltip player_id='1221422' first='Anthony' last='Lawrence'] also contributed with constant ball pressure that led to multiple steals over the course of the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Great Crossing will be Battle Tested by March</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There weren't a ton of bright spots for the Warhawks but they need games like this to get ready for their eventual postseason run. They face a formidable schedule and will host another top team when North Laurel comes to Georgetown on Tuesday. [player_tooltip player_id='1130310' first='Malachi' last='Moreno'] really struggled against Western's bigs but it will only make him better in the long run. [player_tooltip player_id='1208167' first='Gage' last='Richardson'] made a couple of threes and showed he can be an elite shooter and doesn't need much space. [player_tooltip player_id='1320254' first='Jeremiah' last='Godfrey'] continues to show improvement and could be an elite rebounder if he decides that's what he wants to be. If the Senior transfers of [player_tooltip player_id='932770' first='Trey' last='Skaggs'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1184584' first='DeJohn' last='Blunt'] can provide some leadership and solid guard play and [player_tooltip player_id='939114' first='Junius' last='Burrell'] can take care of the ball, they will compete for regional championships and beyond.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Final Thoughts</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Western has a very tough district and are likely to see a lot of zone defense this season. They need to find at least one knockdown shooter to bust those zones. I'm sure they will see zone when district tournament rolls around.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Warriors scored 77 points and I'm not sure they called one set play. That's how disruptive they are on defense and how effective they are at getting out and running in transition.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Great Crossing will not see that type of pressure in the 11th region this season. Their halfcourt offense seemed effective in limited opportunities and they had good action on their sets.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The atmosphere at Western was fantastic. It felt more like a dirt bowl than a high school scrimmage. Lots of oohs and ahhs. If you can, make a trip to Rockford Lane for a game this season. It's a fun place to watch a game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->