Maricopa at Highland: JV Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thursday, January 5th I attended the 6A match-up of the <strong>Highland Hawks</strong> hosting the <strong>Maricopa Rams</strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Hawks currently sit at 5th in 6A and the Rams are 27th. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>True to script the Hawks broke open the game in the 2nd quarter and led 53-24 at halftime. More the same behind the hot shooting from [player_tooltip player_id='1735336' first='Michael' last='Johnson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1165972' first='Noah' last='Peterson'] doing his usual strong play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Hawks defeated the Rams <strong>83-42</strong> and the starting-5 sat the entire fourth quarter. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Before the varsity game I caught the JV game and here were some of the players who stood out: </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1734005' first='Grady' last='Crandall'] Highland&nbsp;(Pictured)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A combo guard who does a little bit of everything. He is a very balanced player as he can shoot, pass and dribble. He is very smart and plays the right way. He is a good passer and super competitive on defense and he can defend the 1-4 with his strength. He has an incredible burst of speed to get downhill and score with his sturdy frame. He can hit the catch three and as easy as he scores it, he dishes it just as well. A true combo guard will be on varsity sooner rather than later.  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1734007' first='Talon' last='Knollmiller'] Highland</strong>&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A shooting combo guard can rattle in triples. He is a good passer who will make extra passes. He is willing to give his body up to take a charge and he is also very quick to cut off his man on defense. He has a burst to blow past his defenders and has a high feel for the game. His two brothers are pure athletes and you can see a little of that in him with some pop in his bounce. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1735325' first='Walker' last='Stum'] Highland&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A bigger combo guard can rip thru and score on contested layups. He has a stronger upper body to handle contact in the lane. He plays on or off the ball and has good ball rotation on his shot. He made a few impressive up the court passes and does the little things. He also plays a little on varsity. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1734008' first='Travin' last='Merrill'] Highland&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A decent sized power forward with long arms is very good inside. He will protect the rim with blocking shots and rebounds well in his area. He has good hands and is a fluid athlete. He passes the ball smartly out of the post and can score on put backs and layups. He is in constant motion without the ball. He looks like he is not done growing. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1735324' first='Gary' last='Hoxie'] Maricopa&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The younger brother of Andrew has potential. He can become a big time shot blocker with very long arms. He is a natural glass cleaner who moves well in space and covers a lot of ground on defense. He is a straight line driver who does most of his work inside the paint. He is a quick second jumper and the focal point of the JV offense who plays a little on JV. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Case Larson PG 5'11 2025 Highland</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A tough scoring point guard. He likes getting into the lane and is always moving the ball quickly. Up the court passes and gets the ball out of his hands like you should. He works well off the pick and roll game and usually finds the open man. He rebounds and will push the rock. He drove and kicked it many times to teammates.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Antwun Wallace PF 6'3 2024 Maricopa&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A skilled forward who is an inside and out scorer. He does work best inside the paint but can extend out. He has a soft touch with some post footwork and he will hit the three or score in the mid-range area. He will be on varsity probably starting next year with many seniors on varsity currently. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Snyder White PG 5'6 2024 Mariopca</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A tough undersized, scoring lead guard. He handles the ball well and can create some of his own offense. He can shoot it from the three point line and use a burst with some shift in his handle to get into the lane. Despite his size he competes with anyone on both sides of the court. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->