Maricopa at Highland: Varsity Standouts

Thursday, January 5th I attended the 6A match-up of the Highland Hawks hosting the Maricopa Rams.   The Hawks currently sit at 5th in 6A and the Rams are 27th.   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']<a href="https://prephoops.com/player/michael-johnson-6/"></a><a></a> and [player_tooltip player_id='1165972' first='Noah' last='Peterson']<a href="https://prephoops.com/player/noah-peterson/"></a><a></a> doing his usual strong play.   The Hawks defeated the Rams 83-42 and the starting-5 sat the entire fourth quarter.   <h2>Here were some of the players who stood out:</h2>   [player_tooltip player_id='1735336' first='Michael' last='Johnson'] Highland (Pictured)   A shooting guard is a catch and shoot three point king. He is a smooth operator off the catch but will give a hard shot fake and will side step and shoot the three. He is a fluid mover and has an ultimate quick release. He makes good reads and you will rarely see him attempt a bad shot. His strong play fueled the Hawks to get out with a big lead in the first half.   [player_tooltip player_id='1735857' first='Hayden' last='Winegar'] Highland   A steady performer does many things well. He will shoot the catch three with a quick release and has a high IQ. He is a smart passer and plays from the neck up. He knows his role and is very competitive on defense inside with their undersized team. He will crash the glass for offensive rebounds and score on put backs.   [player_tooltip player_id='1165972' first='Noah' last='Peterson'] Highland    The heart and soul of the team is a truck inside to score. He is built like a linebacker and moves well. He is a very underrated passer and as the defense collapses on him, he darts a pass to the open man. He has a quick burst to get into the teeth of the defense and use his build to score thru contact easily. His change of direction is deceptively impressive. His handle and passing skills are very underrated parts of his game.     [player_tooltip player_id='1735858' first='Brock' last='Knollmiller'] Highland    An athletic forward is well built and he is very efficient near the basket. He straight line drives and will throw it down shockingly well. They even set up lob plays for him. He plays the passing lanes extremely well and will play above the rim on the break. He gives them extra possessions and lays it on the line.       [player_tooltip player_id='831123' first='Isaac' last='Kaps'] Highland   An athletic lead guard is very fast in the open court. He moves the ball to open teammates and plays conservatively and within himself. He loves the mid range game and gets very high elevation on his jumpers. He is a steady presence for the Hawks as he rarely turns it over and rebounds the ball well for a guard.   [player_tooltip player_id='1735859' first='Ryan' last='Moon'] Highland    A decent sized small forward has a sweet shooting stroke from the perimeter. He moves without the ball, plays fundamentally sound defense and checks a lot of boxes to a player they can count on off the bench to produce.   Josh Gulbrandsen 6'2 SF 2024 Highland    The ultimate glue guy for the Hawks. He is another that comes off the bench and does his job. He rebounds anything near him. He won't score much, but he will knock down the open jumper when given space and time. He is a perfect piece to the puzzle and he will most likely start next year and do a lot of the dirty work.    [player_tooltip player_id='1225557' first='Triston' last='Walters'] Maricopa   The top scorer for the Rams. He is a strong upper bodied scoring lead guard that is a natural scorer with the ball in his hands. He creates a lot of his own offense. He has a high level pull-up from mid-range and if he gets to his sweet spot from the elbow, it is money. He takes charges and is tough on the ball defensively. He played through an injury showing his leadership.    [player_tooltip player_id='1375692' first='Andrew' last='Hoxie'] Maricopa   A finesse power forward has bounce and skill. He is a quick leaper who can spring up to block shots and closes out to shooters well. He likes facing up and can hit from mid-range or the three off the catch. He is a two-dribble straight line driver and he is very good on the break to dunk it or score on euros. A fun player to watch.     [player_tooltip player_id='1735860' first='Isaac' last='Warren'] Maricopa    A catch and shoot type who has some quickness with the ball. He can rattle off triples one by one. He rebounds in his area and is a smart player to relocate to an open spot. When he is shooting it, it opens up space inside for Hoxie.   Ruben White C 6'5 2026 Maricopa   A thick freshman with big hands and feet. He is slowly leaning out per the staff. He moves decently from end to end and plays a little on all three levels. He can lean out some more but is definitely someone to monitor with his size and upside.

Thursday, January 5th I attended the 6A match-up of the Highland Hawks hosting the Maricopa Rams.