Westmoore Practice Report

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Westmoore has slowly but surely climbed the rankings in Class 6A and as we sit here today, the Jaguars find themselves as the #2 team in the 6A west rankings with a 15-2 record. As the Jaguars went into the holiday break back in December, they had a 5-2 record and their two losses were to Del City and Norman in the Joe Lawson tournament. Since January 1st, the Jaguars are 10-0 and have tournament championship victories in the Putnam City Invitational and the John Nobles tourney in Moore. They won the PCI with a title game victory over Norman, avenging that December loss. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Jaguars have looked outstanding over the last month and they have firmly established themselves as a legitimate state championship contender. They have all but locked up one of the four regional sites when the playoffs roll around. Despite playing Norman and rivals Moore and Southmoore in the next few weeks, those games will not have any impact on the playoff seeds. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Now, Friday night is without a doubt the most important game on the schedule for Westmoore this season. They hit the road to take on defending state champion Edmond North. The Huskies are 14-2 and currently ranked as the #1 team in the 6A west rankings, this game could very well decide who ends up being the top seed in Class 6A on the west side. Saturday is the final day that games will count towards rankings as the playoff seeds will be finalized next week. While Edmond North might be the presumed favorite in Class 6A, if the Jaguars pull off the road win against the defending state champs, you would definitely have to put Westmoore in that top spot on Monday. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Hoops Oklahoma will be in the house for that showdown in Edmond and if the Jaguars are able to beat the Huskies on their home floor, you would have to think that its time to start considering Westmoore one of the main favorites to capture the 6A state championship. Fellow contenders Broken Arrow and Putnam City North among others will have something to say about that. But there's no denying that the Jaguars are playing great basketball and they are going to give the defending state champs everything they want on Friday night. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Below, we take a look at three players that have stood out to us in one way or another so far this season for the Jaguars.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["981279"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"We've written quite a bit over the last 12 months how Westmoore senior guard and UCO signee [player_tooltip player_id='981279' first='Evan' last='Barber'] is one of the best shooters in Oklahoma. But that's not all Barber is and he's proven that this season. Barber can still absolutely fill it up from just about anywhere on the floor as the range continues to be ridiculous. But Barber can score from everywhere and has become one of the best scorers in the state this season. In fact, last month, Barber became the school's all time leading scorer. And there's no doubt that he's playing some of his best basketball and doing it at a high level. As mentioned earlier, the Jaguars have some very impressive wins and Barber has walked away with MVP awards in some of the toughest tournament fields this season. All eyes in Class 6A will be on Westmoore at Edmond North on Friday night and particularly Barber going head to head with Edmond North's star guard [player_tooltip player_id='1367221' first='TO' last='Barrett'], who might be the best defensive guard in the state.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1585764"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1585764' first='Gavin' last='Loper'] is definitely a prospect to keep an eye on as we are now a few months away from the offseason and grassroots basketball kicking up in full swing. Loper is having an outstanding junior season with the Jaguars and has been a big part of why Westmoore is in contention for the top seed on the west side. While Westmoore's standout seniors will get the majority of the headlines, don't overlook what Loper has been able to do so far this season. He's been wildly efficient on the offensive end of the floor. He had a game earlier in January where he was perfect from the floor, scoring nearly 20 points in a road win over a top ten team. He's also made multiple All Tournament teams in tournaments that had some very talented players. If Westmoore truly contends for a state championship in March, don't be surprised when Loper is making some big plays on their road to a gold ball.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["1139378"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Westmoore is a very guard-heavy team but they do have one big in senior [player_tooltip player_id='1139378' first='Zach' last='Hays'] and he does a great job within his role. Hays has the potential to be a double-double machine every time he steps on the floor for the Jaguars. An with Westmoore having several guards that can shoot the ball, it puts pressure on their opponents to defend out further and further away from the basket. That has opened the door for Hays to absolutely clean up on entry passes as well as dominating the offensive glass and getting second chance opportunities. While Hays does a great job of being a post presence for the Jaguars, he does have the ability and has shown the ability to step out and knock down shots outside the paint. Something that impressed us earlier this season was his ability to grab the rebound on defense and push a fast break by himself. His passing has also continued to improve and he has become a complete player and prospect.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":3,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-63dc2b2745931"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->