Sweet-16 of 4A: Thunderbird at Mesquite

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Thursday, February 16th I attended the 4A Sweet-16 playoff game with the #12 seed Thunderbird Titans at the #5 seed Mesquite Wildcats.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Right away the game got almost out of control at 20-6 after the 1st quarter.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2nd quarter was more the same as it was 44-25 at halftime. [player_tooltip player_id='1216999' first='Jaylen' last='Wollangk'] seemed to be everywhere.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the 3rd quarter [player_tooltip player_id='1482164' first='Desean' last='Middlebrook'], [player_tooltip player_id='814517' first='Cohen' last='J Gonzales'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1216999' first='Jaylen' last='Wollangk'] were dominant during stretches. [player_tooltip player_id='1444282' first='Ryan' last='Calcaterra'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1757944' first='Marshall' last='Kerley'] did well for the Titans in this quarter but trailed 63-40 heading into the 4th quarter. [player_tooltip player_id='1757699' first='Paris' last='Strozier Jr'] picked it up a little but too much Wildcats and the starters were pulled in the middle of the fourth and they won <strong>84-55</strong>.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><strong>Here were some of the standouts of the Sweet-16 playoff game</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='814517' first='Cohen' last='J Gonzales'] Mesquite</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A dynamic scoring lead guard moves without the ball all game long. He keeps running and he is hard to keep up with. He will score a variety of ways from driving layups, he has incredible open court speed to literally out race the defenders to the basket and has a super quick release off the catch from the three point line. He seems to glide in the air at times. He is very quick to the ball and his pick and roll action was on point as he was setting up his teammates. He scored 23 points with four triples. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1216999' first='Jaylen' last='Wollangk'] Mesquite</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Once again a good showing from the junior point guard. He set the table all night long with an eye popping 9 assists. He is creating his own offense more and more with fall aways in the post and gets to the basket off the bounce. He is also a pest on the ball defensively and has quick anticipation to steal the ball in the passing lanes. He uses his upper body strength to get into the paint and dumps it off often and is a very good rebounder for his size. Unofficially he scored 17 points with 9 assists and an impressive 5 steals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1482164' first='Desean' last='Middlebrook'] Mesquite&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A talented wing forward brings a lot to the table. He has super long arms and he can defend inside and on the perimeter. He has good lateral quickness and moves effortlessly like a wing. He will grab out of area rebounds with strong hands, he has a huge motor and then take the ball the length of the court to go coast to coast. He runs the court well and will close out to a shooter to block his shot. Offensively he scores on put backs, he has a polished floater, he is a good passer and keeps the ball high to score in traffic over the defenders when he rips thru. He can also score on reverse layups under the defenders. The well rounded freshman had 22 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2282502' first='Jamar' last='Trotter'] PF 6'2 2024 Mesquite&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An undersized power forward who works his tail off in the paint. He runs the court, plays hard and will score on layups around the basket. He is a perfect compliment to their offensive weapons to do the dirty work, but he can shoot it a little from the perimeter as well.&nbsp;He scored 8 points. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Michael Calvin W 5'10 2024 Mesquite&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Their fifth starter is a thicker defensive wing. He comes with longer arms, good strength and above average lateral quickness to stay with his opponents. He will grab rebounds out of his area, run the floor and score the ball around the rim. Anything he gives them offensively is gravy since he will do the little things to win a game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1444282' first='Ryan' last='Calcaterra'] Thunderbird</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A scoring point guard had some very good stretches. He can drive the lane for layups or finger rolls very smoothly. He is not afraid of the contact and can score thru it. He will hit the catch three and plays with some grit. He scored 9 points.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1757699' first='Paris' last='Strozier Jr'] Thunderbird</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A long defensive two-way guard handles the ball a lot. He will literally defend all five positions with his length and strength for his size. He will drive and kick it and often finds the open man. He grabs way out of his area rebounds and he is a quick second and third jumper. He can blow by his defender with layups with a burst to the rim quickly but doesn't take too many shots. He seems to like to facilitate first then score. He scored 8 points.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1633055' first='Will' last='Clark'] Thunderbird</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A physical undersized power forward with toughness. He can rip thru in traffic and once he gains position to score, he is hard to keep from putting two on the scoreboard. He is an in-traffic rebounder using his physical build/frame and some vertical pop. He can also step out and rattle off triples. He will block shots and plays aggressively. He scored 10 points.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1633016' first='Aidan' last='Rampley'] Thunderbird</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A skilled combo guard moves the ball like you should and can score. He was playing more lead guard in this game and played with energy. He actually posted up one play to score and was really looking to facilitate all night long. He should have a bigger role next year when Kerley graduates. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1757944' first='Marshall' last='Kerley'] Thunderbird&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the better senior wing shooters in 4A. He drilled five deep ones and did some in style. He gives hard ball fakes to get the defender guessing and uses a super quick trigger to fire away. He is a plus rebounder in and out of his area and he is a very smart passer to see the open man when the defense closes out quickly. He scored 16 points with his five threes. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1756481' first='Kellen' last='Braddix'] Thunderbird</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An athletic guard plays the passing lanes and has quick hands to collect steals. He chased many rebounds out of his area and made some plays to his teammates. With all the older guards has has to find his spots to help and he defends well and uses his bounce to get on the glass and be disruptive. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Chase Benson PG 5'10 2024 Thunderbird</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A strong upper bodied point guard who likes to get to the rim. He has a sneaky burst and can handle the contact in the paint. He looks to make plays and is a physical defender and will rebound. His first instinct is to definitely look to dime his teammates.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->