Friday Fun on I-79!

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Hoops got a little crazy with the snow falling and covered TWO games in the North Hills last night! We took in the Mechanicsburg victory over North Hills and then hopped on I-79 and headed up to Butler County for the second half of North Catholic's win over Hickory. Who stood out?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1549174' first='Chance' last='Yanoski'] </strong>| 6'2" | G | Mechanicsburg 2025</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yanoski exploded for nearly 20 in the win over North Hills. Just a sophomore, he's got poise with the ball in his hands, fits into the offensive set well and can create his own shot. He was excellent in transition, could pull up in the mid range and was hitting on all pistons last night. He was also a good on-ball defender. He showed to be a very coachable player and with two more years to go he and his backcourt mates could take Mechanicsburg to heights not seen in some time.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2478639' first='Josh' last='Smith']</strong> | 6'0" | G |Mechanicsburg 2025</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The most impressive player on the court last night. Smith played with the poise of a senior on the big stage. Coming into a playoff game four hours away from home in a hostile environment, Smith handled the ball with purpose and displayed an excellent basketball IQ. The multi-sport athlete(WRDB on football team) brought a toughness to the lead guard role. He used superior ballhandling skills and a quick first step to get the ball up the floor against the press and facilitates well in the halfcourt. Mechanicsburg exploited a guard mismatch in this one.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1173989' first='Royce' last='Parham']</strong> | 6'8" | F | North Hills 2024</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Royce did what Royce does last night. He took second chances off missed shots, grabbed offensive rebounds and got easy putbacks. Mechanicsburg threw a good defensive look at NH the entire night and that included not double teaming Parham...but sometimes TRIPLE teaming Parham, daring the guards to shoot it and then trying to simply swarm Royce on the glass to deflect it away. It worked well, but Royce still bulled his way to 22 points on the night. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>So, after Mechanicsburg showed they were the better organized, better coached team with better guard play....We got a text from our friends at North Catholic, asking if we had plans for after our game ended in Ross...So, we hit a snowy I-79 and double dipped!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1188004' first='Max' last='Hurray']</strong> | 6'2" | G | North Catholic 2024</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The big bodied guard, part of a 5 guard set for the Trojans, was on fire last night. Hurray put the ball on the floor, attacked the rim and finished. He came off screens for open 3s. He created his own shot on step backs. He's a tough defender and will be one of the top players in the region next year and is a scholarship level prospect with an offer from U-Mass Lowell</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1186069' first='Andrew' last='Maddalon']</strong> | 6'2" | G | North Catholic</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We said a week ago that Maddalon's best asset was his fitness. Well, while Hickory and even some of his teammates slowed down a half step, Maddalon kept right on chugging in the third quarter, playing at warp speed. He got to the hole easily, finished with both hands and can facilitate the ball well in halfcourt sets. He's a heady player with a strong build who should have an opportunity to earn minutes as a freshman next year at Roanoke.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1186070' first='Max' last='Rottman']</strong> | 6'0" | G | North Catholic</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rottman picks his spots on offense in a set where all 5 guards on the floor are capable of scoring in double digits on any night, but the Roanoke commit did the best work of his evening on the defensive side while Hurray, Maddalon and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1576674' first='Matt' last='Ellery']</strong> went off on offense. Rottman's defensive posture and quick feet should give him a chance to earn early minutes in college as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->