RCS Sports HoopsGiving Game Changers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thanksgiving is a great time to be thankful for everything we are blessed with...this Wednesday on Thanksgiving Eve was a great time to be thankful for the HoopsGiving Classic event that blessed us with some great basketball. Several players put on performances to remember, so lets give them the recognition they deserve! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2252500"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":2280884,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"u003cpu003eMalachi Booker was a main scorer for his St. John's team in their clutch win over Arlington Sam Houston on late Wednesday afternoon. Booker dropped a team high 28 points on 10/18 shooting from the field and was effective in many other ways as well. Malachi knows how to be physical on the boards grabbing 9 rebounds and this led to several transition points for the Mavericks where he was a big time catalyst. The main part I liked watching about him this game was that he showed he can beat a defense from all three levels of the floor: finishing at the rim through contact, from long range as he went 4/7 from deep, and also making his shots at the foul stripe going 4/7 from the free throw as well. I look forward to seeing how Malachi turns this into momentum heading forward as the schedule progresses to get tougher. He shows a lot of promise as he is only a freshman this year and his ceiling is very high.u0026nbsp;u003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":2280886,"_player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='2377510' first='Mason' last='McGowan']","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"6'4u0022","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"77247","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"San Antonio Wagner","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_1_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"u003cpu003eMason may not have been the highest scorer for the ThunderBirds this contest, but the way he impacted the game was superb. He was all over the floor, pushing the ball in transition and always finding his teammates in the right spots on the offensive side of the ball. The Howard Payne commit was locked in all game despite having a rough shooting first half, he managed to knock down some clutch three point jumpers and get some good defensive stops to secure the win in crunch time. McGowan was impressive with his team leadership and unselfishness this game, showing what makes his ceiling so high.u0026nbsp;u003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["1225322"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_player_featured_image":2280891,"_player_evaluations_2_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"u003cpu003eSebastian was a great playmaker for St. Johns this contest against Sam Houston and was the main ballhandler bringing the rock up the floor. Despite being double teamed for most of the game by the full court press, Sebastian still displayed a versatile skillset and was able to get to the rim and hit open jumpers when the defense left him open. Williams-Adams finished the game shooting 6/16, going 2/8 from long range, and hitting 5 of his 9 free throw shots. Sebastian always knew where his teammates were on the floor and showcased unselfish ability, hitting them with an easy assist for a knockdow shot. It is easy to see how Williams-Adams is not only one of the top ranked 2025 hoopers in Greater Houston, but in all of Texas. He plays with such a passion and skill for the game, it makes it look easy when he's on the floor.u0026nbsp;u003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_player_details_selected_featured_image":2280897,"_player_evaluations_3_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_3_player_details_player_name":"Jovanni Whitaker","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_3_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_3_player_details_height":"5'9u0022","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_3_player_details_position":"77248","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_3_player_details_school":"San Antonio Wagner","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_3_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_3_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_3_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"u003cpu003eJovanni started the game against Madison on fire with an early 3/3 from three point range and helped Wagner team get an early double digit lead. Whittaker continued this momentum into the second half and fired off a three point barrage to keep the double digit lead alive until the end of the contest. It didn't matter where Jovanni lined up on the perimeter, his point guard would always find him, usually wide open, and he would bury the easy look at the basket. He always looked so comfortable when he was on the floor and showed his ability as one of the best sharpshooters in this showcase. I was impressed by his calm, cool, and collected behavior as he constantly made the defense pay and also continued to be very vocal on the defensive end.u0026nbsp;u003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_player_details_selected_featured_image":2280903,"_player_evaluations_4_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_4_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='2354338' first='Sebastian' last='Mackey']","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_4_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_4_player_details_height":"6'3u0022","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_4_player_details_position":"77244","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_4_player_details_school":"Westbury Christian ","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_4_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_4_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_4_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"u003cpu003eSebastian had a great first game to open the tournament Wednesday against LCM, going for 19 points on 7/15 from the field and nailing all three of his free throws to help the Wildcats to a double digit 55-39 win. Mackey also pulled down 5 rebounds and played physical defense to hold the opposition to limited baskets. Judging from this game, Sebastian is a highly underrated 2024 glue guy who will do anything that his coach asks of him when he is on the floor. He is never afraid to use his frame to be physical, whether that is on the perimeter or the glass.u0026nbsp;u003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_5_player_details_selected_featured_image":2280907,"_player_evaluations_5_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_5_player_details_player_name":"Jordan Maddox","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_5_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_5_player_details_height":"6'4u0022","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_5_player_details_position":"77245","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_5_player_details_school":"Atascocita","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_5_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_5_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_5_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"Jordan was a very physical presence for Atascocita inside against the Carter Cowboys during the primetime game of the HoopsGiving Classic. Maddox ended the game with 18 points on 5/8 shooting and shot a team high 8/12 from the charity stripe. He also pulled down 8 rebounds and was very intimidating to go against in the post as he uses his long wingspan and vertical to send away shots of smaller matchups. He also is efficient running the pick and roll with his guard teammates as the screener, and knows how to roll to the rim after setting a good hard pick. Jordan also can shoot the ball as well although he didn't necessarily put that on display in this particular game. Look for Jordan to play an important role on this well-rounded Eagles team throughout the year.","_player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":6,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65612ca62f338"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->