NDP at Higley: Varsity Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thursday January 4th I attended the 5A matchup of the&nbsp;<strong>Notre Dame Prep Saints&nbsp;</strong>traveling to Gilbert to take on the&nbsp;<strong>Higley Knights</strong>.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Higley came out hot behind [player_tooltip player_id='1369218' first='Gavin' last='Dabney'] 8 points and took a 14-12 1st quarter lead. Then NDP proceeded to go on a 29-12 run to grab a 41-26 halftime lead with [player_tooltip player_id='996176' first='Bryce' last='Quinet'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1123040' first='Anthony' last='Batson Jr'] leading the charge. The 3rd and 4th quarters also belonged to the Saints with 24-17 and 23-13 clips to win <strong>88-56</strong> impressively beating a good 5A team. [player_tooltip player_id='1491233' first='Will' last='Feagles'] showed off this half what he can do. [player_tooltip player_id='2107122' first='Sami' last='Sibai'] got his 1st start ever and did admirably and meanwhile [player_tooltip player_id='996764' first='Brennan' last='Peterson'] had his 1st game back after his November MCL strain injury and played well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Saints are only getting better and when [player_tooltip player_id='2302768' first='Hayden' last='Stebbins'] gets back with a minor injury, they will be at full strength and a dangerous OPEN team for anyone. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Here were the Varsity Standouts:</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1123040' first='Anthony' last='Batson Jr'] Notre Dame Prep&nbsp;(Pictured left)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the most explosive players in the AIA started the game with an alley-oop dunk off of a back door to set the tone that he was going to have a big night. He runs like a track star on the break and drives in the paint and rebounds with a quick second jump. He can post up and crab dribble inside to score. He also is a very passer and is great in the passing lanes. He had a complete game of 30 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1491233' first='Will' last='Feagles'] Notre Dame Prep</strong> <strong>(Pictured right)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another superb athlete had a few eye popping dunks on the break. He shows off his bounce on defense with collecting rebounds and blocking shots. He can hit the three and then ball fake into a reverse layup. His passing seems to be improving as he can drive and kick it and slither some into teammates. He finished with 11 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='996176' first='Bryce' last='Quinet'] Notre Dame Prep</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The point guard of the team guided them some incredible passes but can slide over and play off the ball and let his deep three go off the catch with range. He hit four with real range and has a super quick release to let it fly quickly. He can also crossover into a dribble drive and rebounds well with his strength and size. He scored 22 points with 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='996764' first='Brennan' last='Peterson'] Notre Dame Prep</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The sniper finally made it back from his injury. He was on a minute restriction off the bench but still played well. He made his usual catch and shoot triples with a quick release and made some nifty passes, one being a behind the back pass perfectly to a post player. When he is fully healthy, this is a dangerous team.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1194267' first='Mitchell' last='Perkins'] Notre Dame Prep</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The man in the middle is Perkins. He has brute strength, broad shoulders with long arms to rebound. He seems to grab offensive rebounds in bunches with his top end motor. He also seems to always be in the correct spot to take passes from the four players mentioned already for scores near the basket. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1694989' first='Brody' last='Postorino'] Notre Dame Prep&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The sophomore is becoming a classic 3 and D type for the next level. He can get hot from the three and will drive the lane but his defense is what stands out. He has a stocky frame with good lateral quickness and natural strength and toughness to keep his opponents in front of him.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2107122' first='Sami' last='Sibai'] Notre Dame Prep</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An undersized pure point guard got his first start ever and cashed in. He handle some of the point guard duties with Quinet and just simply makes the correct reads and he even went 3-3 shooting the ball from the field with threes and a quick burst drive. He even took a charge showing his toughness.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1369218' first='Gavin' last='Dabney'] Higley</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A scoring machine made it look easy in stretches. He scores on pull-ups from mid to the three point line, euro game and hesitations to get to the basket. He can post up and go to work with fall aways, scores in transition and takes contact well with his size. He scored 20+ points. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1482211' first='Noah' last='Gloor'] Higley</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A talented undersized guard is a bucket. He scores on blow bys with his left or right hand and has deep three point range with a quick release. He is very quick with the ball in his hands and manages to get to his spots. He scored 10+ points. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1369217' first='Donovan' last='Dabney'] Higley&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A strong wing forward can score on pull-ups off the dribble from mid-range and he is very good two-handed rebounder cleaning the glass. He makes smart reads to teammates and can handle it up the court. He scored 10+ points.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1369216' first='Brayden' last='Hatcher'] Higley&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A long lefty shooter from the three point line off the catch. He scores in transition and has the floater game.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2315030' first='Maceo' last='Perrone'] Higley</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is Perrone first year with organized basketball and he has a nice skill set with long arms and a lean frame. He scores it with the three, floaters and has some natural speed and athleticism. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->