Parham Perspective: Payton vs Westinghouse

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As my coaching season ended last week for Julian in the Regional Championship game, I thought it would be cool to go check out fellow Prep Hoops scout and head coach Reggie Bates as his team Payton played Westinghouse in the regional semis on Tuesday night. Here were the players that made an impact.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><u>Payton&nbsp;</u></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157204' first='Jakob' last='Blakley'] 6'0” 2024</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blakley had a very slow start because he was being face-guarded most of the game. With his slow start came a low-scoring first half. Jakob would play much more aggressively in the second half getting to his spot and hitting a pair of elbow jump shots as well as getting to the free-throw line several times. Blakley led all scorers with 18 points in the win.&nbsp;He is a D1 commit headed to Le Moyne.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2374540' first='Kai' last='Fogelson']&nbsp;6'3” 2024</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kai is another player who had a pretty slow start in the first half. He had several clean looks but couldn't get one to fall in the first half. But in the second he knew he would get open shots again and Kai kept shooting. He would make four three-pointers to help push Payton's lead to double digits. At 6'5 Fogelson has a fluid-looking shot when in catch-and-shoot situations. He finished the game with 15 points and 5 rebounds.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Myles Townsend&nbsp;6'2” 2024</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As Blakley was being face-guarded most of the game we saw Towsend step up and make some key plays for Payton when the game looked to going very slow. Myles is a stocky guard who handled the pressure of Westinghouse very well. He made plays driving to the paint and drawing defenders to drop off passes to teammates at the rim. In the final stretch of the game Myles was key as he made free throws to close out to the game for Payton he finished with 11 points.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><u>Westinghouse&nbsp;</u></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1978598' first='Treyvon' last='Ali'] 6'3 2024</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ali was very good at the start of the game as he kicked the game off with a three-pointer. He followed that up with some layups against the zone. His quick start gave the Warriors an early lead and paced his team with 9 points all in the first quarter. As the second half started Treyvon struggled and only managed to hit one shot from the top of the key. The Grizzlies defense held Westinghouse to one shot each possession. Ali would finish the game with just 12 points.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1978585' first='DJ' last='Bolden'] 6'2 2024</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bolden just couldn't get things going in tonight's game. He made a few shots every so often but just wasn't as consistent to get his team going in the second half. DJ was able to get some good looks at the rim against the Payton's zone but just didn't get many to fall. As he did get to the foul line a few times and made all of the free ones he never could catch a rhythm from behind the arc. He scored one field goal in the first quarter and the rest came from the line. He finished with 7 points. After having a terrific senior season he struggled in the loss.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->