5 Takeaways: Hebron vs Allen

<p>I got to see a non-district matchup between the Hebron Hawks and Allen Eagles Friday night. Allen got out to an early lead and never looked back, controlling this game from start to finish. Although the Hawks put together a few runs in the third quarter, they were simply overwhelmed by the talent of the Eagles and were not able to overcome a 22-point halftime deficit. Allen cruised to an 86-65 victory over Hebron and remain undefeated at home this season. </p> <p>Here are five takeaways from the game:</p> <h4><strong>Allen’s offense is exceptional </strong></h4> <p>The Eagles’ roster is loaded with star power. They have a diverse group of scoring options who all contribute in a number of ways. <strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/mason-gibson/">[player_tooltip player_id="779904" first="Mason" last="Gibson"]</a></strong> is a great distributor, <strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/thailand-elder/">[player_tooltip player_id="766931" first="Thailand" last="Elder"]</a></strong> and <strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/ian-motta/">[player_tooltip player_id="887097" first="Ian" last="Motta"]</a></strong> can light it up from behind the arc, <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/bryce-kennedy/"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="766981" first="Bryce" last="Kennedy"]</strong></a> is excellent on the drive, and <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/manny-obaseki/"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="684376" first="Manny" last="Obaseki"]</strong></a> is just an overall stud who can get his from anywhere. They don’t waste any time getting into their offense and love to push the tempo. However, they slow it down when they don’t like what they see and seem to come away with a high percentage shot on every possession. This is an elite offensive team. </p> <h4><strong>Hebron made some good adjustments at halftime </strong></h4> <p>During the first half, Hebron was baited into taking a bunch of really tough shots. They fell behind early as a result and were never able to recover. That said, I really liked the way they changed things up in the second half. Senior point guard <strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/logan-mclaughlin/">[player_tooltip player_id="766919" first="Logan" last="McLaughlin"]</a></strong> stopped settling for poor looks from three and instead got himself going via his mid-range game. The rest of the team followed his lead and got the ball inside more as well. Although the Hawks could not overcome a forgettable first half, they proved that they can adjust when they need to. </p> <h4><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="684376" first="Manny" last="Obaseki"] is an elite scorer</strong></h4> <p>The No. 2 ranked player in our <a href="https://prephoops.com/texas/rankings/2021-rankings/">Prep Hoops Texas 2021 rankings</a> is a versatile combo guard who can get it done from all three levels on offense. Obaseki likes to play above the rim when he has the opportunity but can finish with grace and finesse in traffic as well. He had a pair of two-handed tomahawk dunks that really got the home crowd going. He also drilled a step-back three after getting his defender off-balance with a nice crossover. The junior is an explosive athlete who basically did whatever he wanted to vs. Hebron. </p> <h4><strong> Reese Smith is a certified sniper from deep</strong></h4> <p>This is the second opportunity I’ve had to see Smith play. I can confidently say that he is one of the most underrated shooters in Texas. The 6-foot-7-inch forward operates as stretch four. He has a beautiful jumper and can make it rain from three. He doesn’t need a lot of room to get his shot off and is not bothered by defenders closing out on him. Smith is more than a catch-and-shoot specialist though. The senior is a sneaky good passer too. He had some really pretty assists early in this contest and excels at making touch passes from the interior. </p> <h4><strong>Allen has the personnel to win their second 6A State Title in three years</strong></h4> <p>When I think of Allen High School, I think of one of the most dominant HS football programs of all time. Although they are still a phenomenal football school in the post-Kyler Murray era, their basketball program has really begun to take off. The Eagles captured the 6A Texas State Championship during the 2017-2018 season, and they have more than enough talent to reach that pinnacle once again. Kennedy, Obaseki, and Gibson were all members of that championship team two seasons ago as underclassmen. They know what it takes to win. This Allen team should be poised for a deep playoff run and perhaps another state title when it’s all said and done. </p>