Game Notes:
This game was a tale of two different halves. Desert Vista had an obvious advantage of athleticism, but Marcos has a few players that refuse to play intimidated. Marcos put up a fight in the first half. They went into a zone and Desert Vista was not attacking it, and had trouble getting shot attempts.
Although they played tight, Marcos let a few quick scores go at the end of the first quarter, and… Quincy Taylor let a shot go from deep in the back court at the buzzer that hit the back of the rim and fell through the bucket. It brought both sides of the stands to their feet. The quarter ended with a 22-13 DV lead.
However, the Marcos zone kicked in and they were able to get back within 2 mid way through the seconds quarter. At half time the game was still at a reasonable 39-34 DV lead.
The second half was a completely different story. DV employed a three-quarter court diamond press that was effective, as Marcos did not send any cutters down the lane when they were able to pass the ball past half court. Otherwise, they might have had some open layups. But, DV was clearly out to win it. The score at the end of the 3rd was 66-53.
The fourth quarter is was all DV. They stretched the lead into the 20s quickly, and held on for the win. I could have sworn that the final score was 92-64, but the final board somehow changed to 92-66.
Desert Vista is deep with athletes and skilled players, but they played unselfishly and each player was willing to give the ball up to someone else that had a better shot attempt. They are certainly a contender. I overheard some people among the crowd that thought they did not play a very sound game, but I would disagree. You cannot score 92 points while playing badly. They just need to attack a zone better, fine tune that press for when they face a more athletic and skilled team, and put it together for all 48 minutes. But they are deep. Again, I saw a contender.
Marcos was better than their record shows. They have leaders and players that can make plays, but they are just not deep at all.
Player Takes:[/B]
Marcos de Niza
Chris Wright - Soph - He is the leading scorer for the team so far this season. He came out knocking down threes to keep Marcos in the game. He showed deep range with one of his threes, and also showed some ball handling with a couple nice penetrations to the basket. He finished with 20 points and 4 threes. Keep an eye on him to continue being a scoring threat for the offense.
Sean Wood[/I] - Sr - A true leader on the court. He also has some good athletic ability. His skill set is broadening. He was hitting jumpers and also attacking the basket. He hustles for rebounds and is the team's top player. He has official offers from Benedictine Mesa, and John Jay College of Criminal Justice (Manhattan, NY). He wants to major in Criminal Justice. He finished with 16 points that included a one handed dunk, as well as 10 rebounds.
Mason Stark[/I] - Soph - He is probably my favorite player on the team to watch. He is the smallest kid on the court but certainly does not play like it. He plays with confidence no matter who is guarding him. He plays exceptionally smart. He can drain deep threes and also knows how to drive to the hole. Even with his size, once he gets by his defender he commits to taking it up strong for a layup even with a bigger defender on his back.
Bryan Battle[/I] - Jr - I was told that he is just as young as the sophomores on the team. He has a bulky 6-foot-3 frame. He was a workhorse for Marcos. He was a good contributor on offense and defense. His skill set can improve but he is a good role player.
Desert Vista[/B] - (The score book took off before I could get to it)
Brandon Clarke - Sr - At 6-foot-7 Clarke had control of the basket on both ends of the floor. He is fluid and has pretty good fundamentals. He defends the basket well and is a springy shot blocker. I lost count of how many blocks he had in the game. He also jumps for rebounds. He didn't have to be too physical but he had a few good moves with his back to the basket, and finished nearly every shot attempt around the basket.
David Powell[/I] - Jr - He hit a variety of shots throughout the game - threes and mid range jumpers with hands in his face. I think he only missed one shot on the night. A PG that can get very creative with the pass on the fast break.
Quincy Taylor[/I] - Sr - He put together a highlight reel throughout the night. He started it off with a dunk off of two feet down the middle of the lane from about 6 or 7 feet out. When he went up I was not expecting to see him sky so high and throw it down with two hands so easily. He had 6 dunks on the night, with two of them being put back dunks. On his last put back he went up from the baseline underneath the basket and grabbed it with his left hand, he got stuffed by the rim at first but was able to fight back and finished it off. He also hit his lone outside shot attempt from three. Oh wait, it was not his lone outside shot attempt, he hit a three-quarter court shot at the buzzer in the first quarter.
Caleb Simmons[/I] - Soph - He is lengthy and a nice looking athlete. As a sophomore he is already a strong piece of the team. He played hard on both ends and played with the team. He communicated well on defense and always had his arms up and active. Keep a close eye on him.
Desert Vista has a lot of players that can come off the bench. They have subs for guard play and size.
This post was edited on 12/13 7:35 PM by Dutch Perryman
This game was a tale of two different halves. Desert Vista had an obvious advantage of athleticism, but Marcos has a few players that refuse to play intimidated. Marcos put up a fight in the first half. They went into a zone and Desert Vista was not attacking it, and had trouble getting shot attempts.
Although they played tight, Marcos let a few quick scores go at the end of the first quarter, and… Quincy Taylor let a shot go from deep in the back court at the buzzer that hit the back of the rim and fell through the bucket. It brought both sides of the stands to their feet. The quarter ended with a 22-13 DV lead.
However, the Marcos zone kicked in and they were able to get back within 2 mid way through the seconds quarter. At half time the game was still at a reasonable 39-34 DV lead.
The second half was a completely different story. DV employed a three-quarter court diamond press that was effective, as Marcos did not send any cutters down the lane when they were able to pass the ball past half court. Otherwise, they might have had some open layups. But, DV was clearly out to win it. The score at the end of the 3rd was 66-53.
The fourth quarter is was all DV. They stretched the lead into the 20s quickly, and held on for the win. I could have sworn that the final score was 92-64, but the final board somehow changed to 92-66.
Desert Vista is deep with athletes and skilled players, but they played unselfishly and each player was willing to give the ball up to someone else that had a better shot attempt. They are certainly a contender. I overheard some people among the crowd that thought they did not play a very sound game, but I would disagree. You cannot score 92 points while playing badly. They just need to attack a zone better, fine tune that press for when they face a more athletic and skilled team, and put it together for all 48 minutes. But they are deep. Again, I saw a contender.
Marcos was better than their record shows. They have leaders and players that can make plays, but they are just not deep at all.
Player Takes:[/B]
Marcos de Niza
Chris Wright - Soph - He is the leading scorer for the team so far this season. He came out knocking down threes to keep Marcos in the game. He showed deep range with one of his threes, and also showed some ball handling with a couple nice penetrations to the basket. He finished with 20 points and 4 threes. Keep an eye on him to continue being a scoring threat for the offense.
Sean Wood[/I] - Sr - A true leader on the court. He also has some good athletic ability. His skill set is broadening. He was hitting jumpers and also attacking the basket. He hustles for rebounds and is the team's top player. He has official offers from Benedictine Mesa, and John Jay College of Criminal Justice (Manhattan, NY). He wants to major in Criminal Justice. He finished with 16 points that included a one handed dunk, as well as 10 rebounds.
Mason Stark[/I] - Soph - He is probably my favorite player on the team to watch. He is the smallest kid on the court but certainly does not play like it. He plays with confidence no matter who is guarding him. He plays exceptionally smart. He can drain deep threes and also knows how to drive to the hole. Even with his size, once he gets by his defender he commits to taking it up strong for a layup even with a bigger defender on his back.
Bryan Battle[/I] - Jr - I was told that he is just as young as the sophomores on the team. He has a bulky 6-foot-3 frame. He was a workhorse for Marcos. He was a good contributor on offense and defense. His skill set can improve but he is a good role player.
Desert Vista[/B] - (The score book took off before I could get to it)
Brandon Clarke - Sr - At 6-foot-7 Clarke had control of the basket on both ends of the floor. He is fluid and has pretty good fundamentals. He defends the basket well and is a springy shot blocker. I lost count of how many blocks he had in the game. He also jumps for rebounds. He didn't have to be too physical but he had a few good moves with his back to the basket, and finished nearly every shot attempt around the basket.
David Powell[/I] - Jr - He hit a variety of shots throughout the game - threes and mid range jumpers with hands in his face. I think he only missed one shot on the night. A PG that can get very creative with the pass on the fast break.
Quincy Taylor[/I] - Sr - He put together a highlight reel throughout the night. He started it off with a dunk off of two feet down the middle of the lane from about 6 or 7 feet out. When he went up I was not expecting to see him sky so high and throw it down with two hands so easily. He had 6 dunks on the night, with two of them being put back dunks. On his last put back he went up from the baseline underneath the basket and grabbed it with his left hand, he got stuffed by the rim at first but was able to fight back and finished it off. He also hit his lone outside shot attempt from three. Oh wait, it was not his lone outside shot attempt, he hit a three-quarter court shot at the buzzer in the first quarter.
Caleb Simmons[/I] - Soph - He is lengthy and a nice looking athlete. As a sophomore he is already a strong piece of the team. He played hard on both ends and played with the team. He communicated well on defense and always had his arms up and active. Keep a close eye on him.
Desert Vista has a lot of players that can come off the bench. They have subs for guard play and size.
This post was edited on 12/13 7:35 PM by Dutch Perryman
