This past Thursday I attended the Atari Classic at Bishop Gorman High School which featured big time recruits and some good games. Chino Hills battled Federal Way and Bishop Gorman player Orange Lutheran.
In game one Chino Hills imploded after star player, Onyeka Okongwu picked up his third foul. Chino desperately needs him on the floor at all times so that was a brutal loss. And it really shows how valuable of a player he is. The college he ends up at will be very happy to have him. Federal Way’s defense and physicality rattled Chino Hills in the 2nd half. This led to many easy fast break points, a category which Federal Way is dominated in. This defense leading to offense helped Federal Way reach a double digit lead for the first game all day. Federal Way size, length, and physicality bothered Chino Hills all game. Jaden McDaniels had 15 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block, and 2 steals before fouling out. He’s a top 5 player in the country who made a huge impact definitely against Chino Hills. Was fun watching him play even though it wasn’t near his best performance. Federal Way blew their double digit lead in part because Jalen McDaniels fouled out. Okongwu was able to dominate the paint with McDaniels on the bench. Federal Way beat Chino Hills 49-45.
Isaiah Cotrell and Matur Maker went head to head in the Tark Classic as Bishop Gorman and Orange Lutheran battled wire to wire. This game was tied at 67 with under a minute to go, Noah Taitz hit a big three and then sealed the game with a dunk to give Gorman the 73-67 win. Cotrell scores 16 points against Maker and kept making contested shots inside, he could definitely be a great college player. As for Maker, he’s a very talented player that I haven’t seen much of but I was not impressed by his performance against Gorman. I felt as if though he could drive whenever he wanted and use his strength to power through the smaller defenders who were on him. Instead Maker kept chucking up threes and I don’t think he made one. As flashy as the three is I don’t think that’s Maker’s game and I’d like to see him dominate the paint in the future.
In my opinion, Nevada needs to implement a shot clock in high school basketball. Having no shot clock doesn’t help prepare these players for college basketball. Watching a team stand 5 feet behind the 3 point line and wait 40 seconds to run offense is not basketball. It’s just a shame to see that Nevada is stuck in the olden days of basketball, they need to change with the times and get a shot clock asap!
