NHSI First Day Play
Ron Bailey, Publisher
Following is a rundown of the National High School Invitational's first day.
Montverde 62 La Lumiere 54
Up 28-19 at intermission in the day's first contest, Montverde (FL) seemed on cruise mode, destined for an easy win. La Lumiere (IN) didn't get the memo, clawing back to within 28-25 with 4:52 in the third quarter. Monteverde's response? Ramp up the pressure.
Obviously it was the difference in the game" said coach Alan Huss. "They dictated tempo. I just thought they didn't do anything we didn't prepare for in practice...I think we were just really tentative against it (pressure)".
Kasey Hill was a force for Montverde.
For the game, a 62-54 Montverde victory, La Lumiere committed 19 turnovers, while shooting just 32.3% overall, 17.6% from three point land. Though Montverde did not shoot much better (32.3%), they did make 31.3% of their three pointers. Senior guard Miguel Cartagena was key in the long ball department, hitting three in the second half, shots that basically blew the game open.
Cartenga had 10 points for the victors, while junior guard and future Florida Gator Kasey Hill finished with 19 points and six assists. Senior guard Michael Frazier finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, while senior forward Michel Enanga logged 11 points and 15 rebounds.
La Lumiere (25-3) got 17 points and nine rebounds from senior swingman Rapheal Davis, though the Purdue-bound player also had six turnovers. Guard Antonio Drummond, a senior, scored eight points, but shot 3-12. senor forward Hanner Perea, bound for Indiana, finished with 10 points and 10 boards.
Player Spotlight: Michel Enanga
A 6'5", 205 pound senior, Enanga can be called the Energizer Bunny, as he works very hard at all phases of the game. Willing to bang, rebound, defend, block shots and run the floor, Michel has an interesting role model in hoops: "Because I was a point guard when I came here" revealed the bilingual Cameroonian national, "so I was liking Jason Kidd; I like to pass the ball more than score. I just try to contribute what I can do well. Coach tells me to go four (power forward), I go four, or go five (center) and rebound, or play on the wing”.
In college, Enanga, who specifically called Yaoundé home in Cameroon, must work on his spot up jumper, then shooting on the move, along with overall ball handling, to compliment his facilitator ethos. That work will be done at Coastal Carolina; they have a good one coming.
Montrose Christian 64 Ravenscroft 48
The score stood 36-32 in the third quarter, with Ravenscroft having narrowed a seven point deficit, using three guards to more or less control the game's tempo. At that point, Montrose Christian's Ishmael Wainwright pounded the rim. His teammate, senior forward Justin Anderson soon thereafter hit a three pointer, pushing Ravenscroft's lead upward (41-32).
Before calling a timeout, Ravenscroft would suffer another dunk, this time by Anderson with 3:56 in the quarter, never to recover, falling 64-48 to Montrose Christian in the NHSI boy's bracket, game two.
Madison Jones, still unsigned, is a solid point guard.
What happened that propelled Montrose (MD) to victory?
First off, Ravenscroft (31-4) never could recover from the first two explosion plays - Wainwright's dunk quickly followed by Anderson's three ball. Add Montrose's overall physicality to the mix as well.
"Not not only are they fairly tall, but they are very strong, and physical" opined Ravenscroft head coach Kevin Billerman, who went on to note "Their ability to offensive rebound, hurt us all game" - Montrose bested his team 23-17 in that department. Related to that size was Montrose's ability to hedge on screens and defend. For the game, Ravenscroft only shot 34.6% from the field, sinking 19% from beyond the arch.
In terms of the two plays that jumpstarted Montrose's game clinching run, Billerman said "We cut it to four, and were playing like we expected to play. They went on that little explosion and made it (their lead) 11, and it became a little more difficult".
Senior guard Madison Jones finished with 11 points, six rebounds and five assists, but also had four fouls, which according to Billerman had the mal-effect of precluding him from "being able pressure as much as I would have liked". Junior guard Anton Gill, a Louisville commit, led Ravenscroft (NC) with 16 points and five rebounds and six assists.
Montrose, which shot 44% from the field and almost equaled that, making 43.8% of their three pointers, got 21 points, four rebounds, and three dimes from Anderson, the future UVA Wahoo. Wainwright matched him in double figure scoring (15 points, while adding seven boards and a pair of helpers. Senior forward Michael Carrera tallied nine points and a game leading 14 caroms.
Player Spotlight: Madison Jones
Jones is a winner, having won 109 wins for Ravenscroft, having started
four years. Expectantly, he has a good feel for the game, finds teammates
when and where they need the ball, while also scoring around the tin and
from the perimeter.
Billerman indicated Jones has grown from a 5'7", 116 pound freshman
to his current 6'1", 170 pound stature, but still needs to get stronger,
thereby allowing him not to be turned away upon driving by the bump. More
stop and pop action would be beneficial for college as well.
School-wise, Jones indicated "I have narrowed my list down last week to Richmond, Wake Forest, and Seton Hall". A decision is imminent, as he plans to determine his college home "probably as soon as I get home".