It was a rather unusual day in Las Vegas as the weather screen on our phones displayed a comfortable 78 degrees in the morning rather than the scorching climate of 120 that a late July day normally brings in Nevada.
The Texasboysbasketball.com staff covered reasonable portion of 8,000 square miles Clark County possesses as we evaluated over 40 TBB & potential TBB prospects on Wednesday. Below is our summaries from CP3 The 8 games from our Texas Nike teams
RM5 vs Mac Irvin Fire
The saying basketball is a game of runs can be applied to this contest as it was a back and forth affair in the 6:30 pm game at Valley Ridge High School. RM5 burst through the gate with a fourteen point lead and held a double digit advantage going into the half. Later in the second half, Mac Irvin Fire compiled a 15 pt run together to take the lead but after a timeout with 2 minutes left, RM5 went on a 9-0 run to take a one point lead. However, Mac Irvin Fire pulled together one last push to seal the win but 2019 De’Vion Harmon (16pts) for RM5 did work attacking the gaps and knocked down two quick corner triples to start the game. 2018 Reggie Chaney (16pts) exceled at taking the defender off the dribble and getting to the rim as was also on the receiving end of passes from his teammates when they attacked the basket as well. What will not go unnoticed is 2019 Tyrese Maxey’s defense on the opposing guards on Wednesday. The rim wasn’t friendly to him as shots rimmed out but he made it a priority to take away the strengths of his opponent in the half-court setting. For Mac Irvin Fire, 2018 Ayo Dosunmu came alive in the second half as he pushed the tempo in order to get to the cup before the defense could set up and 2019 Khalil Whitley played with a vast amount of intensity and made big time play after big time play.The 6’7 forward can shoot it as he fought and finished around the paint.
Player Notable
Keonte Kennedy, 2018 SG – RM5: The three point assassin from Westlake, Keonte Kennedy displayed his quick trigger and didn’t need much space to get his shot off from the catch as he finished with 15 points off of five threes for RM5. Kennedy’s size, length and shooting abilities has taken notice from high major programs and continued to show a skill set that will translate to that level.
Houston Hoops vs New Jersey Playaz
One of the most entertaining games the staff has seen all summer was Houston Hoops vs New Jersey Playaz. This was a shootout at it’s finest as the 2018 duo of Jhivan Quinerly & Naz Reid (59 pts combines) for the Playaz was enough to squeeze by the Hoops 104-94 in OT. Reid is a handful and displayed great feet and hands last night. He had a 32 pt performance but the staff liked how he saw the floor when double teamed on the block. LSU commit Javonte Smart took the reigns of the team and managed the floor well. He found his teammates in the open court, communicated on both ends and knew the stretches in the game to carry the offensive load. The staff was impressed on what 2018 Jacobi Gordon brought to the table as the Cal-Berkley commit produced 14 points as he played within his strengths and put himself in position to open the floor for his teammates. Baylor commit Matthew Mayor played with tons of energy and was mentally locked in on Wednesday. He was aggressive with the ball and put pressure on the defense in the open court as he looked to get to the cup. His overall high motor was what the staff needed to see and when he is playing with an attacking mind-set, Mayor performs at top-level.
Player Notable
Mitchell Seriale, 2018 F – Houston Hoops: Future SFA Lumberjack Mitchell Seriale made a living on Wednesday finishing off put backs and above the rim finishes in transition. His activity on both ends was a large reason he recorded a double double to go with his 19 pts last night.
Be sure to follow Texasboysbasketball.com for news and notes and follow us on Twitter @texasboysbasketbal & ani_umana. Be on the lookout for the Cream of The Crop Camp on Aug. 19-20 as we showcase the top 2021-2022 players in the state. Registration will be up soon!
Texasboysbasketball.com evaluates the prospects in each event the staff covers with in-depth scouting reports. College coaches, subscribe to the site to receive reports as we assess hundreds of prospect from the state of Texas.