Sorry I was unable to report on this game last night. There was no WiFi in the arena and the Internet was crappy. Too many dead spots on the drive home. Was late getting home.
Despite Camden’s gaudy 44 game winning streak, it was outclassed in this game against a very talented and obviously motivated Montverde team. Final score was 52-40. Surprisingly low score for two teams that have been lighting it up lately.
Camden had an abysmal first quarter and fell behind 22-4. Missed most of their shots, and failed to stop even a fairly cold shooting Montverde. They played fairly well after that but Montverde went into cruise control in the 4th quarter.
D.J. Wagner could not get anything going, as Montverde clearly game planned to guard him tightly and bring help when he got the ball. I think he finished with 6 points. To his credit, he didn’t really try to force much, but he was a total non factor in this game. Got his first basket with 1:35 left in the first half. With him taken out, Camden’s offense struggled. Neither team shot well from outside with no threes made in the first half at all.
Skyy Clark was excellent and fun to watch. Started the game and played most of it with a brief rest in the second quarter. Ran the offense well. Showed some speed and even some hops with a spectacular rundown block of Wagner on a fast break and a couple of nice rebounds. Made his first jumper which looked like a 3 but was ruled a 2. Nice stroke. Wasn’t looking to score but had some beautiful Wheeler-type assists. Was patient when Camden went into a zone and made some good reads. Had only 2 turnovers by my count, and one was a charge where he just bullied the defender into the paint and the defender flopped. Talked to his teammates a lot. Hit the floor a few times which had me cringing, but showed no signs of injury. Wasn’t wearing a brace on the knee. Very energetic player and as I said, fun to watch. Sure did not look like he was playing in only his fourth game this season or coming off an ACL injury.
Really liked Aaron Bradshaw from Camden. Happy to learn that UK is looking at him. Loads of potential. Good shot blocker and rebounder. Had some nice moves around the basket. Energetic. Looks like he has a frame that could put on weight, but he isn’t super skinny now. He got a lot of looks since Montverde was focusing the defense on Wagner, and finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds, and a few blocks. If you didn’t know anything about Wagner or Camden, you would have thought Bradshaw was the star of the team.
Dariq Whitehead was great in this game. Had a slow start shooting, but heated up in the second quarter and dominated in the second half. Finished with 18 points. He was also guarding Wagner most of the time and really bothered him. Very smooth game, had a couple of highlight reel dunks and hit a few threes in the second half (one off a gorgeous drive and dish by Skyy). Was trying to think who he reminded me of and I came up with Harrison Barnes.
We arrived a bit early in time to watch the last few minutes of a close and very entertaining game between Roselle Catholic and Long Island Lutheran. Roselle features Simeon Wilcher who is going to UNC. He is a good player but just watching him for a few minutes I was not dazzled. Wished we had been there for that whole game as both teams looked like they were playing better than Camden and Montverde did.
Was a really fun experience with a big crowd for a Thursday night high school game. Here is a nice write up from the Trenton paper:
www.trentonian.com
Despite Camden’s gaudy 44 game winning streak, it was outclassed in this game against a very talented and obviously motivated Montverde team. Final score was 52-40. Surprisingly low score for two teams that have been lighting it up lately.
Camden had an abysmal first quarter and fell behind 22-4. Missed most of their shots, and failed to stop even a fairly cold shooting Montverde. They played fairly well after that but Montverde went into cruise control in the 4th quarter.
D.J. Wagner could not get anything going, as Montverde clearly game planned to guard him tightly and bring help when he got the ball. I think he finished with 6 points. To his credit, he didn’t really try to force much, but he was a total non factor in this game. Got his first basket with 1:35 left in the first half. With him taken out, Camden’s offense struggled. Neither team shot well from outside with no threes made in the first half at all.
Skyy Clark was excellent and fun to watch. Started the game and played most of it with a brief rest in the second quarter. Ran the offense well. Showed some speed and even some hops with a spectacular rundown block of Wagner on a fast break and a couple of nice rebounds. Made his first jumper which looked like a 3 but was ruled a 2. Nice stroke. Wasn’t looking to score but had some beautiful Wheeler-type assists. Was patient when Camden went into a zone and made some good reads. Had only 2 turnovers by my count, and one was a charge where he just bullied the defender into the paint and the defender flopped. Talked to his teammates a lot. Hit the floor a few times which had me cringing, but showed no signs of injury. Wasn’t wearing a brace on the knee. Very energetic player and as I said, fun to watch. Sure did not look like he was playing in only his fourth game this season or coming off an ACL injury.
Really liked Aaron Bradshaw from Camden. Happy to learn that UK is looking at him. Loads of potential. Good shot blocker and rebounder. Had some nice moves around the basket. Energetic. Looks like he has a frame that could put on weight, but he isn’t super skinny now. He got a lot of looks since Montverde was focusing the defense on Wagner, and finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds, and a few blocks. If you didn’t know anything about Wagner or Camden, you would have thought Bradshaw was the star of the team.
Dariq Whitehead was great in this game. Had a slow start shooting, but heated up in the second quarter and dominated in the second half. Finished with 18 points. He was also guarding Wagner most of the time and really bothered him. Very smooth game, had a couple of highlight reel dunks and hit a few threes in the second half (one off a gorgeous drive and dish by Skyy). Was trying to think who he reminded me of and I came up with Harrison Barnes.
We arrived a bit early in time to watch the last few minutes of a close and very entertaining game between Roselle Catholic and Long Island Lutheran. Roselle features Simeon Wilcher who is going to UNC. He is a good player but just watching him for a few minutes I was not dazzled. Wished we had been there for that whole game as both teams looked like they were playing better than Camden and Montverde did.
Was a really fun experience with a big crowd for a Thursday night high school game. Here is a nice write up from the Trenton paper:
Metro Classic brought the return of elite high school hoops to Trenton
TRENTON – Three decades ago, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Don Henley crooned his way to the top of the charts with “The Boys of Summer,” a pop-rock anthem punctuated by the lyric, “Don’t look back…
www.trentonian.com
