I traveled to Springfield, MO (Dec 12-13) to take in action at on day 2 of the Ozark Mountain Shootout at Glendale High School. The event is a first-class event featuring top teams from Missouri and nearby regions. The most anticipated game was a matchup between North Carolina bound Caleb Love and Texas Tech commit Micah Peavy. This was just one of many great matchups. Here is my take:
2020 6-4 Caleb Love, CBC – The matchup between Love, the Missouri sharp shooting guard and Micah Peavy, the smooth athletic Texan, was as good as advertised. The future Tar Heel finished the game with 33 pts including six 3-FG. His range matched his confidence. The talented guard had his competitive juices going and was firing it up with accuracy from long range off the dribble and on the catch. He gets good elevation and gets into his shooting motion quickly. His corner buzzer beater was a contested fade away that was fired from nearly out of bounds. Love also showed off his speed, ball handling, and control in the open court. Following a dunk from Peavy, Caleb raced the ball to the other end weaving through defensive traffic to find Martin open for a corner three.
2021 6-2 Anton Brookshire, Kickapoo – The talented guard showed his might as he put the Chiefs on his back and carried the scoring load in a faceoff against the much larger Guyer Wildcats from Texas. Brookshire proved that he is a versatile scorer that can create out of a one on one matchup or set up teammates and find his own opportunities out of the two-man game. In the two-man game, Brookshire navigated the screen and made reads leading to open shots off the pick on a pop or roll. He also made the correct read and his shots behind the screen or drove into the lane to create. In the one-on-one he had the floater working, also has a nice escape dribble to avoid the double. His range is just across half court. In one set, he was already a few feet from the three-point line when he hit a step back three. Brookshire had a 23-point performance.
2021 6-2 Isaac Haney, Dora – If there was an MVP for the night, the award would go to Haney who finished with 32 points. The 6-2 guard played with pure heart and hustle to help his team knock off the big dogs from Heritage Hall in an overtime stunner. Haney just doesn’t take a break on either side of the ball. On offense, he drilled 3-FG without mercy or consideration of range. He has a quick trigger so defenders couldn’t afford to give him oxygen. When Heritage Hall face guarded Haney, he moved purposefully without the ball working to get open. When teammates took the shot, Haney snuck into the lane to rebound and get second chance points. Haney is a terrific shooter, but he also is an effective driver and was able to finish with contact. Haney has a couple of patented spin moves which were quite effective to evade defenders or drop a dime to a teammate.
2020 6-7 Micah Peavy, Duncanville (TX) The smooth athletic forward capped off his evening with a 22-point performance that made the difficult look effortless. Fans dropped their jaws more than once during the game. On a steal at half court, he covered the distance in two dribbles and finished with both elbows above the rim. On a backdoor lob his head was at the rim. When Peavy gets into the lane there wasn’t a defender in his airspace that could alter his midrange jumper. With the ball in his hands, Peavy changed speed and direction so quickly and smooth in transition that the defense struggled to contain him.
2021 6-5 Trey Alexander, Heritage Hall (OK) – After a quiet opening, the junior guard started to find his groove and settled into the second quarter knocking down shots and attacking off the dribble. In the second half, the Chargers came out of the locker room ready to defend and repel the determined Falcons, and Alexander was certainly in on the action. After struggling a bit to find his shot in the first half, Alexander turned to defense and broke out of the gate with deflections and steals that lead to easy transition points. In transition, he was able to showcase his speed and savvy with the ball as well as his finishing ability. Through defensive effort and attacking off the dribble, he was able to finish with 31 and demonstrate his ability to make as well as finish plays.
2020 6-5 Tyler McGhie, Guyer (TX)– The senior guard scored 31 points and buried six 3-FG. Tyler set the tone from the outset opening the first quarter with 13 points, including three 3-FG that found their target. From that point forward, McGhie attacked with an array of offensive weapons including, floaters, jump shots, layups, etc. Tyler did a great job of balancing his scoring with keeping his teammates engaged. The takeaway is that McGhie is a talented offensive threat and good decision maker.
OTHER KEY PERFORMERS
2022 5-10 Robert Martin, CBC – The sophomore point guard has solid ball handling skills and excels at getting into the lane and finding a crease to pass to an open teammate.
2020 5-10 Ja’Bryant Hill, Duncanville (TX) – Hands down the fastest guard with the ball during the event. The lead guard drew countless fouls against CBC as they attempted to keep him out of the lane.
2020 6-5 Amaechi Chukwu, Guyer (OK) – Incredibly tough to guard on the low block. He has a very quick drop step and lightening fast turnaround move. Scored almost every time he received the ball in the low post.
2022 6-4 Larry Hughes, Jr., CBC – Showed the ability to light it up from the outside with a nice looking shot. Delivered some nice passes and showed good decision making in transition. Plays with patience on offense, game is smooth and unrushed even under pressure.