It was a great way to start our high school hoops coverage last night, with two close games at Urbandale High School .
In the end, the Hoover girls and boys were both victorious, so we'll give the battle for Aurora Avenue to the Huskies.
A couple of observations - for the Hoover girls, a team with a proud basketball tradition that has struggled the last few years (and the first game of the season), it was nice to see them get into the win column early this season. They won four games a year ago, and should easily pass that mark this season. I really liked the way Sunday Duop played last night - she's got a nice move to the basket off the dribble, and has enough size to be a legitimate rebounding threat.
The Urbandale girls struggled to score when they needed points late in the game, and I'll chalk that up to youth more than anything. Urbandale played a handful of sophomores last night and two freshman. Even though top scorer Bailey Egger is a senior, the bulk of Coach Tiby's team are underclassmen. They'll get a lot better as the year progresses, and could be really good in coming years.
Same story holds true for the Urbandale boys... a lot of youth, especially at key positions. The big men for Urbandale need some seasoning, and will get better as the year progresses. The point-guard combo of Alexander and Razor will work out well for Coach Bjorkgren...both of them have the ability to make good cuts and get to the rim. The Jayhawks missed free throws in key situations last night, the mark of a young team.
As for the Hoover boys, look out. This team is built to win now. I thought the Huskies would struggle after losing top scorers Kelly Madison and Onterior Brown, but Coach Henderson's bunch has reloaded for another run deep into the state tournament. We all knew Dwight Sistrunk Jr. would be good this season, but he was lights out last night. Very few turnovers, several great assists, and he showed the ability to cut to the basket anytime he felt like it, including when he was double teamed. He has two great shooters in Louie Ingoli and Cameron Woods on the wings, and forward Golat Toang showed flashes of brilliance last night. Toang has put on some muscle over the off-season, and looks to be poised to jump onto the scene as the next star player in the CIML. He can jump out of the gym and has good speed - so good, in fact, he over-ran some of the plays last night and got himself out of position. Hoover is back folks...keep and eye on the Huskies.
Friday night we make our way to Valley High School for the Tigers vs. DM Roosevelt. 6 PM pregame, with the girls tipping off around 6:15.
In the end, the Hoover girls and boys were both victorious, so we'll give the battle for Aurora Avenue to the Huskies.
A couple of observations - for the Hoover girls, a team with a proud basketball tradition that has struggled the last few years (and the first game of the season), it was nice to see them get into the win column early this season. They won four games a year ago, and should easily pass that mark this season. I really liked the way Sunday Duop played last night - she's got a nice move to the basket off the dribble, and has enough size to be a legitimate rebounding threat.
The Urbandale girls struggled to score when they needed points late in the game, and I'll chalk that up to youth more than anything. Urbandale played a handful of sophomores last night and two freshman. Even though top scorer Bailey Egger is a senior, the bulk of Coach Tiby's team are underclassmen. They'll get a lot better as the year progresses, and could be really good in coming years.
Same story holds true for the Urbandale boys... a lot of youth, especially at key positions. The big men for Urbandale need some seasoning, and will get better as the year progresses. The point-guard combo of Alexander and Razor will work out well for Coach Bjorkgren...both of them have the ability to make good cuts and get to the rim. The Jayhawks missed free throws in key situations last night, the mark of a young team.
As for the Hoover boys, look out. This team is built to win now. I thought the Huskies would struggle after losing top scorers Kelly Madison and Onterior Brown, but Coach Henderson's bunch has reloaded for another run deep into the state tournament. We all knew Dwight Sistrunk Jr. would be good this season, but he was lights out last night. Very few turnovers, several great assists, and he showed the ability to cut to the basket anytime he felt like it, including when he was double teamed. He has two great shooters in Louie Ingoli and Cameron Woods on the wings, and forward Golat Toang showed flashes of brilliance last night. Toang has put on some muscle over the off-season, and looks to be poised to jump onto the scene as the next star player in the CIML. He can jump out of the gym and has good speed - so good, in fact, he over-ran some of the plays last night and got himself out of position. Hoover is back folks...keep and eye on the Huskies.
Friday night we make our way to Valley High School for the Tigers vs. DM Roosevelt. 6 PM pregame, with the girls tipping off around 6:15.
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