GASO Fall Classic San Antonio: What We Learned

The 2018 Great American Shoot-Out season has officially wrapped up, with the final stop in San Antonio proving to be eye-opening on a number of fronts. TexasHoops analyst Lyndon Cook tips off our coverage of the event with “What We Learned,” while more GASO and Tops In Texas combine content will drop throughout the rest of the week.

Ok, so maybe it isn't exactly "small ball" when the three main guards operating the offense all stand at least 6-foot-3, but Cibolo Steele looks to have moved into a guard-oriented look - and it’s working. Langston Love, Kwabena Davis, and Alijah Comithier all had huge days on Saturday, rolling to a 2-0 record with wins over Austin Westlake and Dallas Jesuit. The way in which each fed off the others to score, and played together as a unit makes them lethal.

While Love is a nationally ranked prospect and scores like it's his job, Davis and Comithier both stepped up to score when defenses started keying on Steele's super sophomore. Comithier showed some great slipperiness to score on the drive and in transition, while Davis was able to score consistently at all three levels. After their two games on Saturday, it looks more and more like Steele has what it takes to win their wide-open region.

Class 5A, look out. Wagner’s youthful ranks at the guard spots hit the ground running and built some positive momentum going into the season. Journee Phillips still has a tendency to get a little out of control at times, but his scoring prowess is undeniable. Phillips consistently powered his way into the lane and finished or got to the line, especially in their 2OT win over Lake Travis.

With Jalen Jackson on a visit to UNT, it was younger brother Ja’sean who came up big playing the point for the T-birds. Jackson lacks his older brother’s strength at the time being, but the assured way he takes care of the ball and scores bode well for the future. Kaijon Thornton showed well and ended up hitting the game-winner against LT, and Isaiah Kennedy gives this young team some experience in the backcourt. Its shaping up to be another highly successful year at Wagner.

The Waco Midway group I saw two weekends ago in Duncanville looked way different than the one from this weekend. This Midway had an identity - penetrate in transition, share the ball, let Godsgift Ezedinma go to work on the inside, and then kill you with their length on defense. The fact that Midway pulled out close wins over Wagner and Brennan showed the clutch factor that all successful teams need, and what’s more, their role players looked in tune and produced off the bench.

Ezedinma deservedly will get most of the attention from his performances this weekend, but the backcourt combo of Ant Scott and Michael Jefferson showed some on-court chemistry that they were lacking just two weeks ago. Scott’s low center of gravity on the drive freed up looks for his whole team, and Jefferson seems to have embraced playing off-ball more often. Continuing their growth as a team only spells good things for the Panthers in the future.

Plenty of players put up big numbers on Saturday, but no other pair of teammates dominated the game like Norman Beckford and Jacari Sanders did for SA Brennan. Sanders continues to fly under the radar but if he can reproduce performances like the one against Humble, that will no longer be the case. He scored from everywhere in every which way, getting to the hoop, knocking down threes and hitting his pull ups and floaters.

Beckford on the other hand offers a different manner of scoring. Where Sanders is quick, Beckford is patient, taking his time and not getting rushed while hanging big numbers on his opponents. His performance against Waco Midway turned a double digit halftime deficit into a lead before falling in OT. His methodical mid-range game gave Midway fits and he looked strong taking it to the rack. This duo is one that needs to be seen.

The depth of Dallas Jesuit is simply crazy. Max Abmas is one of the best pure scorers in the state. Big Julius Marble is a force of nature on the inside, and backed up by 6-foot-8 Darryl Brown who has his own impressive array of post skills. Gavin Perryman is still only a sophomore but that doesn’t stop him from torching the nets from outside.

And if that wasn’t enough, take into account the wingplay from Jon Phillips and Anthony Hollerich. Both are proven scorers and know their roles to a tee. A repeat performance of their trip to the regional tournament is well within the realm of possibility off of what we’ve seen this Fall.