Memorial Day GASO: Day 1 Observations

TexasHoops analyst Lyndon Cook looks at some of the major talking points from the opening rounds of the Memorial Day Great American Shootout.

After tallies of 36 and 39 points at the GASO Tip-Off in Dallas, Jackie Johnson has more than established himself as a high caliber scorer. But going against a top DFW team like BMM Rise, the thought was that it would be much tougher for him to produce those kinds of numbers, especially running with a shorthanded Oklahoma Impact team that could only suit up 6 guys for their second game of the weekend. But instead of chalking it up as a lost cause, Johnson absolutely exploded for 41 points in a game where he was simply unplayable on the offensive end. His change of pace is electric, and after he forced defenders to play off him to prevent the drive, he started raining triples on BMM. While his team's quest for a win fell short at 80-79, Johnson has set a very high bar for scoring performance of the weekend, and it will take a Herculean effort to pass that up.

The late game in the main gym at Hebron saw two of the most impressive individual performances of the day, as Zaakir Sawyer and Jimel Cofer took their games to the next level in a 77-71 Mudiay Elite win over HD Toros. Cofer was getting out in transition and punishing the rim for Mudiay as they had to battle with a spirited Toros team to take control of the game as the second half wore on. Cofer's first step quickness was lethal all night and he got to the free throw line with regularity.

While Cofer's impact was very pronounced throughout the game, it was his teammate Zaakir Sawyer that stepped up with 18 to cement the win for Mudiay. Sawyer was also excellent on the drive, and had the awareness to hit Cam Waites with drop-passes for easy buckets when the help arrived. While Manny Obaseki has gotten rave reviews so far this spring for Mudiay, this time it was the combo of Cofer and Sawyer that picked up the weight and carried their team to a W.

After hanging tough to beat BMM in the opening game at Lewisville HS, Texas Impact made the trip over to Hebron for a meeting with PB Nation 16's in attempt to go 2 for 2 on opening day. And just as was the case in their first game, Impact got the win thanks to assured play at PG from Imo Essien and lots of production on the inside from Cameron Kahn. Essien's quickness opens up the offense for Impact and makes scoring that much easier on their talented array of forwards.

Chief among these scoring forwards is Sulphur Springs product Kahn, who showed some masterful footwork on the block to get easy looks at the hoop. He also proved himself capable of stretching the floor to knock down the 3 ball, and will make defenders look foolish with a quick spin move out of the mid-post. Zhuric Phelps and Micaiah Abii also showed well on Saturday, but the consistency of Essien and Kahn led to a 2-0 record for Impact going into Sunday.