ArizonaVarsity.com analyst Gregg Rosenberg is bringing you the most extensive high school basketball coverage in Arizona. During his regular season schedule that includes tournaments and Frosh/JV games, he will see over 95 schools, 175 games, and thousands of players. He will be highlighting the top performers along the way.
Who I went to see:
4A Shadow Mountain (2-0) at 6A Pinnacle (2-0).
Notes from the varsity game: Pinnacle 82, Shadow Mountain 80
I attended the Shadow Mountain/Pinnacle game. This was the third year in a row with this group of players. It was so crowded that they turned people away at the door and if you left, they didn’t let you back in.
The game itself on paper was probably the most even of the three games. The first two games went to Shadow Mtn with both games winning by around 15 points. The loss of Spencer Rattler and a Jordan Mains injury gave Shadow Mountain a slight edge but Trent Brown didn’t play last year which obviously helps. Shadow has a new cast of players around House and Blacksher, but as always, they are athletic and can defend.
Here is the game recap:
The 1st qtr started and immediately Jovan Blacksher was locked in. He and Shemar Morrow’s energy were top notch. Morrow was making out of the area plays and Blacksher was controlling everything. Shadow led 17-13.
The 2nd qtr started and Nico Mannion and Trent Brown started getting in a rhythm. Both found teammates and got their own. Pinnacle tied the game at the half at 35-all. Blacksher played a great half and you can argue he was the best player on the court.
The 3rd qtr started and Mannion showed us why he’s Mannion. He scored 16 points in the qtr to give him 26 total and many were tough highly contested shots. Morrow was incredible on the glass cleaning up all the missed shots and cashing in to keep the game within reach. Pinnacle led 53-52.
The final qtr started and Jaelen House starting impacting the game. He got to the line and made some tough shots. Mannion was still had it going and Brown hit a big 3 but Blacksher came down the court and scored on an and-1 which fouled out big man Tosh Baker with 5:14 to play. The game was tied at 63-all.
The game got very slow at this point. Many fouls were called on Shadow and the Pinnacle duo of Brown and Mannion made most of their FT’s. Brown hit 2 FT’s to go up 69-67 with 2:42 left. House then made 2 of his own to tie it up at 69.
Morrow then scored on another put back to take a 71-69 lead with 2:24 left to play. Mannion left the game with a bad leg cramp and the trainer worked on him for 5-6 minutes straight.
Brown got fouled again and made both to tie it at 71. Then once again Shadow won the glass without big Tosh Baker in and Jalen Williams this time tips it in to lead 73-71. But the too aggressive play of Shadow fouled Brown on a 3pt shot attempt. Brown calmly made all 3 to lead 74-73.
Morrow scored on another put back but Marcus Libman hit a clutch 3 to give Pinnacle a 77-75 lead with :55 seconds to play.
After a FT, House scored on a tough layup in traffic to give Shadow a 78-77 lead with :25 second to play.
With :19 seconds left, Mannion back in, and gets fouled shooting two and made both to lead 79-78.
House then comes back and gets fouled on a hand check with 11 seconds left and made both to give Shadow a 80-79 lead to hopefully win it.
Then Mannion gets the ball the full length of the court with House defending him and House hit the ball out of hands but Nico picked it up and crossed over to get to the middle of the court about 3-feet beyond the 3pt line while he was almost sprinting with the ball in his hands then crossed behind his back to the left to create a little separation from House plus DeVontes Cobbs came over to double team, but Mannion rose up and hit a 3pt shot off the backboard at the buzzer to win it 82-80. An improbable shot goes in by the best guard in the state.
What impressed me, besides the obvious, is how calm he remained after House hit the ball away for a second. That is stuff you can't teach. He never got rattled and stayed poised.
Both teams played hard and it was exciting for the state of Arizona to have games like this.
Pinnacle can’t celebrate too long as they head to Mountain Pointe on Tuesday and
Shadow Mountain travels to Seton Catholic.
Both games are tough Final-4 type of teams and It will be interesting if either team has a let down after a mentally exhausting game.
Here is :16 seconds of footage showing the exciting last play.
Standout Varsity Performance:
Nico Mannion PG 6’3” 2019 Pinnacle
37 points (11-20 FG) 5 3’s made 4 assists.
-Mannion is one of the top players in the country regardless of position from his class. Besides the desperate heave at the buzzer which he banked off the glass, he made tough shot after tough shot the entire 2nd half to put the Pioneers on his back. His pull-up and deep 3pt range were on fire. He elevates high where it is very difficult to defend. He had some of the tougher players draped all over him like Morrow and Williams yet he kept making shots. He may be bruised after this game for all the hits he took but got up every time including a bad leg cramp and came back strong. There isn’t a player that can beat him man to man but if anyone else wants to win the state chip, they will have a game plan to at least slow him down.
Jovan Blacksher PG 5’10” 2019 Shadow Mountain
18 points (8-11 FG) 2 3’s made 3 assists 1 block.
-Blacker was the best player in the game the 1st half. His defense is off the charts but he made plays for others. He also shot the ball at a high level. He has improved this part of his game dramatically since he walked into HS. His deep ball looks good and his pull-up. His ability to get into the lane with his elite quickness is top-notch. He can finish with his left or right hand and once he is in the paint, this is where he makes players even better. You can argue that he is the state’s best teammate and players just want to play for and with him.
Trent Brown PG 6’1” 2019 Pinnacle
24 points (4-9 FG) (14-15 FT) 2 3’s made 5 rebounds 1 block.
-Brown was vital to the big win. He only hit 4 FG’s but all of them were in big moments. He obviously went to the line 15 times and almost all of it was from high ball pressure. He had the ball in his hands just as much as Mannion and didn’t turn the ball over once. He may not technically be their PG and plays off of Mannion many times, but without Brown Pinnacle has no chance to win it all.
Tosh Baker C 6’9” 2020 Pinnacle
8 points (4-4 FG) 5 rebounds 1 block.
-Baker is a true low-post threat. He was featured in the 1st half when Pinnacle was in the half court set. He has a polished hook shot and drop step move. He has huge hands and he is very strong. He uses his strength and long arms to block shots and rebound. He can improve his lateral quickness and slim down a little for hoops. He is still in football shape.
Shemar Morrow SF 6’3” 2020 Shadow Mountain
22 points (9-10) 11 rebounds 1 block.
-Morrow was a force on the glass. If he didn’t have the game he had, Shadow may have been blown out. He was super efficient and effective. He is all left dominant but his toughness, strength and athleticism allows him to get into the lane and score it. He didn’t hit a shot outside of 2-feet but when you are (9-10) from the field, you don’t have to shoot it from very far.
De’Vontes Cobbs SG/SF 6’2” 2022 Shadow Mountain
5 points (1 3pt shot made) 6 rebounds 1 steal 2 blocks.
-Cobbs is an athletic marvel and defensive stud. He has long arms and seems to glide in the air. He is super active on the glass and plays the passing lanes and is a good help side defender. He is a decent perimeter shooter and can shoot the deep ball. His ball is a little flat and needs more arc but gets good elevation on his jumper. Cobbs is the top ranked guard/wing in the freshman class and he showed it.
Freshman Game: Shadow Mountain 85, Pinnacle 83 OT
Who stood out from the freshman game:
Noe Vargas SF 6’2” Shadow Mountain
40 points (3 3pt shots made) 8 rebounds 3 assists 3 steals.
-Vargas is a 3 level scorer. He can shoot it from deep plus drive to the basket and score it. He has a nice mid-range jumper and can euro to the cup. His feel for the game is really high and he can make others better. The game went to overtime and when it was a tie game with seconds remaining, there was a fast break situation where he could of been a little selfish, but instead made the correct pass to a teammate for a game winning layup. He also is very competitive on defense and plays hard throughout. He is currently skinny but has long arms and looks to have a high upside.
JV Game: Pinnacle 60, Shadow Mountain 56
Who stood out from the junior varsity game:
Sebastian Van Laarhoven SF 6’1” 2021 Pinnacle
20+ points.
-Van Laarhoven is a crafty scorer who is very efficient. He doesn’t shoot too much from the perimeter but manages to score it easily from elbow and in. He has a nice mid-range jumper plus uses the floater well. He handles the ball and finds spaces in the defense to get through and finish.
Here are some more random pics right before the varsity game:
