Wood Elite Showdown Recap (Part 2)

Cherokee, GA – Wood Elite hosted their inaugural Wood Elite Showdown featuring some solid high school basketball match-ups on Saturday, January 6th. Several prominent prospects were featured and some new prospects came to rise throughout the day. Two recaps will be split between the first 2 games and the last 2 games of the day that will go in depth on primary prospects for each team and overall team features.

By: Jennifer Brazelton

 

Cherokee 75 – Adairsville 65

The match-up between Cherokee and Adairsville proved to be a fun one between two teams with some solid prospects. Lawrence Sanford was easily the player of the game and had the performance of the day putting up 40 points, connecting on 5 3-pointers and hitting some tough pull-up jumpers. Sanford has great athleticism and IQ which is making him a highly sought out prospect in the class of 2025. Braylon Luster also had a solid performance, adding ten points in the win. Luster will be a player to track as he’s only a freshman and has been consistently contributing a great deal to this young Cherokee team. For Adairsville, it was 2025 forward Ben Abernathy doing most of the dirty work inside and proving he could step outside and score when needed. Abernathy finished the game with 26 points, connecting on two three-pointers, and doing almost anything he wanted inside five feet of the basket. Abernathy did well posting up smaller defenders and finding his way to the basket or to the free throw line. Abernathy has a great feel for the game and is a hidden gem in his graduating class.

 

Hiram 68 – Campbell 56

Hiram has a deep roster filled with some very athletic prospects and down the stretch, they became too much to handle for Campbell. Duke football commit and basketball PWO, Chase Tyler, put up 31 points in the win; Tyler was effective each time he touched the ball from assists inside or scoring on some tough jumpers. Tyler also did well being assertive and attacking the basket, and getting to the line on multiple occasions. Southern California football commit, Walter Matthews, also came up big for Hiram, who really got going in the second half by scoring 13 of his 17 total points and some big stops down the stretch when Campbell started making a few runs. Ryan Williams also contributed 9 points, after a slower start as well. For Campbell, their trio of junior guards; Rhys Cotton, Kaylan Robertson, and Jaelen Cheaves combined for 38 of their teams total 56 points. Rhys Cotton lead the way with 17 points, showing his craftiness in getting to the basket and hitting some nice mid-range jumpers. Cotton has proven consistently over the past few years that he can make a big impact on the game, with or without the ball. Despite winning the fourth quarter and making an aggressive comeback, Hiram held on with several defensive stops and big plays down the stretch.

 

After serving on college coaching staffs and working at several universities in the Southeast, Jennifer Brazelton joined On the Radar Hoops as a National Evaluator in April 2022. She has been involved in the Georgia basketball community since 2015 and can be reached at JenniferRBrazelton@gmail.com or on Twitter @jenbrazeIton.