With a competitive opening day at the Fruitland Christmas Tournament, several players emerged that fans in the Treasure Valley (and Baker City) will want to keep their eyes on. CLICK HERE for game recaps.
It was great to get two very competitive games (Baker vs. New Plymouth and Fruitland vs. Emmett). Close games always bring out the best players and give them an opportunity to shine when it matters most.
But don’t let the top players listed below make you think they were the only guys that went noticed. Several players, like Baker’s Braden Phillips and New Plymouth’s Nate Woods, may not have put up huge numbers but their contributions will keep their teams competitive all year.
Top Players
Dillon Blakenship (6’1 Senior, Baker, OR) – the senior guard was a dominant player vs. New Plymouth, finishing with 28 points to go along with a bunch of rebounds (stats not available). Blankenship was the sole dependable source of offense and kept his team in the game. At 6’1 and built like a linebacker, he was finishing in the paint and at the rim to go along with several second half 3-pointers.
Chase White (5’9 Junior, New Plymouth) – White may not be the tallest player on the floor but you better respect his fire and ability to shoot from anywhere. He finished with 24 points, mostly from behind the arc, and though he struggled at times keeping Baker’s Blankenship in front of him, he is what makes his New Plymouth team go.
Porter Gustin (6’3 Sophomore, Emmett) – Gustin was having one of those games where he drove Fruitland defenders crazy. If he caught the ball at the high post he could shoot or get to the basket. If you left him alone on the perimeter, he would knock down the 3-pointer, hitting four of them in the first half. Fruitland eventually moved their more athletic defenders on to him in the second half which helped but Gustin showed that he could be clutch from the free throw line, hitting his attempts down the stretch to lock up the victory. He finished with 32 points.
Noah Williams (6’1 Junior, Emmett) – Williams finished with 21 points, a quiet 21 points, that fits his demeanor perfectly. You won’t see a ton of emotion out of him but by the end of the game you realized that he was getting to the basket at will off the drive. And what you won’t see in the box score is his ability to defend guards. He isn’t a big 6’1 but he knows how to defend in a zone defense, how to defend the drive with his body and kept Fruitland guards out of the paint.
Fruitland, both the Varsity and JV teams – though both teams lost games on Thursday, you will be hard pressed to find two groups of players that play as hard they do. From the starters to the reserves, freshmen to seniors, Fruitland flat out gets after teams. They defend hard, run hard and rebound hard. Very impressive.