Sizing up Long Beach Poly

To beat Collins Hill in the Nike Tournament of Champions final, Long Beach Poly must pressure the ball fullcourt and figure out how to defend Maya Moore.

PHOTOS BY GLENN NELSON

CHANDLER, Ariz. - Regardless of which publication you go to for high-school girl's prep rankings the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the country are squaring off in the championship game of the 2006 Nike Tournament of Champions in Collins Hill and Long Beach Polytechnic.

There are some major matchups issues for both teams and seeing what adjustments the coaches make alone is exciting. In Collins Hill you have a team experienced in playing at the highest level, which was right here in the championship game last year, and they have the best player in the country. Poly is a deep team with a host of upperclassmen as well as youngsters funneling in and out of the game with little dropoff in production regardless of who is playing.

Jasmine Dixon of Long Beach Poly

Poly is at there best hounding the ball andler and playing tough physical defense which translates into transition. If you asked me a year ago if Poly should come out pressuring Collins Hill fullcourt for the entire game I’d probably say "no" as they had one of the best point guards in the country in Shantell Black. Black has graduated and although the Collins Hill guard play has been well enough to get them to the championship game, keep them undefeated and earn high ranking acclaim, Jordan Jones, Nikki Urbizo and Jazmin Walker are going against the best perimeter defense they will see all season. If they are unable to handle the pressure and still contribute scoring, will Maya Moore take over, bring the ball up the court and will that affect her scoring? Poly needs to handle the pressure and get either Jones or Urbizo going from the three point arc.

The key element is how Poly will defend Moore. Can they stifle and frustrate her the way they did Elena DelleDonne in their quarterfinal win over Ursuline Academy? The difference is that Collins Hill has more of a supporting cast with kids who can score which will put pressure on Taylor Dalrymple and Jones to score if Poly overcommits to stopping Moore.

Against Ursuline it was Candice Nichols who asked for the assignment of guarding DelleDonne and I expect she will ask for a shot at Moore as well. Unlike Ursuline, Collins Hill has used a series of screens and rubs to free Moore up and her athleticism should also help her get her touches. Moore also isn’t afraid to take over the game by herself.

Aimee Levine of Christ the King

On the other side of the court Collins Hill coach Tracy Tipton has a dilemma as well. Collins Hill has struggled when they haven’t come out to start the game with fullcourt pressure. They relax on both ends of the court because they are used to pressure. The question then is can they handle the pace of the game knowing that Poly can push the ball up so quickly and the fact that they are going to get pressed right back. Poly has the depth to play this pace all game long where Collins Hill’s bench is not as deep or as athletic.

Poly also has Jasmine Dixon playing extremely well the past two games, putting on a clinic of getting open on slashes and on postups. Collins Hill may not be able to afford the potential foul trouble of putting Moore on Dixon, plus Moore is most effective when she’s flying all over the court using her quick hands, long reach and amazing instincts. That will put a lot of pressure on Dalrymple to play an excellent defensive game and also make Dixon work on the opposite end. Taylor Dalrymple has a size advantage and if she moves her feet and makes Dixon work for position she can probably slow her down some.

The game is really a toss up and even if Vegas could put a line on a high-school game I don’t think they would want to touch this one. Moore has been a near comic book hero playing the role of Superwoman, but do the Jackrabbits of Long Beach Poly have the kryptonite? Can they pressure the rest of the Collins Hill players so much that Moore can’t spoil their No. 1 ranking? Poly may have the best team but Collins Hill has the best player in the country and so far that has been the difference.

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