Last night, Phenom Hoops traveled to Page High School to see the Pirates host the Northwest Vikings for an inter-conference battle between two of Guilford County’s most intriguing programs. Northwest continues to enjoy great success by playing a patient, intelligent, tough two-way brand of basketball. They are headlined by Christian Hampton and Dean Reiber, but Coach Lee Reavis also deserves a healthy amount of credit, as he consistently has this group as well-prepared as any coach in North Carolina. Meanwhile, Page is currently in the midst of a rebuilding year and will be a team worth monitoring over the foreseeable future. Sophomore Jaden Ellis and a plethora of seniors have led them to a positive record so far this season.
This game started in an extremely sloppy fashion, as it took both teams a considerable amount of time to even accumulate five points. Things began to pick up during the closing minutes of the first quarter, which allowed Page to close out the period with a 13-12 lead. As the game carried on, Page struggled to keep up with the Vikings’ nonstop scoring flow. Northwest just proved that they are the epitome of two-way consistency throughout this contest, forcing Page into 17 turnovers while having a scoring breakdown of 12-13-12-12 over the four quarters. The Vikings did a great job of playing their style and outlasting the Page Pirates by a score of 49-38.
Northwest:
6’1 ’20 Christian Hampton
The point guard prospect has been nothing short of dominant this season and this contest was more of the same. Without sounding like a broken record, Hampton is special and should become one of North Carolina’s most coveted prospects within the next calendar year. He’s arguably the best two-way player in Guilford County and legitimately understands how to embrace being a tone-setter on defense. Hampton has enjoyed unbelievable three-point success this season, but didn’t have a particularly amazing shooting performance during this showing. That being said, he was still able to get anywhere on the court and regularly attack the rim. Like normal, Hampton was incredibly overwhelming on defense, piling up deflections and forcing more turnovers than anyone else. Final stats: 21 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 steals, and 1 block.
6’9 ’20 Dean Reiber
We entered this contest expecting to see Reiber control both sides of the paint and that’s exactly what happened. He has a very patient way of asserting himself into the game and understands how to let things come to him. Reiber is a skilled, athletic, and capable of dominating both sides of the ball. He utilizes his size well to rebound and protect the paint, but also causes matchup problems with his scoring balance and ability to stretch the floor. Hampton loudly dominates, but Reiber is just able to silently control and dictate the action on both ends of the floor. His rim-protection skills have continually improved throughout the season, which could make him even more special at the next level. Final stats: 16 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 blocks.
Page:
6’0 ’21 Jaden Ellis
This contest was probably Ellis’ most challenging assignment of the current season, as he was tasked with going head-to-head against Christian Hampton (mentioned above) on both ends of the floor. He is an intriguing point guard prospect that handles the ball decently well and plays with an unselfish offensive approach. Ellis showed the ability to enter the paint and create opportunities for others on a pretty regular basis. Right now, his playmaking and midrange scoring are his most reliable offensive skills, but he possesses a lot of useful tools. It’ll be interesting to see how the upcoming summer unfolds with Team Felton, as he could be a prospect worth monitoring going forward. Final stats: 16 points, 2 assists, and 1 steal.
6’4 ’19 Nate Duggins
The forward prospect was arguably the most effective all-around prospect for Page, especially given his rebounding presence. He’s a fluid athlete with quality size and the ability to apply scoring pressure from all three levels. Duggins could be a college-level player, which should also warrant more consistent playing time for this squad. Final stats: 8 points and 8 rebounds.