© 2006 MidStateHoops.com.
All rights reserved.

THE BEST IN ILLINOIS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL RECRUITING!

Roth's Hot Hand Leads To Big Upset at the Washington Invitational
by Jason McGee
November 25, 2006

Washington Invitational.Matt Roth and Washington upset the MSH pre-season # 15 ranked team Chicago Washington in a seemingly easy fashion Friday night. Roth showed why he is the MSH #1 ranked shooter in all of the state draining three 3-pointers in the first quarter and accounting for all 11 of his teams first quarter points. It was the only quarter Chicago Washington would lead.

Roth and his team took over in the second quarter and never looked back. Chicago Washington was bigger, faster, stronger, and quicker than Washington. Yet they were dominated the entire game. Washington played smart fundamental basketball and got every shot they wanted. Chicago Washington was even getting beat on dribble penetration because of their failure to play fundamental defense. They over pursued beyond the perimeter and the drive and kick became Washington's bread and butter. Washington despite a huge height and athletic disadvantage managed to out-rebound Chicago Washington as well.

DeAndre Liggins showed flashes of brilliance at times. He made some spectacular passes and drained some outside shots. You held your breath in anticipatoin of what he might do when he got the ball. MSH would love to see his game come full circle. He is the most talented player in the state for the class of 2008 and overall a top 5 talent regardless of class. But he must connect all the dots. Michael Haynes also played well inside. He made nearly all of his shots and showed hustle on the boards. He was saddled with foul trouble for stretches of the game though.

The star of the game was still Matt Roth. He finished with 27 points including 7 3-pointers. MSH believes that although he has yet to add some other dimensions to his game such as driving to the rim, he is still a high major prospect because of his ability to shoot the long distance ball. His shot is a commodity that high major teams love to have. He is the quintessential zone buster as his range appears to be limitless.