Video thanks to RAJohnston
The latest installment of the Triad Pro-Am brought some excitement as J.T. Terrell and L.D. Williams had an intense battle in which they came out on top. The video above features Travis McKie (#5), Ari Stewart (#2) and Nikita Mescheriakov (#10).
Click through for the details!
The best game of the day featured J.T. Terrell, L.D. Williams, Tony Woods and Chas McFarland against a team with various players that now play overseas and Craig Dawson. Woods was two for two on midrange jumpers early and also followed a Terrell miss with a huge slam. Unfortunately for Woods, he got into a scuffle with the opposing team's point guard and both were ejected from the game.
Williams also got out to a hot start by hitting three treys and pushing his team out to a double digit lead by halftime. In the second half, however, it was Terrell who stole the show. Within a short period of time he connected on two very deep transition threes and an extremely athletic tip dunk. He also went 12-14 from the FT line and finished with 29 points. His last two points came on a self pass off the backboard for a two handed slam as time expired. This was the Terrell that we have got to know and love over the last couple years.
The second and third set of games were not quite as exciting, but still provided some insight for Wake fans. Ari Stewart, Melvin Tabb and Nikita Mescheriakov's team was over-matched by the defending champions' guards. Stewart's team is filled with forwards and lacks any semblance of guard play, which the Holcomb-Faye brothers took advantage of early and often. Nikita seems to have a solid feel for the game and displayed a couple good post moves. He also handles the ball a bit better than I expected. Since they were getting handled at halftime, we decided to view the other game. We did hear that Ari Stewart had a pretty nice second half both from deep and getting to the rim.
The other game featured Tony Chennault and Ty Walker against CJ Harris and Carson Desrosiers. Harris did not have a good shooting night, but did provide a pretty nice highlight when his crossover move to the basket made Chennault fall. Harris is having some problems with both of his ankles and may sit out for the next week to make sure he does not injure them further. Chennault continued to shoot the three with consistency and got to the basket at will. Tonight he was not as effective finishing at the rim and did have a few too many turnovers. Nevertheless, he is going to be a good one in the gold and black. His leadership skills seem to be sharp and he definitely has the toughness to lead an ACC squad.
Desrosiers and Walker both had their moments as well. Walker played much better tonight than during the first night, as he blocked a couple Desrosiers dunk attempts and made some very nice post passes to cutters for easy buckets. You could definitely notice a difference in his aggressiveness. Desrosiers is very skilled for a guy his size. Tonight he showed some of the passing skills he is known for, as well as a short hook shot and a mid-range bank shot that Mr. Duncan might be proud of. He has the frame to develop into a big time player if he hits the weight room and is coached up a bit more.
The final game was a make-up game since Travis McKie's team failed to show up last time. However, their opponents were the defending champions (yes, the same ones that played against Stewart's team) and the game got out of hand fast. Although his team was not competitive, McKie proved to be a very efficient rebounder for a guy his size and also nailed a few threes in the first half. He handles the ball a lot for his team, which allows him to have more scoring opportunities but also leads to a few too many turnovers.
Stay tuned to BSD next week for two more nights of Triad Pro-Am coverage!