January’s Cold Blooded Scorers
As January comes to a close, looking back, there were many impressive scoring performances across Massachusetts this month. Many athletes have been scoring the basketball at a high frequency, and it seems like they are just getting warmed up. Here…
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Continue ReadingAs January comes to a close, looking back, there were many impressive scoring performances across Massachusetts this month. Many athletes have been scoring the basketball at a high frequency, and it seems like they are just getting warmed up. Here are some of the state’s most dominant scorers to start the season.
Avery O’Connor – Dedham High – 6’0” – SG/SF – 2022
O’Connor caught fire averaging 34.5 points per game during the week of 1/18. The gifted scorer can put the ball on the deck and get to the hoop effortlessly or spot up and shoot from the perimeter. She uses strong rip-throughs and a quick first step to beat her defender off the dribble. The wing runs off of stagger screens looking to shoot confidently every time, and has one of the best strokes from three. She is such a difficult player to defend because her shot fakes are so convincing. Defenses get overly aggressive guarding O’Connor and are out of control with their closeouts that the calm and collected junior gives a simple pump fake and creates an open shot for herself. The killer instinct that O’Connor possesses makes her stand out amongst the rest of the elite scorers. She plays with an edge on offense and has the mentality of a player who believes she is the most unstoppable player on the court. This is proven through her shot selection, as she can score over double teams and get points at the rim against bigger players with confidence, and it enhances her scoring prowess. A brilliant scorer at all three levels, she is virtually unstoppable when she gets into a rhythm on offense.
Colleen Phiri – Haverhill High – 5’11”- PF – 2024
The Haverhill freshman has flourished in her first 5 games this season. Phiri is averaging 27 points a game, but her efficiency in shooting the ball is what makes her freshman campaign so impressive. Shooting 47% from the field, 33% from three, and 80% from the free-throw line, she has shown the ability to beat you in multiple ways. At 5’11’’, she has excellent size and strength to bully you inside. When she catches the ball in the post, you have to pick your poison as a defender. Either give up an easy layup, or resort to fouling her; but she is so accurate from the free-throw line that it makes it hard for teams to build a strategy to stop her. Against Lowell earlier this year, she shot 8 free throws (made 7) before attempting her first shot, which was an offensive putback. She can completely dominate the offensive end just by her presence alone, and Phiri can shoot from the outside and drive to the basket. Phiri is also a terror on the offensive glass as she can rack up many points on second-chances, too. What should frighten future opponents is that Phiri is doing all of this off of her raw talent. With more game experience and practice to develop her post moves, footwork, and other offensive fundamentals, she can potentially be one of the most dominating forces in Massachusetts.
Nora Barmashi – Bourne High – 5’6” – SG/SF – 2022
Listed at 5’6”, Barmashi plays a lot bigger, and it stands out in her finishing ability. The long arms of Barmashi allow her to stretch over bigger defenders when she attacks the rim. She is an excellent shooter from the mid-range, and she can snipe threes with the best when defenses play zone. What you’ll notice watching Barmashi is how aggressive she is when facing man-to-man defense. With the ability to blow by an opponent using either hand, the junior shows a beautiful touch on her floater, which is her signature shot when she gets in the paint. She runs the floor well and fills lanes aggressively, looking for the ball and easy transition points. Her aggressive activity around the rim makes her a threat on the offensive glass, and she showed the ability to score off putbacks. In the 3 wins for Bourne this month, Barmashi is averaging 26.3 points per game, showing how vital her lethal scoring is to the team’s success.
Tatum Shaw – Andover High – 5’8” – PG/SG – 2021
Andover got off to a delayed start due to Covid-19, but once Shaw got on the court, she set the Merrimack Valley Conference ablaze. Coming out the gate scoring 30 points in 3 of Andover’s first 4 games, Shaw has been one of the most dominating scorers thus far. The senior guard is a knockdown shooter who aggressively comes off screens ready to shoot. Unlike anyone in Massachusetts, Shaw can catch fire and erupt for massive games like her 38 and 37-point outbursts earlier in the year. She is one of the few scorers who does most of her damage off the ball. Her conditioning is excellent, and with Shaw spending a lot of possessions running off picks, that level of stamina is imperative to her being such a potent scorer. When you watch her play late in games, she has the same high endurance level that she had at the start, while her defender is visibly tired, and Shaw feasts off that. Shaw plays with tenacity on defense, which creates turnovers, and when Shaw is in the open court, she is impossible to slow down. A creative finisher with both hands, the senior guard has the body control to finish through contact if she gets fouled. Shaw is a polished scorer who has not shown any signs of slowing down.
Avery Burns – Nauset High – 5’7” – PG – 2021
Burns has been a model of consistency since the turn of the new year. Through 5 games, she is averaging 27.3 points a game, shooting 53% from the field, 33% from downtown, and an eye-popping 97% from the free-throw line. Burns has a true shooting percentage (TS%) of 67% for the month, which is exceptional and shows how elite of a shooter she is. She can dominate you at all three levels. The senior has a quick first step and can get into the paint with ease and finish with both hands. Her active hands on defense lead to steals, and she can repeatedly score in transition. Her mid and long-range shooting is impressive because she can create any shot she wants with her tight ball-handling skills. The separation she gets and her rapid release makes her a tough cover. Displaying unlimited range from behind the arc, some of her deep three-point attempts, for most players, are deemed bad shots because they are low percentage. Not for Burns, though, who attempts these shots because she practices them consistently. If you watch her off-season workouts, Burns does drills where she is catching and shooting from 5 plus feet beyond the line, and she makes it look easy. The floor general’s dedication to sharpening her skills in practice and the off-season has taken her game to an unbelievable level.