By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
The Highland Park Scots, ranked No. 3 in Class 5A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, dominated from start to finish Thursday night on the way to an 111-43 Meadowlark Conference victory over Kansas City-Sumner at Highland Park.
Highland Park junior Ja'Corey Robinson slams down a dunk in Thursday's 111-43 Meadowlark Conference rout over KC-Sumner. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Highland Park junior Mikey Williams scored 20 points Thursday night as the Scots rolled to an 111-43 Meadowlark Conference win. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Scots finally played their first game of 2024 and their first game since Dec. 15th on Thursday.
“Break was amazing, that’s the time where there is no school, no anything just basketball, and that’s exactly what we did,'' Highland Park coach Michael Williams said. "I use the pockets in the season to teach and try to grow my team.
"The tricky thing about our schedule so far is that we have had a lot of practice and no games. There’s an idea going around of the competition we are playing and I think when that comes up people discredit what we're doing behind the scenes. Your games are one aspect and phase of it but not the only phase, so we utilize practice to the most to keep improving.”
The Runnin’ Scots looked like a team with plenty of practice, running and gunning all night long.
Ja'Corey Robinson, a 6-foot-4 junior, led the way with 31 points and six dunks.
“Having a lot of shooters around and playmakers is helping me out a lot and opening up the floor in the paint, with the amount of shooters we have its been able to open the inside up for me,” Robinson said.
“Ja'Corey’s a unicorn,'' Williams said. "Super skilled, super athletic, great IQ, unselfish, plays the right way and allows you to coach him hard. When one of your best players lets you ride him and stay on him and push him to try to get the most out of him, you are gonna get there and he allows me to do that.
"And it's also our relationship. We are really close and I believe in him. He is getting Division 1 looks and we are preaching to him to be that Division 1 talent every time you hit the floor and tonight he showed that.”
The Scots got a big night from the coach's son, Mikey Williams Jr., with the 6-3 junior scoring 20 points.
“We were just hungry going into the break only playing three games and other teams already having played six-eight games, we were excited to get back on that floor together and show who we are,” Mikey Williams said.
“First of all I'm thankful for this opportunity,'' Michael Williams said. "It means alot to me to be able to be a dad all the time and be a dad in practice and games. Sometimes it's tough on him because I'm hard on him, but it’s like that with all the boys. The thing with Mikey is he's just scratching the surface, his best basketball is in front of him and he has been putting the work in to get better.''
Senior Topeka High transfer Bryson Thrasher had his breakout game for the Scots with 16 points.
“The work ethic, we are in the gym every day having three-hour practices, getting in a lot of shots, Coach Mike teaches us everything he knows about basketball and helps you reach heights you didn't know you could reach,” Thrasher said.
“Everybody wants to be successful out there and everybody will,'' Michael Williams said. "He is coming into a brand new system, their locker room and our locker room isn’t the same, so there are things he's been adjusting to and change and figure out and he's not reacting much from a basketball standpoint but he's learning our system and he's coming along and he's going to continue to get better and continue to make plays as you saw tonight.”
HIGHLAND PARK BOYS 111 KC-SUMNER 43
KC-Sumner (2-6 2-4) -- Tyler 6-12 2-2 16, Bandy 4-6 0-0 9, Reese 2-4 0-0 6, Ross 2-2 1-2 5, Davis 1-4 1-2 3, Gordon 1-5 0-1 2, Knight 0-0 2-4 2, Mendez 0-1 0-0 0, Neely 0-3 0-0 0, Contreras 0-4 0-2 0, Addink 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 16-42 6-13 43
Highland Park (4-0 2-0) -- Robinson 14-16 2-3 31, Williams Jr 7-12 3-5 20, Thrasher 6-10 0-0 16, Anderson 5-14 0-0 13, Taylor 5-5 2-2 12, Wilson 2-4 2-2 6, Cameron 3-4 0-2 6, Thomas 2-4 0-0 4, Kingcannon 1-1 0-0 2, Kelley 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 46-73 9-14 111.
3-point goals – Highland Park 11 (Thrasher 4, Anderson 3, Williams Jr 3, Robinson 1) KC-Sumner 5 (Reese 2, Tyler 2, Bandy 1) Total Fouls – HP 16, KC-Sumner 16.
