Catoosa Summer League Weeks 1&2

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Each summer Catoosa hosts a summer league. This summer they have 2 separate waves that contain a total of 32 teams. It will consist of 4 weeks of teams being shifted around into four team pools. It is a great opportunity for these teams to begin knocking off the rust or just start to mesh with their new mix of HS players. It is mainly made up of Northeaster Oklahoma teams. Some top teams include: Coweta, Bartlesville, Sapulpa, Claremore, Glenpool, Verdigris, Inola and Rejoice Christian. Let's take a look at a few teams/players who performed well in weeks 1 and 2. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='156857' first='Tyla' last='Heard']</strong>- OH for Sapulpa. Now that big sis is off playing basketball for OSU. Tyla is the main gun for the chieftains now. She will burden much more of the offensive workload but she is definitely up to the task. She is a competitor through and through. She loves the big moments and tough tasks. She is a big reason Sapulpa has done well in both the first two weeks. They have played Inola, Berryhill, Glenpool, Okay, Sand Springs and Claremore Sequoyah. They will see another challenging pool next week with Oologah, Coweta and Glenpool. Watch for Tyla this season to fight for spots in FVC All Conference and All State, while also trying to punch their ticket back to the state tournament. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Izzy Wilson-</strong> OH for Rejoice Christian. Izzy and the Eagles made it all the way to the state finals last year. They will be attempting to duplicate the same feat agin in 2023. She played huge when they needed her the most. She kept coming up with kill after kill each set. Rather it was a untouched bomb into the open court or tooling the block, it didnt seem like she could do wrong at state. Izzy has a ton of power that is derived from her big approach she takes. Look for her to possibly gain some college attention this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Brooke Walker-</strong> MB/RH for Inola. Brooke has been a mainstay almost her entire high school career. She helped lead the longhorns to the first state tournament fr the first time in 17 years. They have high hopes again this season behind her ability to set and run the offense, and the ability to be an offensive weapon once she gets to the front row. She has a massive impact on the court in all 6 rotations. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Iniyah Pickup-</strong> OH for Salina. Salina put together a very impressive year in 2022. Their record ended at 25-6 with having only 1 loss in all of September. Coach Butcher feels confident that her team will be even better in 2023. Iniyah is one of the outsides for the Wildcats and she is a playmaker in a 6 rotations. If Salina is to have another impressive year and possibly punch their ticket to state this year, Iniyah will be a huge reason why. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Saniyah Craven-</strong> OH for Glenpool. One of the most gifted athletes in class 5A. She is only a sophomore but she plays much tougher than that may suggest. Her ability to get up allows her to hit shots others wish they could. She has made the shift from right side to outside this season. She also played outside for her club team, UPVBC 15 Elite. Look for Glenpool to have one of the bets front rows in all of 5A this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Wrap Up:</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Keep in mind that summer league is just that, a summer league. Most teams focus on skill building, team meshing, playing lots of players and having fun. Not many coaches are focusing on if they win or lose during this time. This is just the slow start to what will be an awesome 2023 high school season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->