About 20 minutes prior to tipoff at Silver Oak Academy Monday night, Scotland Campus Sports head coach Blake Kingsley was quick to remind sharpshooting Class of 2021 prospect Johannes Kirsipuu of when Indiana Harris dropped 31 points on this very same court last year.
Similar to Kirsipuu, the since-graduated Harris is a deft-shooting international who can break open a game with a wild outside shooting spree.
From an outsider looking in’s perspective, one would assume Kingsley’s words didn’t fall on deaf ears.
The high engine Kirsipuu certainly played with the type of swagger that would indicate he’s looking to one-up Harris’ performance.
The 6-foot-2 Estonian combo guard piled up a game-best 35 points, lifting a shorthanded Scotland Campus Sports High School team to a 62-51 victory over the hosts.
Kirsipuu was a callow freshman when Harris, who is from Australia, put on that memorable 3-point clinic. Kirsipuu, who authored 38 and 43-point outbursts late last season, knocked down five 3-pointers on the evening.
“I heard coach say that stat (about Harris’ point total) , but I really didn’t pay any attention to it,” said Kirsipuu, who scored 22 first half points and calmly sank 8-of-8 from the free throw line in the game’s waning minutes to thwart Silver Oak’s spirited late rally.
“I honestly just go out and play. I don’t really pay attention to anything else. I knew I had to be aggressive scoring the ball and getting my teammates involved. We only had five guys. I realized this was the time for me to go off and take on the leadership role.”
Given the topsy-turvy, around the clock schedule and varying elements that come with the prep environment, a team playing with a meager five guys is not atypical.
Scotland capitalized on the man-down situation by circumventing foul trouble and subsequently avoiding the sheer exhaustion that comes with such a territory.
Kingsley got unprecedented production out of Brazilian sophomore Enrique Rossiter, who finished with a season-best 14 points.
The 16-year-old seized the opportunity to play prolonged minutes, utilizing an inside-outside game. Rossiter scored 10 points during one first half sequence, allowing Scotland to seize control of the game while Silver Oak was entrenched in a severe first half drought.
“It was a complete team win,” Kirsipuu said. “Everyone stepped up the way they needed to in this situation.”
With his dribble penetration and ability to lure in defenders, Kirsipuu had multiple fireball passes inside.
Scotland came out of the gates hot, kept their foot on Silver Oak’s necks for much of the first half, and staved off a wild surge engineered by Darnell Jordan.
Silver Oak Academy’s 6-foot-2 guard, who submitted a team-best 20 points, displayed deep 3-point range as Silver Oak sliced a sizable 22-point first half deficit to eight in the second.
Scotland regrouped Kirsipuu tore into the driving lanes, drew a foul and knocked back both free throws with 2:06 remaining. Scotland took control early, as a floater from Zak Sarmody and transition leak out and bucket by Rossiter sparked a 20-0 power surge capped off by a Kirsipuu 3-pointer. That run secured a commanding 28-7 bulge they would never squander.
“I attribute a lot of it to confidence and just knowing when to take over,” said Kirsipuu, who played for the Estonian National team this summer.
SCS arrived early and got limber by running through its sets with a 3-on-3 that included Kingsley. The bleed-over from the pregame was evident in the first half, as Kirsipuu scored eight of the team’s first 12 points.
AG FOR 3: Austin Galuppo, of Scotland Campus’ undefeated and No.3 national prep team, is slated for an official visit to Bryant College on January 24. A quick-strike 3-point assailant, Galuppo garnered national clout with a wild 31-point showing during a 90-72 win over Our Savior Lutheran during the prestigious PSA Showcase.
Bryant head coach Jared Grasso, who recruited Galuppo briefly while he was the Associate Head Coach at Iona College, has been in consistent pursuit of the California native throughout the recruitment process.
Conventional wisdom indicates Grasso’s system would green-light Galuppo to let it fly. The team is currently looking to recruit shooters and Galuppo is one of the nation’s elite in that category.
One would argue Galuppo is the country’s best long distance shooter who has yet to sign a letter of intent.
