The MaxPreps Game of the Week goes down Friday night in Washington between
Rainier Beach (Seattle) and
Eastside Catholic (Sammamish) in what could be a preview of the Class 3A state final.
Rainier Beach enters the game at No. 19 in the MaxPreps Top 25 fueled by the play of top-rated senior
Tyran Stokes and freshman
J.J. Crawford, though the son of former NBA player Jamal Crawford is likely out for Friday's matchup with an ankle sprain.
Eastside Catholic counters with uncommitted 6-foot-11 senior
Yabi Aklog and sophomores
Tytan McNeal and
Steven Sun.
Before the much-anticipated rematch of a Jan. 5 league game — won 85-74 by Rainier Beach — Josh Carson of MaxPreps sat down with Stokes, Crawford and Jamal Crawford, an assistant at Rainier Beach, for an interview you can see in the video above and on the MaxPreps YouTube page.
The trio talked about what fuels them in the game of basketball, how they are learning from Jamal and coaching staff at Rainier Beach to better their games and how playing multiple sports helps on the hardwood among other topics.
How to watchDate: Friday, Feb. 6
Location: Eastside Catholic High School | Sammamish, Wash.
Tipoff: 8:30 p.m. PT
Streaming: MaxPreps |
YouTubeBroadcast team: Jeff Kurtz, Aaron Williams
Stokes leads the Vikings with averages of nearly 35 points, 14 rebounds and
eight assists per game. A leading candidate for MaxPreps National Player
of the Year honors, the 6-8 wing went off for a career-high 63 points Monday in a senior night explosion as Rainier Beach beat West Seattle 107-37.
J.J. Crawford was averaging 19 points per game before his ankle injury and is among the a handful of candidates in the running to be named MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year.
The elder Crawford played prep ball at Rainier Beach under head coach Mike Bethea before a 20-year NBA career. He was the eighth pick overall in the 2000 NBA Draft by Cleveland out of the University of Michigan and scored nearly 20,000 points in the league.
