Lawrence High’s boys basketball team showed how much it can dominate on both sides of the ball this week.


On Tuesday, the Lions shot 71 percent from the field (30 of 42) in a rout against Leavenworth. On Friday, they let their defense do the talking in a 72-41 victory over Olathe South.


Most teams are happy to specialize on one side of the ball, but if the Lions continue to do both, they’ll be tough to stop.


As some of their players have pointed out, their team chemistry plays a big factor in how successful they’ve been on each side of the court. Defensively, they have a lot of trust in one another, whether it’s a guard applying pressure on the perimeter, and if they overplay a passing lane, they trust a teammate will be able to provide help. On offense, they know where their teammates are on the court and where they like to catch the ball.


Lawrence’s girls basketball team struggled and had a largely forgettable game against Olathe South, an 80-34 loss. The Lions just looked tentative with the ball, whether they were a step slow making passes or they hesitated to shoot. A lot of their turnovers were from the passer just getting the ball ripped away before they made a move.


Now, the Lions did struggle this week against Leavenworth and Olathe South, but I think it’s possible they could turn their season around. They’ve played a ridiculously tough schedule up to this point in the season. Not counting Wyandotte, who the Lions beat last month, their opponents’ record is a combined 35-7. Only Emporia (5-2) is unranked in the last coaches’ poll. You just wonder if they can rebound from a tough start to the year.


“We have a core group that’s really bought in,” LHS coach Jeff Dickson said. “They want to be successful. They’re willing to pay the price that it takes to be successful. One of those things, quite honestly, is gaining experience. We’re playing some young kids who haven’t played at this level before or not a lot at this level. They’re finding out, night in and night out, you better be ready to play.”


In case you missed it, we’re copying one of the popular features of KUsports.com, “Keegan’s Ratings,” where Sports Editor Tom Keegan ranks KU football and men’s basketball players after every game he attends and I’m bringing back the high school ratings for this basketball season. These individual rankings are just one person’s opinion, but it’s a good way to look at how each person impacted each game.

Lawrence High girls basketball

1. Skylar Drum, so. — In a game where most of her teammates were tentative with the ball, Drum was aggressive on both sides of the court. She only scored two points (1 of 7 shooting), but grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and three steals.


2. Marissa Pope, sr. — She struggled to shoot the ball (0 for 9 from the field), but she never turned the ball over, which was a pretty impressive feat against the Falcons. She finished with two points and a steal, but had to leave the game at the end of the third quarter after being blindsided by a screen at half court.


3. Gracie Reinsch, jr. — In her first varsity start of the season, Reinsch scored five of her team’s 10 points in the first half (all in the second quarter). She played well inside of the paint and drew a few fouls. She also grabbed three rebounds.


4. Madison McKinney, so. — She had to take most of the ball handling responsibilities as the Falcons did their best to keep the ball away from Pope. She scored three points, but also grabbed four rebounds. She played hard, but was a little too tentative on some passes (six turnovers).


5. Devon Spoonhunter, jr. — Spoonhunter scored six points and made all three shots she took. She also had a rebound and a steal.


6. E’lease Stafford, fr. — Stafford scored five points, all in the last 4:13 of the game. She also added four rebounds and had four turnovers.


7. Alexis Boyd, jr. — Boyd grabbed four rebounds and scored two points on 1 of 3 shooting.


8. Olivia Lemus, so. — Lemus drilled a pair of three-pointers in the fourth quarter and she continues to bring good energy off of the bench.


9. Talima Harjo, fr. — Harjo plays hard but sometimes is a little too reckless. She had five turnovers, but added two points and a steal.


• Next up: 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at SM West. Record: 1-6.

Lawrence High boys basketball

1. Anthony Bonner, sr. — Bonner showed off his offensive arsenal on Friday. He was driving to the rim, racing past defenders in transition, draining pull-up jumpers and hitting catch-and-shoot threes. The Colorado State commit was having fun on the court, winking to the bench after a three in third quarter, and finished with a game-high 23 points to go along with five rebounds, two assists and a steal.


2. Justin Roberts, jr. — I think one of the most underrated parts of Roberts’ game is his ability to provide tough ball pressure. He caused fits for the Falcons’ ball handlers all game, and he grabbed three steals to go along with five boards and four assists. He didn’t shoot the ball well in the first half, but found ways to get to the free throw line (7 of 9) on his way to 19 points.


3. John Barbee, sr. — After missing a game because of a sore knee, Barbee looked like himself in his return to the court. He scored seven points, had four steals, grabbed four rebounds and had one assist. However, he caught some post game grief for a play when Price Morgan blocked a shot, which led to Barbee getting the ball wide open down the court and he missed the layup (I think he got stuck between dunking and just laying it in).


4. Fred Brou, jr. — Brou was electric on the defensive end, blocking two shots and nearly blocking two more if it wasn’t for a couple of foul calls. He scored four points, benefitting from drives in the paint by guards, which were dumped off to him. He also had four rebounds.


5. Price Morgan, jr. — Morgan was called for a couple of ticky-tac fouls, but he scored six points and had three rebounds and two assists. He went hard after loose balls on Friday, diving onto the floor and ripping it away from opponents. It’s the little things that he does really well, and his passing from inside the paint to open three-point shooters is a pretty underrated part of his game.


6. Anthony Harvey, jr. — The junior continued his hot streak shooting the ball this week, knocking down three triples. Teams struggle to press the Lions when he’s on the court because he gives them a second point guard with Roberts. He also played solid defense on the perimeter. But what’s gotten into him about his shooting?


“Just playing my game,” Harvey said. “Teammates are finding me and I’m hitting the shots. All thanks to teammates. We’re just moving the ball. It could happen to any player on the team, it just so happened the last couple days to be me.”


7. Logan Applegate, sr. — Applegate scored two points and added two rebounds. He was playing solid defense until he picked up four fouls in a three-minute stretch in the third quarter. It seems that he always has a knack for upsetting opposing forwards with his hard-nosed play.


8. Tae Shorter, sr. — Shorter made two of three free throws at the end of the game after being fouled with 11 seconds remaining. He missed his only other shot attempt.


9. Ben Rajewski, sr. — Rajewski missed his only three-point attempt coming off of the bench.


10. Jackson Mallory, so. — Mallory picked up a few minutes in the second half but didn’t shoot or record any stats.


• Next up: 7 p.m. Tuesday at SM West. Record: 8-0.
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