Faith Academy boys basketball turns heads at showcase

The Faith Academy of Marble Falls boys basketball team went 1-2 during the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Association Showcase June 20-22 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The Flames beat Fort Worth Lake Country Christian and lost to Dallas First Baptist and Houston St. Thomas Episcopal.

Faith head coach Zakk Revelle said the Flames ran into a buzzsaw against Dallas First Baptist, which made more than 50 percent of their attempts to begin the contest.

“They shot the ball well,” he said. “It was incredible how they shot the ball.”

It also didn’t help that senior center Judah Phillips exited the game early because of a nose bleed. He missed most of the first half.

Still, the showcase drew collegiate coaches of all levels, and Phillips, who stands more than 7 feet tall, caught a lot of attention.

“Judah had a coming out party,” Revelle said. “A lot of coaches watched and talked to him after the games. There’s a very small percentage of kids who make it from high school to college. This gives our kids a chance to be seen. (The college coaches) watched and took notice. We’re super proud of him.”

Phillips, who will be a four-year letterman by the time he graduates, was one of several veterans to make the trip. Also competing were senior Jase Marshall and junior Seattle Hampton, who are also starters, juniors Collten Kohutek and Austin Skahill and transfer Jadyn Jenkins.

“Our new guys played really hard,” Revelle said. “They showed what they could do and what they could be. Jadyn played a lot of point guard.”

He noted several players brought the ball down from one end to the other, including Phillips.

“We haven’t had set practices yet,” the coach said. “We want the kids to play together. It’ll kind of be a mix of that. It was nice to have three ball handlers cause we were pressing the entire game.”

While Phillips is the focal point in the paint, Revelle said it’s important to have other athletes who can play in that area, too. He was pleased with the work of Hudson Tatum, Wade Dillard, Hampton and other Flames, who have height but are used more in the perimeter and are showing they are capable of going to the paint.

The coach pointed out the physical traits of his players allows him to mix and match line-ups to create mismatches.

“It’s a nice thing to have,” he said. “We have a lot of big guards. There’s a lot of opportunities for us even if Judah is on the bench. Seattle, Wade, Hudson and Kohutek – those four are interchangeable to a degree. It’ll go game by game. We want five guys who could guard guards.”

The Flames got a glimpse of that during the showcase.

“We scored, we did a good job of rebounding,” Revelle said. “We put a lot of pressure on the rim and rebounded offensively.”

Overall, he called the showcase a success and believes his players got a lot of positives from it.

“We’re super thankful to TABC for putting on that event,” he said. “Every coach should have their team in it even if you’re shorthanded. It was a well-run event.”