Notes: Bishop Gorman sophomore Noah Taitz plays best in big games

Noah Taitz ventured into the trainer’s room adjacent to the gymnasium at Bishop Gorman for treatment before basketball practice Monday.

The sophomore has been dealing with knee soreness, and Gorman assistant coach Bobby Robotham suggested he might be enduring growing pains.

If so, one of the state’s elite big-game performers is going to get even bigger.

Taitz has grown into one of the top shooting guards in the sophomore class and tends to play his best when the proverbial lights are the brightest. And he’ll be on the state’s biggest stage this week at the Class 4A tournament in Reno.

In six marquee games in Las Vegas — four against rival Clark, one against national power Findlay Prep and one against California juggernaut Sierra Canyon — the 6-foot-3-inch sharpshooter averaged 22.5 points. His regular-season average was 18.3 points.

Oklahoma, Stanford, Washington, Utah and UNLV are recruiting Taitz, who, as a consensus four-star prospect, already wields scholarship offers from 10 Division I schools.

“He doesn’t back down from the highest level competition,” Gorman coach Grant Rice said. “When a big shot is on the line, you want the ball in his hands.”

Taitz said he’s unsure why he plays so well in important games, only conceding that he gets excited to compete against other elite players.

He started playing basketball in third grade, refined his abilities while playing AAU basketball for Vegas Elite and flashed his potential in last year’s state semifinal by scoring 19 points as a reserve for Gorman against Reno.

College programs started pursuing him during AAU season last summer, and he parlayed his success into the high school season by becoming a top scoring option for Gorman.

“Defenses definitely key on me. I’ve noticed that,” Taitz said. “Sometimes when I get (the ball), all the help defenders start to show more.”

Understandably so.

Taitz is a knockdown shooter by trade who routinely converts 3-pointers from NBA range. He attacks the basket more consistently now, too, using his 35-inch vertical to finish above the rim.

And he still has two more years to develop.

“He can be a high-major Division I player,” said Gaels assistant coach Rich Thornton, who also coaches Taitz with Vegas Elite. “He’s hungry. He knows he’s got a long way to go. That’s the good thing about it. He wants to be a great player.”

Polynesian Classic

Liberty and Faith Lutheran have been selected to play in the annual Polynesian Classic — a showcase event set to feature some of the nation’s top football teams.

The Patriots will play Sept. 7 against IMG Academy (Florida), which finished 2017 with a 9-0 record and the No. 2 ranking by USA Today.

The Crusaders will play Sept. 8 against Chandler (Arizona), which posted a 13-2 record in 2017 en route to the Class 6A state championship.

Uniform rule for soccer

Starting in 2018-19, high school soccer teams will wear dark jerseys and socks for home games, and solid white jerseys and socks for road games, the National Federation of State High School Associations announced last week.

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.