AAU Recap: Spectrum Sports 16U

<div>Despite their youth, sporting four 2018 players that were playing up, Spectrum 16s were a gritty team that competed all summer while getting better each and every tournament. Led by 2017 Aaron Martin of Martinsville and Dominique Joyce of Patrick Henry, the freshmen stepped up to the challenge early and played their parts to support the two leading scorers. They weren’t the biggest team, with Joyce being their tallest player at 6’6, however they defended the length of the court, sped teams up and played discipline team basketball on the offensive end, and finished with 20 wins on the summer. Here’s a recap of Spectrum Sports 16’s summer.</div> <div> </div> <div>All quotes and photos courtesy of Head Coach Dennis Haley.</div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div><strong>Overall Record:</strong> 20-9</div> <div> </div> <div><strong>Top Tournament Finishes:</strong> Zero Gravity Battle of the Belts champions; Dr. Dish Aprill Fools champions; Bob Gibbons TOC top eight</div> <div> </div> <div><strong>Notable Wins:</strong> Garner Road, Charlotte Aces, Georgia Go Hard</div> <div><strong>MVP: </strong>Aaron Martin. “Aaron is the most consistent and hard working player I’ve ever coaches. He averaged 15 points for us this summer, and he is determined to get to the rim when scoring and when rebounding.”</div> <div> </div> <div><strong>Defensive MVPs:</strong> Nick Price and Xavier Kane. “Both are extremely active with their hands, and they have an understanding of where the opponent wants to go and will beat them to their spot.”</div> <div> </div> <div><strong>Biggest Surprise: </strong>Shannon “Shey” Webb. “Shey was big for us after a freshman year learning on varsity at Northside, and he came prepared to become better. He worked hard all summer and it paid off for both him and us.”</div> <h2>Coach's Take</h2><p><span style="font-family:-apple-system-font; font-size:12px">“We had a great summer, especially not knowing how we would be with Nick, Xavier and Shey only being freshmen at the time and playing up, but they played at an extremely high level. We had a team of players that no one really knew, and now three or four will be ranked in their perspective class."</span></p>