First Person Grassroots: Hoops4Health
In our “First Person Grassroots Recap” series we take a look at how the travel team season went for one our state’s programs.
Today Brendan Kolton of Hoops4Health chats about his program’s summer!
17U National
Record
30-10
Championships / Accomplishments
Champions of the Prep Hoops Show Me Showdown St. Louis, MO. Went 7-0 to win the Championship. Final 4 at the Nike Spring Showdown. Final 4 at the Pangos Terrific 24 Indianapolis, IN. Went 6-1 between the Jayhawk Finale and Sunflower Showcase in Kansas City, Mo.
Key Wins
Yanders Law MO
Martin Bros IA
Hoopers Basketball Club IL
Tyler Johnson Elite CA
Minnesota Powerhouse MN
Ohio Nova Rice OH
MBA Select OH
On Point Hoops OK
Overall Thoughts on Season
Team played unselfish fundamentally sound basketball. They always brought intensity and a work ethic each time they stepped on the court. Overall a very successful season. Played high level competition throughout and battled. Made a lot of great runs through many of the tournaments.
Standout Performers
DeAndre Heckard Romeoville – Consistently proved himself against top level guard throughout the country. Has shown he is a legit top 10 player in Illinois. Showed a lot of improvement on the jump shot and defense. Ability on the midrange grew a lot as well as his court vision.
Eddie Creal – Romeoville – Showed an immense improvement on his jump shot. Freak athlete who was on a terror on the defensive end. Bruiser down low. Gets a ton of rebounds for a guard.
Brian Conaghan – New Trier – Plays with a lot of heart. Pass first PG with a smooth 3 point shot. Strong and tough. Really good defender. Was a floor leader throughout the season.
16/17U Orange West
Record
13-5
Championships/Accomplishments
Played 17U (team was 16U with two 17U players) at prep hoops tourney in STL and went 2-2. Won 2 local tournaments at CYBN and for the game
Key Wins
D up Elite 17U
All in Athletics
Meanstreets
Overall Thoughts on Season
The boys play with great energy and passion. As a coach that’s what you ask for. They always left it on the court and strived to be better than they were the day or game before. As a unit, we excelled in playing together and buying in to the team first mentality.
Standout Performers
Justin Myers- Ridgeview – Justin plays with an edge. He leaves it all on the court and can affect the game in many ways. Many times, we found ourselves looking at Justin to lead.
Xavier Horde- Minooka- X is great on the boards and defense. He crashed the boards on both ends and can guard many positions. He can play post D or guard the perimeter. X gives the team many extra possession’s
Artayis Bailey- Minooka – Artayis is the definition of team first. He is one of the most coachable players I have coached. He is a high character player who makes any team he’s apart of not only better but a team. He is scrappy and doesn’t run out of energy. He is always working to be better.
15/16U Orange North
Record
15-3
Championships/Accomplishments
Beat many teams locally playing in 16U. Won championships in a variety of tournaments from CYBN to for the game.
Key Wins
Wisconsin Blizzard
All in athletics
Overall Thoughts on Season
This team played great team ball and left it all on the floor. We were successful because we had high IQ players who played hard and played together. We were selfless and it showed with our team defense and ball movement. Each player truly enjoyed each other’s success.
Standout Performers
Teddy Smith- New Trier – Teddy is also up there as one of the most coachable players I have coached. He impacts the game in a variety of ways and has a vast skill set. Teddy leads by example and plays with great passion.
Michael Molloy- Lane Tech- Michael is a smooth lefty. He plays the point guard position with great poise. Michael can beat his defender off the dribble or with the shot.
Logan Cheeks- Evanston – Logan’s energy is endless, he rarely gets tired. Logan has great ability to pick up full court and attack the basket. He plays with a fearless mentality.