AAU Practice Report: Team Fly

<p>AAU basketball has kicked off and for most programs, tryouts are over and the teams are starting to get accustomed to playing with each other again. We had the opportunity to drop by and watch the last hour of practice for Team Fly on Thursday night. Like last year, Team Fly will split their 17U group into "North" and "South" squads with recruiting coordinator and coach Kendall White coaching the North team and former North Salem star Jeff Williams heading the South team.</p> <p>Players from both teams were at practice at Chemeketa Community College, which serves as a good central point for all of the players as they come from as north as the Portland metro area and as south as Eugene. Players of note that were missing on Thursday night due to various reasons were big men <strong>Fred Harding (2019 Lake Oswego HS) </strong>and <strong>Jasper Reinalda (2020 Corvallis HS)</strong>, and <strong>Josh Paul (2020 South Eugene HS)</strong>. Here are some standouts that made an impression on us during the time we watched:</p> <p><strong>Jack Chlumak (2020 Newberg HS)</strong> - Chlumak will be one of the main members of the North team. The 6-foot-3 guard has always been able to get to the basket but his outside shot has remarkably improved over the course of this season. He was more focused on finding his teammates with pinpoint passes on this night, as his court vision and mentality to set up others is key in the Fly system.</p> <p><strong>Braeden Sato (2020 Sunset HS)</strong> - Sato is a late add to the Fly program and will be playing on the South team. The 5-foot-9 guard is very shifty with the basketball but where he adds value is his ability to really shoot it well from the outside with a quick trigger release. He was hitting threes from all over the floor.</p> <p><strong>Andre Best (2020 Oregon City HS)</strong> - After a couple of years as a defensive stopper reserve, Best found a groove offensively with Oregon City this past year. While he really didn't show that this night on practice, he was capably pushing the ball up the floor and using his physicality and motor to make a difference on the defensive end.</p> <p><strong>Jacob Slifka (2020 Banks HS)</strong> - Slifka may be one of the top sleepers of the class. Long and lanky at 6-foot-4, he has a very smooth shot from long range but has really improved with his ability to create off the dribble. Slifka nailed some catch and shoot threes but also put the ball on the floor and sank some pull-up 15-footers as well.</p> <p><strong>Aiden Clark (2020 South Eugene HS)</strong> - Clark will be the big man of the North team at 6-foot-9. He ran the floor well and got a number of transition power dunks as a result. He competed hard on both ends and along with the aforementioned Harding, will be counted on to get rebounds and play tough post defense.</p> <p><strong>Drew Carter (2021 Tigard HS)</strong> - Carter was a late add and will be playing up at 17U with the South team. The 6-foot-2 guard shot it extremely well from the perimeter with picture-perfect form and a tight rotation on the ball. While his outside marksmanship is his calling card, Carter has the athleticism and strength to create and finish around the basket as well.</p> <p><strong>David Gonzales (2020 Silverton HS)</strong> - Gonzales will play both guard spots for the South squad. At 5-foot-11 he isn't the biggest backcourt performer but he plays fearlessly and the Silverton junior did just that, taking it hard to the hole and absorbing all sorts of contact while finishing. He's also showed off some decent range on his outside shot past the three-point line.</p> <p><strong>Payton Richardson (2020 Western Christian HS)</strong> - Fresh off a state championship, Richardson now heads into ball with Team Fly looking to expand his game on the perimeter. At 6-foot-3 he'll still be doing a lot of work near the paint and that's what he was doing on Thursday night, showing great motor while battling inside for baskets and rebounds.</p> <p><strong>Joe Juhala (2020 West Linn HS)</strong> - Juhala is a very interesting prospect because he has good size at 6-foot-7 and he has the ability to knock down threes as well as get up and dunk it. He threw down some power jams on Thursday night but the perimeter shooting was limited as Fly is working on him posting up for baskets.</p>