Centennial State Grandstand– Day 1 Floor Generals
The Centennial Grandstand opened up the live period portion with head-to-head games with some of the best talent in Colorado and various other states going at it in a showcase. There were big time scorers, rebounders and plenty of highlights…
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Continue ReadingThe Centennial Grandstand opened up the live period portion with head-to-head games with some of the best talent in Colorado and various other states going at it in a showcase. There were big time scorers, rebounders and plenty of highlights but here we focus on the floor generals that opened things up.
Jude Tapia —Albuquerque High School
Tapia was one of the first players that stood out in the first game as he is a player that shows immense confidence with the ball in his hands and is looking to score each and every time down. He sees the floor well and ran his unit as he had countless of assists. A few of his turnovers came from his teammate not being ready for the passes that he was ready to give. He is comfortable in the open court, finds the open man, is a high IQ guard but what really separates him from some of the other guards at the showcase was his ability to score in bunches. Once he gets into the thick of the defense it is most likely a basket, either with him scoring as he did plenty of on Saturday or a dish off to the open man.
Kyree Banks— Surrattsville High School
Banks brought his East coast game to the showcase and had himself a day. He has one of the quickest first steps of the guards that was there and made sure to use his speed to get around defenders where he was very dangerous in both the open court as well as PnR situations. Banks is a guard who can score the ball relatively easy but in a showcase setting realized that he had talented teammates around him and got them open for some easy plays. He gets himself going on the defensive side of the court with hard-nosed defense and ran his unit well. Banks was a standout with not making many mistakes, guiding his teammates to open spots and also attacking the defender often.
Kaleb Chaney—Overland High School
Chaney came to the showcase and did a bit of what he has always done. Played with extreme intensity, which is contagious. He has a knack for getting his hands on the ball in the open court and showing off his blazing speed. Chaney is faster than I expected both with the ball and without it and that was on display as he had two steal and finishes in his early games of the day. The difference about Chaney now is his offensive ability. He is comfortable with the ball in his hands and has found a signature floater which was working for him on the day as he had four tear drops in the early game. Once the defense committed to slowing down the floater he then started dropping it off to open teammates which just got his team going even more. Chaney defends full court, has pretty good court vision and is now starting to score the ball and in the showcase was able to show that he is a guard to take serious as the defender has to work on both ends of the floor.
Jeremiah Coleman — Chaparral
Coleman was one of the youngest attendees of the showcase, but his age meant nothing as he was able to bring it on Day 1. Coleman is a player that does not back down on either end of the floor. Defensively, he took on the challenge of guarding his soon to be backcourt teammate Kobe Sanders who is the state’s top point guard and then for the rest of the day went at whoever was in front of him and held his own. Coleman is lightning quick but what is different about his style of play is he uses his speed for a purpose and plays under control which you do not see at that age. Coleman is a mature guard with a high IQ that controls the pace. He excelled in PnR situations and hit the cutter. He skipped in situations that he was trapped and did not put himself in spots that he could not get out of. He will be a player to keep an eye on for the foreseeable future.
Christopher Speller – Range view High School
Speller is a taller guard but plays the position the right way. He does not force much, he is not out on the floor trying to do too much and things come to him. Speller penetrates the defense and either finishes it or finds an open man. He is a guard that is able to get to the free throw line as he is not afraid to use his body. He has great court vision and is a calculates guard that makes the right decision. Although he played a bit off-ball which is new to him in the showcase it was interesting to see him pick and choose his spots. What I liked was aggression that I had not seen in previous times watching. He was attempting to dunk, knocking defenders out on the way and setting guys up for easy plays. He is a great entry passer, cuts off of passes and is dynamic as he can play so many positions due to his size and strength.