Standout Senior Ballers From the Journey to the Tourney 2020

<h3 style="padding-left: 80px; text-align: center;">Champions of Sports presented a phenomenal tournament, the Journey to the Tourney 2020 consisted of some talented teams and a few highly underrated players. AAU basketball is back and this event exemplified it with the competitiveness and the high-flying, high-speed pace of play. Here are a few of those players that stood out and caught my eye. </h3> <h3 style="padding-left: 40px; text-align: center;">Damon Price - Center - Gators Elite<img class=" wp-image-1015765 aligncenter" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/IMG_2924-232x300.jpg" alt="" width="196" height="253" /></h3> This 6’5 skilled big man was a man amongst boys this past weekend. Price dominated the paint on both ends of the court. He gave up nothing easy on defense and drew a double team whenever he touched the ball on the block. Very effective post presence, Damon showed us all why he was the 3rd leading rebounder in the entire Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, pulling down nearly 300 rebounds while averaging over 11 per game last season for Spruce High School. With his strong base, he did a great job of establishing position, clearing space, and controlling the paint. Defensively, he’ll make you think twice before coming inside. He may be a bit undersized but he’s still extremely physically imposing, he affected shots without even jumping, just a bully down low. Damon Price helped lead the Gators to a 1st place championship win while showing and proving that the old school back to the basket style of play could still be effective in today’s game. <iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/4dlXAgY_sLI" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <h3 style="padding-left: 40px; text-align: center;">Brian Hunter Jr. - Point Guard - Blazers Elite<img class=" wp-image-1015767 aligncenter" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/IMG_2922-124x300.jpg" alt="" width="119" height="288" /></h3> Brian Hunter was a baller this weekend, he looked to make a play any time the ball touched his hands, whether it was scoring or facilitating. This point guard did a good job of creating for himself and others. Hunter Jr. is a supreme athlete and he used that strength to his advantage; showed lightning lateral, and blow-by speed, quick-twitch ball-handling, and a first step that quickly got him into the teeth of the defense over and over again. His ability to get to rack opens up several scoring opportunities for his teammates, he’s often looking to dump it off or kick it when driving the lane, a very unselfish player. Brian Hunter Jr. really put on a show the final day of the tournament, he’s a player that will be ready to lead Little Elm back to the playoffs for his senior season. <iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/JSc7nCuWR_8" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> [player_tooltip player_id="984724" first="JoCorian" last="Freeman"] - Shooting Guard - Blazers Elite<img class=" wp-image-1015770 aligncenter" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/image1-166x300.jpeg" alt="" width="149" height="269" /> [player_tooltip player_id="984724" first="JoCorian" last="Freeman"] came to play, he put up numbers on the teams he faced, showed off his bag of handles, and his athleticism. Freeman got whatever he wanted out there, made his pull-up jumpers, beat guys off the bounce with his smooth dribble combo moves, and a deceptive first step so slick it’ll catch you off guard. Also showed great strength and explosiveness when driving the ball. On championship day, JoCorian put on a dunk show, he gave us a rim rocker this weekend when he put a man on a poster and had the spectators going crazy. But most importantly, when his team needed him most he stepped up, took over the game, and closed it out. Freeman also showed unselfishness by looking to keep his teammates involved. [player_tooltip player_id="984724" first="JoCorian" last="Freeman"]’s progression is something to keep an eye on. <iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/XyB5vi3hsK8" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> D.J. Bridges - Power Forward/Center - Blazers Elite D.J. went after everything whether it came his way or not, hustling for loose balls, contesting shots, snagging rebounds; he really stood out with the way he attacked the boards. Bridges understands his role and he plays it well, he’s a guy that’s hard to take out the game because of what he brings to the table. He never gets tired, he plays hard, and he doesn’t need the ball to be a difference-maker, Bridges does the things that don’t show up on the stat sheet. I wasn’t aware of D.J. Bridges before this tournament, but he’s definitely a player to keep track of going forward.