The Finale: 17U Championship features Kansas stars

<p>The 17U championship game of The Finale tournament in Kansas City featured a host of Kansas stars.</p> <p>CarrolGoL1ve 17U took the title, but MoKan Select 2021 made it close at the end and had plenty to be proud of.</p> <p>Perhaps the best player in the game was <strong>Cachao Gianquinto </strong>of Battle High School in Columbia, Missouri. He was deadly with his mid-range jumpshot. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="730642" first="Tanner" last="Hecht"]</strong> started CarrolGoL1ve off with three 3-pointers early in the contest. And giant <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="885496" first="Omar" last="Stanley"]</strong> was dominant throughout, particularly bottling up the lane so <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="891898" first="Aidan" last="Shaw"]</strong> couldn’t score at will. <strong>Jalen Hampton</strong> of University City High School in St Louis helped Stanley shut down the lane. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="730611" first="Alston" last="Mason"]</strong> was dynamite with the ball, but Giaquinto and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="889458" first="Javon" last="Grant"]</strong> made generating offense tough for the MoKan guard tandem of Mason and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="889470" first="Harrison" last="Braudis"]</strong>.</p> <p>Here’s how some of the Kansas players performed in the championship:</p> <p><strong>CarrolGoL1ve:</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="885496" first="Omar" last="Stanley"], post, Link Year Prep (formerly Blue Valley West):</strong></p> <p>Several dunks, blocked shots, and a couple of midrange jumpers</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="889458" first="Javon" last="Grant"], guard, Pittsburg:</strong></p> <p>7 points, numerous highlight-reel passes</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="730642" first="Tanner" last="Hecht"], wing, Wamego:</strong></p> <p>9 points, three 3-pointers in the first half</p> <p><strong>Kansans for MoKan Select:</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="889487" first="Isaac" last="Patterson"], wing, Blue Valley North:</strong></p> <p>15 points, almost all on drives through the lane</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="730611" first="Alston" last="Mason"], guard, Blue Valley Northwest:</strong></p> <p>14 points, a dizzying number of highlight assists</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="891898" first="Aidan" last="Shaw"], wing, Blue Valley:</strong></p> <p>11 points, held down somewhat by the athletes on CarrolGoL1ve. Still was impressive sweeping across the lane from the wing for acrobatic finishes.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="889470" first="Harrison" last="Braudis"], guard, Bishop Miege:</strong></p> <p>8 points, gritty defense and a numerous assists</p> <p><strong>CJ Powell, wing, Highland Park:</strong></p> <p>6 points, helped spark comeback late</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>