Lemon Street Classic: Day 3 Standouts

Keith Agran December 31, 2020 @ 10:31 PM

I was able to pop in on Day 3 for three games at last week’s Lemon Street Classic in Marietta, and some of the ATL-Metro’s best players had their games going. [player_tooltip player_id="869578" first="Peyton" last="Daniels"], 6-2, Senior, CG, Tri-Cities The Vanderbilt-signee was spectacular in a win over East Coweta, getting 40 points in a variety of ways, it’s no secret how devastating a natural scorer he is, getting points from 3-land (6 treys), on the dribble drive, off the fast break and off of his and the Bulldogs often suffocating defense, he got ample support from versatile senior G/F [player_tooltip player_id="869620" first="Davon" last="Cottle"] as well on this day, who can be an inside-out force in spurts. [player_tooltip player_id="870172" first="Sammy" last="Moss"], 6-3, Junior SG, East Coweta The fight and grit in Moss’ game is evident from possession one all the way to the final tick of the clock, not built like truck per say his wiry strong frame is still more than capable of getting his points in physical confrontations near the basket or out past the arc where he can definitely stroke it, he’s always been adept at getting to the line and took it right at the bevy of bigs Tri-Cities was able to place in the paint, the Indians are young overall and have a bevy of up-and-comers led by impressive rising-sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id="820279" first="Austen" last="Colton"], so look for them to improve as the year goes on and develop into a force for 2021-22. [player_tooltip player_id="820290" first="Keishawn" last="Hampton"], 5-11, Sophomore, PG, Meadowcreek Speaking of impressive young guards, Hampton has been placing his name firmly on the radar over the past few weeks posting some gaudy numbers, that continued in a solid win over a well-schooled Sequoyah team coming in on a winning streak as Hampton had his sweet 3-point stroke going knocking down five triples on his way to 19 points, you can see the growth in his floor general game as he slows down and lets the game come to him allowing him to use an advanced handle to highlight his skills as a distributor, having gotten stronger even from the early summer his on-ball defending is also of note, surely one to watch as the Mustangs continue to navigate one of the area’s most challenging schedules, the young talent featured on this squad rivals any in the area, as wings [player_tooltip player_id="820310" first="Dayton" last="Richardson"], [player_tooltip player_id="1049231" first="Dennis" last="Sturdivant"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1042852" first="Colby" last="Williams"] and 4-man Eddie Hendricks highlight a deep cast of 2023’s on the move. [player_tooltip player_id="869612" first="Zach" last="Bell"], 6-2, Senior, SG, Grovetown Joined in the backcourt by senior Julius Brown to form a big-time combo and both were impressive in a tight loss to Lanier, Bell always impresses with his tremendous athletic ability and effortless movement up and down the floor and above the rim at only 6-2, the spectacular play is seemingly always on the horizon when you see Grovetown and Bell play, but he can hurt you in plenty of traditional ways as well with great strength off the drive and pull-up to go with plenty of range out past the arc, plays bigger and can guard up through the 4-spot at this level, a full package and one that is now finally drawing the kind of major D1 interest his talent warrants, the Warriors too feature some fascinating up and comers in 2023 G/F’s Markel Freeman and Malik Ferguson and 6-5 2024 big Derrion Reid. [player_tooltip player_id="754293" first="Andrew" last="McConnell"], 6-0, Senior, SG, Lanier No recap of the day’s scoring stars could leave out McConnell who is a natural scorer in a similar mold to Daniels, carries a deserved rep as one of the ATL-Metro’s best pure shooters as he can spot up and knock down 3s in bunches like few in the area, as much more of the #1 scoring option this year he’s taking it closer to the basket off the bounce too and asserting himself at that end finishing with 21 in the Longhorns exciting come from behind win over Grovetown, love the leadership and poise he shows for what is a mixed group of veterans and new contributors, PG CJ Hyland and 6-5 C Jayce Nathaniel, both 2024’s, continued the theme of young players who shined at this event and will be something special to watch develop for this always solid program.