Top Defensive Players From the Bishop McGuinness Classic

<p>The Bishop McGuinness Classic featured a plethora of talent from top-to-bottom. Most of the teams were elite in the scoring department, but only a few were elite defensive squads.</p> <p>There were a handful of players that displayed superior defensive awareness and skill-set. Those attributes have become an underappreciated aspect of the game in an offensive-driven era.</p> <p>Here are the players that stuck out on the defensive end of the floor.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="745363" first="Jaylon" last="White"], Norman North, 2021</strong></p> <p>White was the heart and soul of his Norman North squad. He led the team in nearly every aspect, but what ultimately propelled the Timberwolves to winning the Bishop McGuinness Classic was White’s defense play and leadership, which influenced his teammates to play hard-nose defense as well. On the first night of the tournament, the T-Wolves forced eight turnovers via steals, and White recorded 3 of those and played a part in two other steals.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="745371" first="Sean" last="Franklin"], Choctaw, 2021</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="745371" first="Sean" last="Franklin"] was one of the best players in the tournament, but not solely because of his offensive game. He thinks defense first and how he can steal possessions from the opposing team. His clutch defensive plays helped propel Choctaw to the championship game of the tournament. If it weren’t for him fouling out in the final five minutes, Choctaw may have defeated Norman North in the tournament championship.</p> <p><strong>Michael Taffe, Bishop McGuinness, 2023</strong></p> <p>Taffe is young, but he’s by far the most athletic player for Bishop McGuinness. He’s not the tallest player, standing at 5-foot-11, and he’s not the best shooter, but his athleticism instantly makes him a threat on both ends of the floor, and especially on the defensive end. He’s primarily a football player, which is why he’s such a disrupting force in the paint, despite his lack of height.</p> <p><strong>Da’Quan Brown, Deer Creek, 2021</strong></p> <p>Deer Creek overperformed in the first round of the Bishop McGuinness Classic. It wasn’t because they caught fire offensively, but because they out-hustled Del City and played a great brand of defensive basketball. The player that played a lead role in Deer Creek’s defensive performance against one of 6A’s most athletic teams was Brown, who disrupted the backcourt of Del City to the fullest extent.</p>