SW 1 Division I Top Performers

<p>I attended two second round games in Division I SW I district last night. Those games were Fairfield 52 Vs Lakota West 60 and Mason 49 Vs Walnut Hills 45. Here were the top performers from these games. Lakota West is now slated to battle Mason in the next round of the tournament, with the winner advancing to the district championship game.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="922592" first="Nathan" last="Dudukovich"], 6’3 SG Lakota West 2023: Dudukovich came out firing with 10 first quarter points. A knockdown shooter, Dudukovich can get his shot off without much space. After being held in check for a majority of the second, third and fourth quarters, Dudukovich hit a huge 3-pointer to give his team a cushion that would allow the Firebirds to advance to the next round.</p> <p>Kelvin Turner, 6’0 PG Lakota West 2021: Turner shoots a really easy ball off his hand, and the numbers back that up. Turner is shooting 45% on 159 3-point attempts and over 90% from the free-throw line. For small colleges looking for a pure shooter from the point guard spot, Turner might be a guy to check out. His shot has a lot of arc but when it goes through the net, it looks so pretty. Turner does struggle to finish around the basket, but he hit timely shots to help his team advance.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="867933" first="Deshawne" last="Crim"], 6’1 PG Fairfield 2023: Crim is one of the more advanced creators in the 2023 class. Crim has a variety of counter moves when driving to the basket, he hit a Euro-Step that left the defender in the dust. Crim shot the ball poorly from 3-point range in this game, but I think he eventually knocks shots down from distance. He shot around 30% from 3-point range on 80 attempts and 68% from the free-throw line. These numbers aren’t very encouraging right now, but I’m buying Crim eventually becoming a better shooter by the time he becomes a senior.</p> <p>Aamir Rogers, 6’6 C Fairfield 2023: Another Sophomore on a Fairfield squad that will return 4/5 starters from the GMC championship team. Rogers is pretty raw offensively, but I was impressed with his shot blocking skills and his activity around the basket on the offensive end. Rogers has a way to go in the post, but he did make a nice spin move to finish in a rare back to the basket touch. It might take until his senior season, but I’m willing to bet Rogers establishes himself as a surefire scholarship prospect.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1133377" first="Trey" last="Killens"], 6’0 PG Mason 2021: Killens willed his Comets squad to victory in the second game I caught of the day. With his team down four points with under two minutes to play, Killens knocked down a 3-pointer and had an and-1 layup to give his team a two point lead. Killens didn’t have the most efficient night from the floor, mostly because refs didn’t call many fouls in the paint throughout the night. Killens is a very quick guard who can get past his primary defender at will. The leading scorer in the GMC in the regular season didn’t disappoint in my one in-person viewing experience of the season.</p> <p>Tyler McKinley, 6’7 PF Walnut Hills 2024: McKinley was arguably the most impressive freshman I’ve watched all season. McKinley is very mobile for his size and is a monster on defense. McKinley has soft hands in the post and showed nice touch around the basket. He missed his only 3-point and free-throw attempt of the game, but I’d bet on McKinley eventually being able to shoot it from the outside. This is a prospect that high major coaches will want to put on their radar.</p>