#PHLive: Saturday-morning 16U standouts

<table class=" alignleft" style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;"><strong>Josiah Shields</strong> | OZ Elite 2023 Brown</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="height: 21px; width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #f2f0f0;"> <tbody> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">6’0” G</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">Derby (KS) ’23</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>Shields scored the ball well in a match against H.I.T. He has some shiftiness to him, but he mostly finished strong through pressure, including a crafty spin into a floater with a sea of hands flying around him in the first half. He added variety to his offensive attack, hitting 3-pointers to complicate things for H.I.T. Secondarily, he passed the ball pretty well, often drawing a couple or more defenders near him in the paint before handing off the rock to the corner or wing.</p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;"><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1172555" first="Jace" last="Steinmetz"]</b> | SSA Hoops Elite Black</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #f2f0f0;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">6’2” SG</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Garden City (KS) ’23</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>On a team that was uniquely accurate from beyond the arch, Steinmetz stood out for SSA displaying his sharpshooting skills. He first stood out in a Friday-night matchup with H.I.T., but he then continued his perimeter excellence against Tulsa Hawks Blue on Saturday morning. His taller frame in his age division certainly didn’t hurt him in converting shots with pressure, but he added to his effectiveness also with a series of drives to the interior that ended in him putting up a runner or layup against contesting defenders, consequently backing those defenders off him at the wing. He finished the match with 29 points.</p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1218266" first="Jaylen" last="Maze"]</strong> | OZ Elite 2023 Brown</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #f2f0f0;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">6’0” PG</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Wichita Northwest (KS) ’23</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>As far as 9 a.m. performances go, Maze was pretty chipper on both ends. His attack-minded style of play landed him at the charity stripe a few times, and he was perhaps a couple luckier rolls from having an outstanding scoring performance. His confidence rivals the best in his age division when he takes the ball inside, and if he polishes his offensive game a little more, he could be a serious scoring threat.</p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1158404" first="Bralyn" last="Smith"]</strong> | Texas Impact 2023 UAA</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #f2f0f0;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">6’4” G</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">TACA (TX) ’23</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>An outstanding scoring guard and explosive athlete, Smith tormented the D1-Minnesota defense Saturday morning in a 10 a.m. match in which he finished with 10 first-half points in an all-around showcase of his mature skill-set. The dynamic guard spent period of the first half in scoring spurts, including one sequence in which the sophomore hit a triple on an inbound play, then promptly showed off his athleticism in the full-court on a fast-break dunk. The only merited critique of his game would be his lack of second-half production, prompted primarily by the defensive efforts of D1 Minnesota, but nonetheless concerning.</p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1176704" first="Rylan" last="Kennedy"]</strong> | Texas Impact 2023 UAA</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #f2f0f0;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">6’5” F</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;"><em>No roster submitted</em></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>Kennedy was unfazed even as he was often tasked with defending players with considerable height advantages. Clearly a versatile athlete, Kennedy is exceptionally well-coordinated and agile in the interior, but he is just as comfortable on the perimeter.</p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1159623" first="Bishop" last="Jones"]</strong> | Texas Impact 2023 UAA</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">6’6” C</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;"><em>No roster submitted</em></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>Like his counterpart in Kennedy, Jones rarely had a size advantage, but his athleticism and talent took him the distance. He was best offensively with his back-to-the-bucket, where he could manipulate his body to get an angle on defenders, pairing his slickness with his power. His best play of the game came as he cut from the dunker’s spot, received a well-timed pass and jammed with two-hands as an opposing post stood helpless below him. Defensively, he put forth a solid effort to stop opposing posts from equalizing him in the scoring margin. Among his offensive and defensive skill, he was crucial in the rebounding game, as well.</p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="962205" first="Jalen" last="Cain"]</strong> | D1 Minnesota 2023</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="height: 21px; width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #f2f0f0;"> <tbody> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">6’2” G</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">Minnetonka (MN) ’23</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>When you move the ball, good things tend to happen for you; but when you move <em>without</em> the ball, it’s even better. Cain, who finished his match against Texas Impact with a cool 9 points, did both. There were few players as active, altruistic and aggressive off-the-ball as him.</p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="962200" first="Jack" last="Janicki"]</strong> | D1 Minnesota 2023</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #f2f0f0;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">6’4" G</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">White Bear Lake (MN) ’23</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>It was a balanced scoring effort across the board for D1 Minnesota’s win against Texas Impact, but nonetheless, Janicki was very impressive individually. His control was exceptional as he notched 14 points, including three 3s against the athletic, talented Texas Impact squad. He played at a comfortable pace, prompting an efficient performance while still being highly effective. He has great handles, is a reliable shooter and is highly cerebral with few or no wasted dribbles.</p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="962207" first="Ibrahim" last="El-Amin"]</strong> | D1 Minnesota 2023</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #f2f0f0;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">5’9" G</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Minnetonka (MN) ’23</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>El-Amin’s Saturday-morning performance was one of the best among secondary scorers, and though I had not seen him play before Saturday, I imagine he has plenty of high-scoring performances of his own. Though he doesn’t have the stature, El-Amin makes up for it in his versatility. He can put points on the board in a variety of ways as he finished with a pair of triples off the catch and finished through contact from short-range Saturday morning.</p>