The Tune Up: mid-Saturday standouts

<p>DFW, Texas --</p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;"><strong>Cahlese Lee</strong> | Next Level</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">6’1" PG</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Edmond North ’22</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>Lee was outstanding defensively for Next Level in the 9 a.m. game. On a single possession, Lee locked up a shifty ball-handler, poked the ball back, disrupted a pass and blocked a shot. His lateral quickness and iQ are important, yes, but his tenacity on that end of the floor is what made him shine.</p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #ffd6d6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="938861" first="Israel" last="Hart"] </strong>| Next Level</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">6’3" PG</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Midwest City ’21*</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>A Hart last-minute clutch triple on fourth-and-ten summed up the early-morning performance he had. Finishing with 18 points in a brilliant display, Hart was a two-way show-stopper in a two-point loss for Next Level. Many of his points came on fast-breaks, with Hart simply speeding out on missed shots for his teammates to pinpoint the ball ahead of him for easy lay-ups, but it was no cherry-picking fiesta for Hart; he’s just that fast, and his acceleration kept him ahead of opposing defenders on chase-down attempts.</p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #ffd6d6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1049309" first="Jamarion" last="Butler"]</strong> | Team Buddy Buckets OKC</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">6’6" SF</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Southmoore ’21*</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>Butler ate his wheaties Saturday morning. He threw down a nice slam in the half-court against Proskills, then in a similar situation a couple possessions later, he passed the ball from block-to-block for an easy assist. What J.B. has been showcasing so far this weekend is the complimentary iQ to his natural athleticism.</p> <table style="height: 21px; width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 100%; height: 21px; text-align: center;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="955401" first="Marcell" last="Perry"]</strong> | Oklahoma Chaos</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">6’5" SF</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Southeast ’22</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>Perry is a <i>bad</i> dude, but you probably knew that if you’re an Oklahoma Chaos fanatic. The powerful, classic guard-forward has an incredible motor, plays at top gear, scores the basketball in diverse methods and never backs down from a challenge. Against an equally strong and athletic Showtime Elite team, Perry was an enforcer, protecting the rim and keeping ball-handlers out of the interior. Leading Chaos in scoring with 16 points, Perry was just as much a factor offensively, finishing a few really, really tough buckets against fierce contact and habitually finding his way to the line.</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="1164860" first="Artez" last="Young"]</strong> | Oklahoma Chaos</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">6’0" PG</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Midwest City ’22</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>Young’s pace alone made him one of the best players on the floor. The incoming senior plays all-to-the-wall, top gear and brings the ball up the floor with a threatening forcefulness, gathering most of his buckets just by speeding by defenders and finishing with them on his hip. His hand-work, as well, contributes to his ability to score as he displayed ambidexterity when finishing at the rack. As the day progressed, his speed drew defenders towards him, allowing him to dump the ball down to his posts for easy buckets.</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="1164861" first="DD" last="Coleman"]</strong> | Oklahoma Chaos</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">5’10" PG</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Ardmore ’22</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>Coleman held it down Saturday morning for <i>The A. </i>The state quarterfinalist is a crafty ball-handler with good vision for the floor, pairing his skills to distribute the ball in movement with seamless accuracy and setting teammates up for legitimate scoring opportunities. One of his passes that was exceptional came from a right-to-left crossover as he created space, drove from the left side a step as defenders slid to help before passing it over to the opposite corner for an easy look from 3-point range. Coleman also converted on the rare 4-point play in the same game, converting on a long corner-pocket triple as a defender knocked him to the floor.</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="1164862" first="Jonah" last="Jenkins"]</strong> | Oklahoma Eagles Elite</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">6’0" CG</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Cashion ’22</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>The prom king showed up late to the afterparty, playing his first game Saturday morning, but it took no time to get him going. After coming off the bench, he netted a pair of 3-pointers early as his attack-mindedness spread amongst his otherwise defensive, perhaps timid teammates. He drove into defenders rather than shying away from contact, drew fouls, got to the line and score the ball for OEE.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></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="1164864" first="Zach" last="Hidalgo"]</strong> | Oklahoma Eagles Elite</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">6’7" PF</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Hooker ’22</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1164865" first="Mickey" last="Hunnicutt"]</strong> | Oklahoma Eagles Elite</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">6’7" C</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Springer ’22</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>Against a tall, athletic Texas Impact ’23 team, OEE needed a pair of strong enforcers, and that is exactly what they got from Hidalgo and Hunnicutt. With their traditional, fundamental post skill-sets, both were instrumental Saturday morning for Eagles in keeping the ball out of the paint, protecting the room and equalizing Impact on the boards.</p>