KC Classic: Glue Guys

<p>Outside of the big names, the premier scorers, and leading assist guys, lets take a look at some of the guys who do a little bit of everything and are hard to take off of the basketball court for their clubs down at the KC Classic this last weekend.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Landon Shepard, 6’2 F, Marcus Denmon 2022: Shepard is a player I have gotten to know and follow since he was a freshman and he is always one of the hardest working players on the basketball floor. He is big bodied but can move on the floor, has a consistent catch and shoot 3 ability, and brings tenacious energy to the game. He is a steady 6 to 10 point scoring type of guy and can get it done from the perimeter, garbage plays, and finishing inside, but the real luxury of his game is just doing everything you don’t see on the stat sheet.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="891920" first="Amari" last="Thomas"], 6’5 F, Kansas Pray N Play 2022: Thomas is a multi tooled player who puts together solid all around performances when he steps on the floor. He had 13 in the game I saw him play this weekend but added countless deflections, forced turnovers, energy driving plays that make him valuable on the floor. He has great length so his activity and utilizing it makes him fun to watch. Thomas also does a great job of getting to the foul line.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p> Emmett Gaskill, 6’ Guard, SSA 2024 Black: Gaskill plays with a ton of energy and swagger on the basketball floor, and brings an added toughness to him. He may not always fill stat sheets or put up huge scoring numbers, but he screens, rebounds, defends, and gets his guys going at a high level constantly. Gaskill can be a back bone to winning teams and is a piece coaches want on the floor and in their huddle. He has a nice intermediate float game, quickness to be effective on straight line drives, and when under control is a solid transition player with and without the ball.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Josiah Polynice, 5’11 PG, KC Spurs Black 15U: Polynice moved off the ball and cut with some of the best of the them all weekend long in the game action I watched. The young guard has a bright future if he continues to effect the game off the ball the way he does as he is terrific at back cutting, curling off screens, and simply relocating on the perimeter. He also runs the point very well and hits his teammates in great spots to be successful and has good timing on his passes. He stays extremely poised on the floor.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Other Notable Glue Guys</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1076401" first="Koen" last="Hula"], 6’4 PF, SSA 17U Blue 2022</p> <p>Cooper Hajek, 6’1 F, SSA 16U White 2023</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="891906" first="Trey" last="Moala"], 6’4 F, Yobo 2022 (Pictured)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1185196" first="Ryan" last="Yankovich"], 6’7 F, PAC Gold 2022</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>