Grind Region Finals: Saturday afternoon standouts (17U)

<table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;"><strong>Jaiden Blaylock</strong> | DC Kings Denton</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #e8e3e3;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">6’1” SG</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Denton Braswell (TX) ’22</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <ul> <li>Offensive-minded</li> <li>Smooth shot-creator</li> </ul> <p>Blaylock has a deep bag of trips, which he utilized in an afternoon match against an Oklahoman team Saturday.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p>The focused guard is technical and thorough in regards to his spot-up skill, consistently catching the ball, setting his feet and hips properly in relation to the basket and launching off a forward-rotating ball. He also has a good handle on the ball and utilized a few well developed and auspicious maneuvers to create separation against his foes across the red river.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p>Finally, Blaylock’s scoring versatility impressed us as he finished with 20 points, including a short corner turnaround jumper against contest from about 10 feet.</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="1164878" first="Ryan" last="Hart"]</strong> | H&amp;H Elite</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #e8e3e3;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">5’11” SG</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Cyril (OK) ’22</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <ul> <li>Clutch gene</li> <li>Marksman</li> </ul> <p>Hart’s late-game shooting heroics proved fortuitous for H&amp;H Elite on Saturday, as he lifted the OKC-based team past a Texan team in the final 90 seconds of play.</p> <p>Trailing for most of the game, a quick series of buckets for H&amp;H brought the team within a couple points of its foe, before the first of Hart’s wing triples landed in the hole to acquire a 1-point lead. Seconds later, he knocked down another one from the same spot that yielded identical results. <i>Swish.</i></p> <p>A couple down-and-back later, H&amp;H found itself tied with possession. Roberto Hernandez dribbled toward the corner, dished off to — you guessed it — Hart, who knocked down the corner triple at the buzzer to go ahead. He finished the match with 23 points.</p> <p>https://twitter.com/mckinnisbryce/status/1421552966805475333?s=21</p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;"><strong>Christian Lawson</strong> | DC Kings Denton</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #e8e3e3;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">6’5” F</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Denton Ryan (TX) ’22</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <ul> <li>Two-way player</li> </ul> <p>Lawson was superb on both ends of the floor Saturday afternoon, scoring 12 points and effectively defending the paint against a talented Oklahoman team. Although the Kings came up short in the match, Lawson’s toughness, physicality, and athleticism were on full-display on either end of the floor.</p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;"><strong>Deangelo Parker</strong> | Buddy Buckets Bahamas</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #e8e3e3;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">6’6” F</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Sunland Baptist (Bahamas) ’22</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <ul> <li>Two-way player</li> </ul> <p>Parker, an elite prep athlete, showcased exceptional two-way skills Saturday afternoon against an Oklahoman team.</p> <p>Among his peers and opposing players, Parker was leaps and bounds ahead of the next best athlete on the court during that game, in which he was able to score 18 points off easy buckets in transition and in the half-court — and dominate the defensive end, too.</p> <p>As previously stated, Parker’s ability to elevate and his power stunted scoring opportunities, even some of quality, from the other team until its players just had to throw their hands up. Especially against guard-dominated teams, Parker will continue to have this edge against other teams of great talent.</p>