The Valley Jam: 17U Superlatives

<p>July 16-18 I attended <em>HoopSeen’s</em> <strong>The Valley Jam </strong>at the beautiful nearly brand new Ottawa University in Surprise/AZ. </p> <p>43 teams from the 15 to 17U played four showcase games over the weekend. College coaches were on hand to take in the action for the second of the three July live periods.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>With half the teams in the older division I will focus this article only on 17U. </p> <p>Here were some superlatives for many different categories:</p> <p>17U 1st team:</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="827047" first="Dillan" last="Baker"] <strong>(Apex Athletix 2022 Black)</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="827006" first="Lareon" last="Ginnis"] <strong>(Team RHJ)</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="814517" first="Cohen" last="J Gonzales"]<strong> (Team Arizona Black)</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="701265" first="Ahamed" last="Mohamed"] <strong>(Factory)</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="973813" first="Jayson" last="Petty"] <strong>(AZ Select Paynes)</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="701269" first="Raydon" last="Thorson"]<strong> (AZ Junior Ballers)</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="809707" first="LeRoy" last="Williams"] <strong>(DBR)</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>17U 2nd team:</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1239575" first="Nate" last="Brown"] <strong>(AZ Select Paynes)</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1242648" first="Nico" last="Castaneda"] <strong>(Apex Athletix 2021 unsigned)   </strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="809729" first="Demetrus" last="Johnson II"]<strong> (DBR)</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="994130" first="Isaiah" last="Kai"] <strong>(Team Arizona Black)</strong> </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="933538" first="Jake" last="Lifgren"] <strong>(Factory)</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="827033" first="Nikko" last="Pentelute"]<strong> (Prime Basketball)</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1230473" first="Jabar" last="Wheatley Jr"]  <strong>(Team RHJ)</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>17U 3rd team:</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1006964" first="Terrance" last="Dixon"]<strong> (Factory)</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1237855" first="Petia" last="Dogale"] <strong>(DBR) (Pictured)  </strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1242001" first="Rene" last="Gallegos"] <strong>(Apex Athletix 2021 Unsigned)</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1054334" first="Eli" last="Johnson"] <strong>(Prime Basketball)   </strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="827021" first="Carson" last="Ledbetter"]<strong> (Pumas)</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="827004" first="Blessing" last="Nwotite"] <strong>(Factory)</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1165972" first="Noah" last="Peterson"] <strong>(Team Arizona Black)</strong> </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Best clutch performances:</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1216973" first="Josh" last="McKinney"] <strong>(Southwest Stars) </strong></p> <p>https://twitter.com/HoopSeenWest/status/1416569883727335426</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1230471" first="Fareed" last="Burton Jr"] <strong>(Team RHJ)</strong></p> <p>(Hit a 3 at the buzzer to beat Team Rampage)</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Best motors/best on-ball defenders:</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="701265" first="Ahamed" last="Mohamed"] <strong>(Factory)</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="973813" first="Jayson" last="Petty"] <strong>(AZ Select Paynes)</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="827006" first="Lareon" last="Ginnis"] <strong>(Team RHJ)</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Best passers:</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="809729" first="Demetrus" last="Johnson II"] (DBR)</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="701269" first="Raydon" last="Thorson"] <strong> (AZ Junior Ballers)</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Top wing athletes: </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1230473" first="Jabar" last="Wheatley Jr"]  <strong>(Team RHJ)</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="703839" first="Elijah" last="Thomas"] <strong>(Factory) </strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Top forward athletes/top shot blockers:</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1006964" first="Terrance" last="Dixon"]<strong> (Factory)</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1237855" first="Petia" last="Dogale"] <strong>(DBR)</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Need a Bucket?</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="814517" first="Cohen" last="J Gonzales"] <strong>(Team Arizona Black)</strong> </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="933538" first="Jake" last="Lifgren"]<strong> (Factory)</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Strongest player in event:</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="809707" first="LeRoy" last="Williams"] <strong>(DBR)</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Top sniper duo:</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1054334" first="Eli" last="Johnson"] <strong>(Prime Basketball)   </strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="827033" first="Nikko" last="Pentelute"] <strong>(Prime Basketball)   </strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Biggest sleepers:</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1242648" first="Nico" last="Castaneda"] <strong>(Apex Athletix 2021 unsigned)   </strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1239576" first="Jose" last="Salas-Zorilla"] <strong>(Southwest Academy)</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Back to the Basket Scorer:</p> <p> [player_tooltip player_id="827021" first="Carson" last="Ledbetter"]<strong> (Pumas)</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Seems to improve in every showing:</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1172864" first="Matias" last="Kroese"] <strong>(Apex Athletix 2022 Black) </strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="703837" first="Jeffrey" last="Goodere"] <strong>(Factory)</strong></p>