Passion Region Finals Top Shooters

<p>In a tournament filled with elite athleticism and eye-popping players, for me, there’s nothing more exciting than seeing a great shooter catch fire from outside. The following players were flam throwers from deep at the Passion Region Finals. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="812636" first="Christopher" last="Rios"]</strong> 5’11/165 CG, Florida Suns (blue) c/o 2023</p> <p>Christopher is a shooter with excellent shot selection and a smart overall floor game. He does not try to do too much and has no issue turning down good looks for himself for great looks for his teammates. He took what the defense gave him all day and made opposing teams pay for every single mistake with both his jumper and smart drives to the basket. He led his team in scoring and an impressive 2-0 start to the day.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="709243" first="Hayden" last="McCain"]</strong> 6’0/170 SG, Pinellas Hoops Supreme c/o 2023</p> <p>A natural scorer who understands spacing and how to get open. Hayden also has a nice first step that allows him to attack closeouts and get to the basket fast. His high, quick release enables him to get his shot off at all levels and still make highly contested shots on a regular basis. Hayden is an efficient scorer and showed an elite touch from the outside.</p> <p><strong>Kaleb Oriol</strong> 5’9 155 PG, Dream Nation c/o 2024</p> <p>Kaleb is a smooth floor general with an elite three-point shot and floater. He hit 6 three-pointers in their game against Ocala Impact and made it look effortless in the process. His cat-like quickness allowed him to get to any spot on the floor he wanted regardless of if the defense was shading to his side. He is just a baller, and his overall offensive floor game is as smooth as his three-point stroke. </p> <p><strong>Machli Fleurissaint</strong> 6’3 165 SG, Palm Beach Flames c/o 2022 (pictured)</p> <p>A long-range sniper from 3 with an infectious passion for the game that his teammates feed off. Against the Auburn Raptors, Machli came out swinging making several plays for his team on both ends of the floor. He also went 4-5 from three and sparked a run that put his team up big in the first half. Unfortunately, he left the game late in the first half with a leg injury which changed the complexion of the entire game. Had he not been injured, he may have led his team to a weekend title.</p> <p><strong>Vophcy Prophete</strong> 6’4 SG, Rockout c/o 2024</p> <p>Vophcy has a natural god-giving ability to shoot the ball from long range. He has a high, effortless release that’s nearly impossible to block and the ball seems to always be on target. Hands in his face did not seem to matter and if he was left open…forget about it. I didn’t see him miss one open look all weekend. This kid is the very definition of a flame thrower. </p> <p><strong>Lawrence Cole</strong> 6’2 PG, Big Shots c/o 2023</p> <p>BOOM! BOOM! I was watching another game when I kept hearing the crowd yell that. Naturally, I went over to see what the fuss was all about, and as soon as I got there, BOOM!! Cole had just hit his 3^rd three-pointer of the first half and that was the team rallying cry when a long-range shot dropped. I heard that 3 more times, as Cole splashed 6 3 pointers in the first half of their first game. Cole was in the zone, but he’s not just a 3-point shooter. He takes the ball to the basket hard and can finish with the best of them. He’s a baller and I expect him to have an enormous upcoming high school season.</p>