Flight Hankamp: Improved Players

Scott Hankamp September 2, 2021 @ 05:57 AM

Flight Hankamp: An Open Run was a fun night of basketball, giving the players a chance to play against a high level of competition and play with or against players that they may have never seen before. There were a lot of players at the event that looked like they have improved their games a lot over the course of the last few months or year. Let’s look at a few of those improved players. Luchie Carpenter Carpenter looked a lot better from close up at Flight Hankamp. I knew he was a quick and speedy athlete, but he showed some real game. Carpenter showed the ability to break down defenders in 1 on 1 matchups and played bigger than his height. [player_tooltip player_id="1199868" first="Caleb" last="Johnson"] Johnson was a significantly better player at the event. He showed a nice looking jumper, but was really at his best when he put the ball on the floor and put pressure on the D. [player_tooltip player_id="1130946" first="Brennan" last="McKenzie"] I’ve had the opportunity to see McKenzie play a good amount this summer, and I’ll tell you something for sure, he keeps getting better. The game is coming at him much slower than it was a few months ago. This allows McKenzie to see the entire floor and make his court vision and passing a true weapon. He was a big reason that the Midwest Stampede was playing their best basketball at the end of grassroots season. [player_tooltip player_id="1068153" first="Tayshawn" last="Robinson"] I’d heard rumors that this young man was improving, and Robinson proved that to be true at Flight Hankamp. He had the look of an athletic defender and a downhill scorer on the offensive end. He’s due for a really nice high school season. [player_tooltip player_id="1130940" first="Micah" last="Saunders"] Saunders is another player that I saw play pretty often this summer. This young man has a lot of upside. He’s obviously learned some ways to use his strengths - his quick feet, his ability to make big plays, and his effectiveness filling a wing in transition.