Battle @ The Villages: Pennsylvania Standouts

<p>One of the highest quality tournaments in Central Florida, the Battle @ The Villages has made its return in 2021. While the tournament happened as scheduled in 2020, it featured no out-of-state teams due to fears over the COVID pandemic. But this year, out of state competition returned, and some of the best teams in the whole country were able to make the trip to sunny Central Florida to take on some of the state’s most elite talent. </p> <p>One of the participating states was Pennsylvania, who was well represented by Lincoln Park High School from Midland, PA. Here were the standouts:</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="991237" first="LA" last="Pratt"], G, 6-5, 2022, Lincoln Park High School, Duquesne commit</strong></p> <p>Pratt was an efficient scorer and contributor on both ends for Lincoln Park. While finishing with only 8 points, Pratt was one of the better defenders of the day. His length and hustle at his position make him an issue to opposing guards, and when he is in a press defense he can be a very scary guy to be matched up against. He recorded more steals than I could count and made The Villages pay for all of their errant passes. As a D1 commit, Pratt can definitely step things up a bit more on the offensive end. His length made him effective finishing fast breaks, but his half court offense was a bit stagnant. He will definitely improve throughout the season and a guy who, with some additional help, could become a fixture at the D1 level. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="991401" first="Brandin" last="Cummings"], G, 6-4, 2024, Lincoln Park High School</strong></p> <p>Cummings came out of the gate white hot against The Villages. While his offensive arsenal is deep and well developed, the part of it that stuck out the most was his three point shooting. He knocked down 4 triples in the first half. But these were not ordinary shots that you shoot at the YMCA with your friends. These were highly contested, very tough angle threes that were even and-1s at times. Cummings was unafraid to let them fly, and fly they did. Cummings is also a super athlete who put The Villages players on watch after putting one of them in the basket in the 3rd quarter. He cooled off in the second half, but still made impact on the defensive end with his length and athleticism. Cummings holds offers from Bryant, Youngstown State and South Carolina, so you know you’ll see this guy on the D1 stage at some points down the line. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="991408" first="Meleek" last="Thomas"], W, 6-5, 2025, Lincoln Park High School</strong></p> <p>Thomas was the most impressive freshman of the night. He put up 29 points against The Villages, scoring in any way possible. His length and athleticism helped him get a boost of scoring right out of the gate in the second half. Shooting isn’t necessarily his first strength, but he can light you up from triple when he needs to. His positioning on offense was elite, and he frequently found himself in positions where he could get easy layups from simple passes. As a freshman, his elite IQ and knowledge was really impressive. He’s long, athletic and has the physical tools to really get buckets at the next level. I’m still wowed by the fact that he’s a freshman, and he’ll continue to do nothing but get better over the next few years.</p>