Bundy’s Week 5 Player Evaluations: 2022 Guards

<p>The week before Christmas was filled with several top-level holiday tournaments and some extremely good matchups with some of the top teams in the state. I was at Connersville and Franklin County for their holiday tournaments which featured some top-level talent from across the state. Let’s take a look at some of the evaluations from these two tournaments.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Player Evaluations</strong></h3> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><b>Bridger Bolos (Franklin County) <strong>– 5’11" </strong>2022 Guard</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bolos was an unexpected star for Franklin County in their win. He is a star on the football team, and he did it all on the basketball court as well. Bolos passes the ball well, and he is able to use his speed and quickness to get out and run. He also shoots it well with two big triples and a nice pull-up jumper. On the defensive end, he uses his quickness again to get his hands in the passing lanes and disrupt the opponents. Bolos ended with 12 points, 6 assists, and 3 steals in the win.</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1063975" first="Tobey" last="Billups"] (Connersville) <strong>– 6’0" </strong>2022 Guard</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Billups is a smooth guard who is the captain and leader of this impressive Connersville ball club. He sees the floor well and is a nice facilitator for his offense. On the defensive end of the floor, he plays physical man defense, and he seems to get his hands on any pass that comes near him. Billups would end with 8 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals in the win.</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1152148" first="Marco" last="Fitch"] (Bloomington North) <strong>– 6’0" </strong>2022 Guard</b></p> <p>Fitch is a solid scorer who just committed to Knox College, a Division 3 program in Illinois. He is smooth with the ball, and he finishes well around the rim. He can also stroke it from the outside. It was an efficient scoring day for Fitch going 5-7 for 14 points in the loss. Fitch has the potential to develop into a nice scoring option for Knox in the years to come, and he is a very good third-option for the Cougars this season.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1295313" first="Dorian" last="Hill"] (Seton Catholic) <strong>– 5’9" </strong>2022 Guard</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hill is a smaller guard who fights hard and plays with a ton of heart. He had a very well-rounded game as he finished with 6 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and 7 steals. On the defensive end of the floor, he seemed to get a hand on everything, and he was not afraid to come in and fight amongst the bigs inside. He also hit two monster threes in the fourth quarter to lead Seton Catholic back from down 10 to a 1 point win. If Hill can be a strong third option for Seton Catholic, they’ll be tough to beat.</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1168149" first="Hunter" last="Johnson"] (Seton Decatur) <strong>– 6’2" </strong>2022 Guard</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Johnson came into this game leading the state in scoring, and he showed why in this one. He knows how to find his shots, and he has major ups when shooting the ball. He also gets very low on his cuts which makes him incredibly tough to stop. Johnson struggled shooting the ball due to the stifling Connersville defense, but he lived at the free-throw line (going 10-10) and totaled 23 points and 8 rebounds in the loss.</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="870215" first="Nick" last="Klaiber"] (Bloomington North) <strong>– 6’1" </strong>2022 Guard</b></p> <p>Klaiber is a bigger guard who struggled shooting the ball in this one. He missed all of the summer with a wrist injury, so this was my first chance to see him since that injury. He rises up high on his jumpers which allows him to get shots off over anyone, and he knows how to get to his spots and create his own shot. Klaiber also attacks the defensive glass well, and he is able to get up and battle with anyone thanks to his jumping ability. Klaiber currently holds no offers due to his injury, but I believe that he should no doubt be playing NAIA basketball next season.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="870304" first="Jackson" last="Ullom"] (Monroe Central) <strong>– 5’10" </strong>2022 Guard</b></p> <p>Ullom was no doubt the best player on the court at the Connersville Invitational that featured the #1 3A team in Connersville and the #15 4A team in Bloomington North. He controlled both games of this tournament from the tip until the final buzzer. He also plays with a ton of heart. Ullom moves well with the ball in his hands, and he can shoot it well from all over the court. In their win over Bloomington North in the championship game, Ullom ended with 22 points and 5 assists in their win. Ullom is going to be an absolute game-changer at Taylor for the years to come.</p>