Cherry Creek Tournament: Top Performers

<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1284436" first="Carey" last="Booth"]- Cherry Creek</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1284436" first="Carey" last="Booth"] was the best prospect in the building during the event. Carey’s improvement from this year to last is crazy to see, he has great height and is starting to play like a wing which is a scary match-up problem for opposing teams. From the outside, Carey shot over smaller defenders with ease. He also showed that he can finish well inside even throwing down a strong two-hand dunk over the top of defenders. Going downhill Carey looked much improved as he was able to move quickly and keep a good handle on the ball. One of the most impressive things about Carey is that he has a ton of potential and is also able to be an efficient scorer.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1080835" first="Joel" last="Speckman"]- Chaparral</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1080835" first="Joel" last="Speckman"] dominated the tournament leading Chaparral to win the tournament. Joel was the best player on the court every game and showed that off. Joel gets it done on both ends of the floor, down low he is a great rim protector but also is a unicorn who can switch onto any position on the floor due to his quick lateral movement. On the offensive end Joel does it all, he shot well, found open teammates, and scored the ball at the rim. Joel even had some big dunks on top of players helping shift momentum his team’s way. He even had a dunk on top of a big man straight off of vertical, very impressive. Joel is one of the best players in the state and is making Chaparral a contender this year.</p> <p><strong>Bryson Linder- Mountain Vista</strong></p> <p>Bryson Linder is one of my favorite players to watch as it seems like he is always in the right spots. Bryson is a player who gets it done on both ends of the floor. He is super quick and uses that to jump passing lanes and create fastbreaks. On fastbreaks, he is a smart player who knows when to go for the layup and when to dish it off to a teammate. Despite being a smaller guard Bryson finished great at the rim, he has a ton of different moves to keep defenders on their toes. Bryson alongside this quick Mountain Vista offense is a ton of fun to watch. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="918905" first="Kijuan" last="Thompson"]- George Washington</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="918905" first="Kijuan" last="Thompson"] is leading the George Washington Patriots to a better start than many expected. George Washington was very senior-heavy last year so there are a lot of new names on their team. Kijuan does a great job of setting the pace for his team, especially defensively. Defensively is where George looked great and Kijuan is the senior leader who properly gets his guys in the right spots. Kijuan is more than a stellar defender though, he finished great near the rim and his jumper looked very good. His scoring opened up opportunities for his teammates and he was able to find them for some assist. </p>