Hardwood Invite Standouts Day 4 (Part II)

<p>The nightcap for the final day of the Hardwood Invite had some special players going at it. The top four teams of the tournament battled it out, and the tournament ended on a high with some of the best ball played in the biggest moments. Here are some of the top players from the top teams at the Hardwood Invite Day 4.</p> <p><strong>South Medford Vs O’Dea</strong></p> <p>South Medford HS Sophomore Guard [player_tooltip player_id="1269430" first="Jackson" last="Weiland"] - Weiland plays like a senior PG, which says a lot about his ability to lead as an underclassman. He is a consistent force working inside and out, with the ability to wiggle around bigger defenders and finish in traffic. He’s able to deal with defenders in his grill and still get the ball where it needs to go.</p> <p>South Medford HS Senior Forward [player_tooltip player_id="942247" first="Devin" last="Malcom"] - Malcom locked down the paint per usual, blocking everything coming his way in the first quarter. He was the first one to loose balls, offensive boards, and looked to have an extra gear Tuesday night. South Medford came up just short, but Malcom’s night was highlighted by a massive two-handed slam off an out-of-bounds baseline alley-oop.</p> <p>O’Dea HS Senior Guard [player_tooltip player_id="674437" first="Takeo" last="Sylvester"] - Sylvester was the O’Dea offense in the first quarter. He buried the first eight points for the Irish and finished the quarter with 12 on his way to a game-high 22. The guard has moves on moves and utilizes the pass fake to perfection. He was especially effective getting defenders on their heels and can finish in the land of the bigs or pop a quick mid-range pull up.</p> <p>O’Dea HS Senior Guard <strong>Owen Moriarty</strong> - Moriarty made his impact early, making life hard for South Medford’s [player_tooltip player_id="964543" first="Junior" last="Sleezer"] and slowing up the Panther offense. He also made the play of the game laying up the game winning bucket with 4.7 seconds on the clock. </p> <p>O’Dea HS Junior Guard [player_tooltip player_id="923132" first="Mason" last="Williams"] - The tall guard has one of the smoothest jump shots in the tournament. With his nice, high release, his jimmy’s are smooth as slow-churned ice cream. He was a force start to finish and always has the defense’s attention.</p> <p><strong>Garfield Vs Auburn</strong></p> <p>Garfield HS Senior Guard <strong>Keron Johnson</strong> - Johnson is a strong finisher at the rim, bringing down some powerful jams but when he really gets in his groove, it’s from distance. He did just that in the championship game getting 15 of his 27 points from beyond the arc.</p> <p>Garfield HS Junior Forward <strong>Sherrell McCullum Jr.</strong> - McCullum was a bully for the Bulldogs. He was too big to handle inside and seemingly couldn’t miss. He snatched down 15 boards, six coming off his teammates misses.</p> <p>Auburn HS Sophomore Guard <strong>Luvens Valcin</strong> "Baby Zion" - The stats don’t jump off the page for Valcin but he took on key minutes when the Trojans lost [player_tooltip player_id="674438" first="Maleek" last="Arington"] for an extended period. Valcin affected the game in all phases, finishing with 4 points, 3 assists, and 5 rebounds. He put up stout defense inside and was a vital cog in Auburn’s game. </p> <p>Auburn HS Senior Guard [player_tooltip player_id="674435" first="DaeKwon" last="Watson"] - DaeKwon did what he does, playing tough on ball defense and splashing threes. He made one of the best passes of the tournament, skying a pass from the top of the key over defenders to [player_tooltip player_id="931155" first="Kaden" last="Hansen"] coming off a double screen into the corner for a big three-point bucket.</p>