Topeka Invitational All Tourney Team

<p>There was no All Tournament Team announced at the Topeka Invitational Tournament.</p> <p>So why not make our own?</p> <p>First Team:</p> <p>Guard – [player_tooltip player_id="1076260" first="Elijah" last="Brooks"], 6-foot-4 senior, Topeka West:</p> <p>No question about the best player. Brooks put the Chargers on his shoulders at times. Talk about consistency, the high-rising senior scored 30 in every game of the tournament – against Lawrence, St. Marys, Wichita Northwest. He hit the game winning free throws against Lawrence.</p> <p>Guard – [player_tooltip player_id="891921" first="Geremiah" last="Moore"], 5-foot-10 senior, Wichita Northwest:</p> <p>The consummate point man, Moore led the Grizzlies to two wins before coming up short in the final against Topeka West. Moore got all his teammates involved, but when the chips were on the line, he scored 17 against Topeka West.</p> <p>Forward – [player_tooltip player_id="1300865" first="Ketraleus" last="Aldridge"], 6-foot-4 junior, Highland Park:</p> <p>Maybe the only guy who was able to rival Brooks for explosion, Aldridge was a human highlight reel on his home court. Most impressive were the one-handed catch and dunk of passes from all angles. He isn’t just a dunk artist. He rebounds and defends with high energy. When the Scots took on Wichita Northwest, Aldridge put up 21 points.</p> <p>Forward – <strong>Zaxton King</strong>, 6-foot-2 sophomore, Lawrence:</p> <p>Lawrence was really good in the tournament. They came up just two points shy of knocking off Topeka West, a game in which King struggled in the first half, but wound up with 17. King then put up 25 against Topeka High and 25 against Shawnee Mission North. He’s got a beautiful stroke and is a smooth, gliding athlete.</p> <p>Center – <strong>Kevin Brown</strong>, 6-foot-1 senior, Wichita Northwest:</p> <p>Brown was an absolute warrior all tournament long for the Grizzlies. He’s so undersized that it’s hard to define him as a center. But for three games he held down the middle and guarded the biggest man opponents put out there. Brown is as tough as they come and is remarkably effective in the paint. His aggressive outlet passes get the Grizzlies running game going.</p> <p>Second Team:</p> <p>Guard – <strong>Tre Richardson</strong>, 6-foot junior, Highland Park:</p> <p>Richardson isn’t necessarily known for scoring, but he was really productive in the three games of the tournament. He scored 36 points in the tournament, to go with his typical defense and athletic disruption.</p> <p>Guard – [player_tooltip player_id="1300793" first="Trent" last="Duffey"], 6-foot-2 senior, Hayden:</p> <p>The Wildcats were competitive in every game, including the tough match with Wichita Northwest. Duffey was the heart and soul for Hayden, crashing the lane hard, flying around on defense and finding ways to score.</p> <p>Forward – <strong>Kee’on Hutton</strong>, 6-foot-3 senior, Wichita Northwest:</p> <p>Hutton would have made first team had he not been saddled by fouls in the championship game. And the Grizzlies might have won that game if they had more from Hutton. He led the way in the big win over Highland Park with 16 points. This smooth and dynamic wing is making a difference in his first year in Kansas after transferring in from Iowa.</p> <p>Forward – [player_tooltip player_id="1146270" first="Keller" last="Hurla"], 6-foot junior, St. Marys:</p> <p>Ok, so Hurla’s not really a forward. But the role he plays for the Bears is off the ball, and he’s one of the tallest players on the team. As the best player on the team, defenses were geared to take Hurla out of the game. The long, athletic defenders of the bigger schools were effective to a point, but Hurla still produced. He hit the game winning free throws in the 2A Bears’ historic win over 6A Topeka High.</p> <p>Center – [player_tooltip player_id="1270302" first="BJ" last="Canady"], 6-foot-6 sophomore, Topeka High:</p> <p>Topeka High is working hard to develop a new crop of players. Canady is the building block that they can build around. They didn’t win any games in the tournament, but they were competitive in each, and Canady showed a huge leap from his freshman year. He scored 23 against St. Marys and 21 against Lawrence.</p> <p>Honorable Mention:</p> <p><strong>Xavier Alexander</strong>, 6-foot-1 guard, 2023, Topeka West</p> <p><strong>Malachi Berg</strong>, 6-foot-3 forward, 2023, Topeka West</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1076411" first="Fred" last="Criqui"], 6-foot-7 center, 2022, St. Marys</p> <p><strong>Jamir Kingcannon</strong>, 6-foot-3 forward, 2023, Highland Park</p> <p><strong>Truman Juelsgaard</strong>, 6-foot guard, 2022, Lawrence</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1080188" first="Joe" last="Otting"], 6-foot-3 center, 2023, Hayden</p> <p><strong>Avion Nelson</strong>, 6-foot-2 guard, 2022, Lawrence</p> <p><strong>James Shepherd</strong>, 6-foot guard, 2022, Shawnee Mission North</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1270290" first="Tesean" last="Williams"], 5-foot-9 guard, 2024, Wichita Northwest</p>