Suffolk County AA Playoffs “Players to Watch”

<p>Suffolk county is down to the final 4. We look at each teams mvp and unsung hero if their club is to win a AA county title.</p> <p><strong>AA semi final</strong></p> <p><strong>#1Brentwood vs #4 Half Hollow Hills East</strong></p> <p><strong>#2 Northport vs #3 Smithown West</strong></p> <p>For <strong>Brentwood</strong> to win these two guys are key.  <br /> <strong>MVP [player_tooltip player_id="1204198" first="Zatai" last="Townsend"] Unsung John Phelps</strong></p> <p>Zatai might have surprised a few people by being one of the highest ranked players from LI in the state in our rankings. But when you watch him play he is a 6”2 guard who makes the difference on both ends of the floor. I have no doubt that he could defend the best player and still excell offensively. Athleticism and quickness of his hands and feet make him tough to get by . Offensively he can drain the three. Take you off the dribble and flush it or score in a variety of ways. Zatai is a major piece at the next level for a high D2 or low D1. John Phelps will have to match up against players bigger then him. But his tenacity for rebounding the ball will make up for the size difference. He is a strong body who can post you up with his strength. Runs the floor well and never takes a possession off. Plays much bigger then his height. <br /> <br />  For <strong>Hills</strong><strong> East </strong>to win</p> <p><strong>MVP [player_tooltip player_id="1136572" first="Xavier" last="Lewis"]  Unsung [player_tooltip player_id="1046079" first="Derek" last="Varlack"]</strong></p> <p>Xavier knows what it takes to win games. He is a extremely unselfish player. Lightning quick player. Has an excellent pull up game with unlimited range. Handles the ball really well never gets flustered. Important for him to realize for the T-Birds to win he will have to be a little more selfish. Derek had a tremendous summer season. It carried over into the high school season by him being a more complete player. He is very poised with the ball has good length for a guard. Crafty to the rim. He will be asked to guard some really good shooters as well as handle the pressure that the remaining teams play.</p> <p>For <strong>Northport </strong><strong>to win </strong></p> <p><strong>MVP [player_tooltip player_id="1204204" first="Nick" last="Watts"] unsung J J Alstrand</strong></p> <p>Nick will have a size advantage if they make it to the championship game. So I believe he will have to establish dominance early in the post. Outstanding footwork and post moves . Can score with either hand inside. Can also step out and hit the three. Protects the glass and rebounds well. Best chance for Northport to repeat as Suffolk county champions is to feed the big dog inside. J J in last years championship game guarded Georgetown recruit Jordan Riley. It was one of the main reasons why Northport is looking to win it again. A three sport athlete uses that athleticism to score or defend. He can also deliver on clutch threes.<br /> <br /> </p> <p>For <strong>Smithown </strong><strong>West to win </strong></p> <p><strong>MVP [player_tooltip player_id="1045781" first="Patrick" last="Burke"] unsung Joey Mitchell</strong></p> <p>Patrick at 6”6 is very capable of driving the ball to the rim. Has a nice pull up off of two dribbles. Excellent rebounder on either glass. Can score inside with either hand. Joey a super fast point guard will be up against pressure defenses, and physical guards.He will be relied on to get the ball to Patrick and [player_tooltip player_id="1046823" first="Tyler" last="Anderson"]. He can knock down the open three. Hard nosed defender gets up into you and can take the opposing PG and make him uncomfortable.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>