D II District Finals in Columbus: Top W/Fs

<p class="p1">This article will cover the top wings + forwards I saw from the D II district finals games in Columbus. 7th seed Heath got the upset win over 1st seed Beechcroft 49-45, followed by 4th seed Linden-Mckinley winning their first district title since 2005 beating 3rd Bloom-Carroll 55-40. </p> <p class="p1"><b><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/Brandon-McLauhlin33.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1400802 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/Brandon-McLauhlin33-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a>[player_tooltip player_id="921747" first="Brandon" last="McLaughlin"] (2022) - F 6’7 - Heath</b></p> <p class="p3">McLaughlin showed tons of heart and toughness. He was matched up with D II district player of the year [player_tooltip player_id="967166" first="Amani" last="Lyles"] and competed his tail off and got the best of him sometimes. He got a lot of big-time offensive and defensive rebounds. Was a major rim protector and altered many shots. He didn’t let anything easy getup. Played with a very high motor and energy. He showed great patience and footwork offensively. Got defenders up in the air and made them pay for it. Finished with 13.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1"><b>[player_tooltip player_id="921770" first="LA" last="Walker"] (2022) - W 6’5 - Linden-McKinley<span class="Apple-converted-space"> <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/LA-Walker33.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1400806 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/LA-Walker33-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a></span></b></p> <p class="p3">Walker was the leader for Linden in this one. A very calming force and came up big for Linden if they got in trouble. Knew they were going to win the game because of his presence. Very active in the middle of Heath’s 3-2 zone. Hit a couple of nice mid-range shots but was punishing Bloom-Carroll at the rim. Towns had multiple great finishes and moves in the lane. Brought great defensive energy.</p> <p class="p1"><b><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/Amani-Lyles33.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1400808 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/Amani-Lyles33-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a>[player_tooltip player_id="967166" first="Amani" last="Lyles"] (2022) - F 6’8 - Beechcroft</b></p> <p class="p3">Lyles once again showed why he is just special. The very big 6’8 senior played strong and got many boards. He had many tough finishes and got to the free-throw line a lot. I loved his ability to get rebounds and hit running guards in stride with pinpoint accuracy.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> Looks like a grown man on the floor. </span></p>