Crafty Ballhandlers from the Spring Kickoff

<p>Athletes with excellent handles and footwork make for box office viewing for the fan. Keep these names handy down the road, highlight level guys.</p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/04/IMG-4218.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1427547 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/04/IMG-4218-e1649785625670-300x287.jpg" alt="" width="199" height="190" /></a>Shareef Jaudon - Colorado Anarchy - 2023</p> <p>Jaudon caught me by surprise due to his ability to start and stop on a dime combined with his excellent shooting touch from distance. One of the quickest dudes this weekend, he did great driving with both hands through contact. Jaudon tends to go for efficient shots, either at the rim or a spotting up from three. When he is not looking to score, he is more than capable taking advantage of incoming help defense, where he has done a great job finding open shooters or rollers. Another surprising aspect of Jaudon was his willingness to move around without the ball, showing he is not just a team player but an athlete with elite stamina.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1151703" first="Radek" last="Homer"] - Elevation Flyers - 2023</p> <p><img class=" wp-image-1427534 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/04/IMG-4214-crop-4032x2648-1649784988-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="236" height="155" /></p> <p>This was my first weekend seeing Homer in person and he did not disappoint. While his high school stats were unassuming, I did not realize the guard was quite this quick off the first step. Homer is capable driving with either hand but is especially quick getting downhill going left. He does great getting his hips and upper body down low, allowing him to lower his center of gravity, ultimately digging into opponents with ease. Elevation’s offense suits Homer really well too, given that he commits to flowing with the offense, thus allowing him between 6 to 10 points a game from cutters.</p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/05/Fulcher1-1.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-1203937 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/05/Fulcher1-1-300x264.jpg" alt="" width="214" height="188" /></a>[player_tooltip player_id="1284427" first="TaRea" last="Fulcher"] - Colorado Premier - 2023</p> <p>Fulcher has continued to improve his jump shot consistency quite significantly since even two or three months ago. The 5’11 guard has made a living slithering his way into the paint where he uses an array of crafty under the rim packages to finish around length. One area Fulcher appeared to be more dependent on this tournament was his short floater from eight or so feet. He does so well getting inside that it is rare he needs to take jumpers, however he hit a few movement shots coming out of curls. As always Fulcher has committed himself to one on one defense, proving to improve his movement around opponent screens.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1284570" first="Noa" last="Phillips"] - NoCo Elite - 2023<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/04/IMG-4217.jpg"><img class="alignright wp-image-1427535" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/04/IMG-4217-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="137" height="182" /></a></p> <p>Phillips has a simple but effective brand of basketball that impacts winning efficiently. He enjoys getting to the rack where his awareness of teammates is excellent. He does especially well probing inside, attracting the double, and making the simple pass. What is not so simple about Phillips’ playstyle is his ability to find teammates through tight spaces, whether he slips a bounce pass between two defenders or uses his eyes to fake a pass. </p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/04/IMG-4215.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1427538 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/04/IMG-4215-e1649785393427-300x202.jpg" alt="" width="212" height="143" /></a>[player_tooltip player_id="618893" first="Chris" last="Watkins"] - 5280 Athletics - 2022 </p> <p>Watkins may not initially blow you away with his athletic ability, however he uses his body better than most guards in Colorado. Footwork is Watkins’ bread and butter, where he can use a spin move or change speeds in an instant to create just enough room to finish the layup. Another area that Watkins surprised was his touch on off-balance shots, where he easily flows into seemingly impossible shot attempts.</p>