Space City Collision: Day 3 – Underclassmen Standouts

<p style="text-align: left;">The Prep Hoops Circuit’s Space City Collision presented an opportunity for many athletes to display their talent this weekend. Athletes from mostly all over Texas and Louisiana traveled to Houston play against some of the best talent in the Southern region, and the competition did not disappoint. Here are some underclassman standouts from day 3 of the Space City Collision.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/05/IMG_6362.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1456797" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/05/IMG_6362-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a><br /> </span></p> <p style="text-align: left;">[player_tooltip player_id="1295881" first="Lafayette" last="Allen"], 5’10/ Guard - FFE - 2024</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lafayette is a strong and quick guard with a compact build. He is a very good ball handler, who used his dribbling ability along with his quickness to get into the teeth of the defense and create opportunities for himself or his teammates. Lafayette also used his strong frame to convert some strong finishes around the basket, and if the defense gave him space he utilized his pull-up jumper to hit several three pointers as well. On the defensive end, Lafayette was very bothersome for the opposition. He served as a great on-ball defender, as he used his quick feet and strong frame to stay in front of ball handlers. </span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/05/IMG_6361.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1456798" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/05/IMG_6361-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a></p> <p style="text-align: left;">[player_tooltip player_id="1253267" first="Charley" last="E. Reado"], 6’1/ Guard - FFE - 2024</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Reado has DEEP range, but he can do more than just shoot. He also possesses good size at the guard position and he las long arms as well. His combination of size, shooting and play making will hopefully help him blossom into an offensive juggernaut in the future. Additionally, I believe he has the potential to be a really good defender as well. His height and wingspan allow him to cover a good deal of space and get into the passing lanes. If he can add some muscle to his frame, he can be a very good player in a couple of years.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/05/IMG_6369-2.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1456773 size-medium alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/05/IMG_6369-2-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a></span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Alessandro Elizondo, 6’2/ Wing - Texas Bad Boys - 2025 </span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The very first thing I saw Elizondo do was hit a very clutch layup late in a game to give his team the lead. He then proceeded to make the game winning steal right after that. Obviously, that is pretty intriguing, so I decided to stay and watch his following game. In the next game, Elizondo dropped 27 points. It is safe to say that this kid can play. The versatile wing is a very intelligent scorer who knows how to get to his spots to create an opportunity to put points on the board. He is a driver/ slasher who loves to get layups or get to the free throw line, but he can also shoot it as well. Being about 6’2, he’ll need to develop some more guard skills if he doesn’t continue to grow much, but I love his aggressive nature and attack mode mindset. Bucket getter.</span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/05/IMG_6363.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1456790" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/05/IMG_6363-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="1216092" first="Matthew" last="Velasquez"], 5’11/ Guard - Nike Pro Skills San Antonio - 2025</span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="1216092" first="Matthew" last="Velasquez"] was the one bright spot in an uphill battle type contest against FFE 2024. The 3-level scorer hit a plethora of timely shots throughout the game to make the game competitive. Velasquez’s scoring skills were very impressive on Sunday. He shot threes off the catch and off the dribble. When the defense played up, he either dribbled his way to the basket for a layup or stopped in the mid/ short range area for a floater. Velasquez probably did the best out of any other player I saw at moving without the ball. Lastly, this guy has RANGE. You have to guard him at the volley ball line, and he’ll make you pay if you don’t. Only a freshman, we’ll see how his body develops over time, but the young guard will definitely score a lot of buckets in his high school career.</span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/05/IMG_6360.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1456796" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/05/IMG_6360-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cayden Munnilal, 5’7/ Guard - G4G Elite -  2025</span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cayden Munnilal is a very skilled and crafty young guard that almost made a play every time his team needed it on Sunday afternoon. Munnilal used a combination of hesitations and change of direction moves to beat his first defender, if he hadn’t already pulled up in the defender’s face. The young guard also displayed very mature passing instincts. He never hesitated to pass the ball up the floor in fast break situations, and also made solid passing reads when the help defense came in the half court. He could definitely use some added size as he gets older.</span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/05/IMG_6359.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1456800" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/05/IMG_6359-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ryan Stinneford, 6’3/ Forward - DYG - 2025</span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The young forward, Ryan Stinneford, was very impressive Sunday afternoon. Stinneford understands how to position himself to get good looks near the basket and finished well with either hand. Stinneford possesses a solid frame that enabled him get a couple of and 1 layups and convert finishes through contact. Additionally, he displayed a good IQ and sees the floor well, as he passed the ball well too. His game would benefit by developing a respectable mid range and three point shot, so he can be dangerous in pick and pop situations or face up looks.  </span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p>