Grizzlies Summer Tournament Recap: Sleepers

<p>The Grizzlies summer tournament is currently taking place at Spring Valley High School in Las Vegas. The event features boys varsity and junior varsity teams from Las Vegas. The Varsity competition got underway yesterday with 8 games taking place. An event like this provided me with the perfect opportunity to lay eyes on a ton of players. Championship Sunday featured four games in four brackets with Desert Valley Prep taking home the Silver, Faith Lutheran winning the Gold, Bishop Gorman taking home the Platinum, and the host Spring Valley Grizzlies winning the Diamond division. Several players used the event to get their names on the rankings radar. In this article, we take a look at the top Sleepers from the event. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1496675" first="Laronte" last="Johnson"] <em>5’8 PG Clark 2026</em> - Johnson is a young player that showed some promise during the week. He has good speed, and changed gears from quick to quicker, whenever needed. He was at his best going to his left hand, but he showed a terrific ability to get into the paint and finish. While you could categorize many freshmen as Sleepers, Johnson certainly fits the mold. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1057906" first="Cole" last="Ellena"] <em>6’9 C Liberty 2024 (featured image) (#13PHN 2024)</em> - What I liked most about Ellena was his improvement on the offensive end. He showed good hands, but also a soft touch right around the rim. Ellena is a big body that provides rim protection and rebounding, and will probably be getting more attention as the season goes on. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="986967" first="Javares" last="Reid"] <em>6’8 PF Liberty 2024</em> (#26PHN 2024) - Like Ellena, Reid showed some offensive improvement. He was making his right-hand jump hook all weekend and was accurate out to about 10 feet. I think people will enjoy his motor, and his long arms and shot-blocking ability will most likely catch the eye of someone. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1496654" first="Kelsey" last="Howard"] <em>6’6 PF Spring Valley 2023</em> - Kelsey is a big pickup for the host Grizzlies. The two-sport star who has football offers from the likes of Michigan and Oregon St brings physicality and toughness to the squad. His ability to defend the interior was good, and his hands and rebounding ability was tremendous. He’s a player to familiarize yourself with as he is a big piece for a Spring Valley team that is one of the top 4A contenders. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="986966" first="Rhza" last="Whittle"] <em>6’8 C Rancho 2024</em> <em>(#22PHN 2024)</em> - Whittle is a throwback big, but he proved to be very effective. When he has time, he is a player that creates with his back to the basket, using patient post moves to score around the rim. A below-the-rim post, he did a good job of carving out space and finishing despite playing with bodies hanging off of him most of the time. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1494669" first="Joseph" last="Duhnam III"] <em>6’0 SG Doral 2025</em> - Dunham was the bright spot for a Doral team that went winless in the tournament. The lefty is a smooth scorer that was able to get his by slashing to the rim. Because of the record of his team, it’s easy to overlook him, however, he flashed enough talent to be a player to keep an eye on. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="986958" first="Anthony" last="Nwuli"] <em>6’6 PF Bishop Gorman 2024</em> <em>(#15PHN 2024)</em> - Nwuli is the type of player every team needs in order to be successful. At first glance, it’s easy to pigeonhole him as simply a banger, however, he has good instincts, a terrific IQ, and showed that he can score around the rim with his back to the basket. Expect him to play a role this year for the Gaels, as his rebounding and interior defense is invaluable. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1496664" first="Cameron" last="Lawson"] <em>6’2 SG Legacy 2023</em> - Lawson is a good scorer, and he showed that by being accurate from the corners, as well as finishing at the basket. I loved his first step and he has a better-than-average handle, which allowed him to win more than his share of 1 v 1 battles. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1140627" first="Wyatt" last="Jaeck"] <em>6’7 PF Arbor View 2023</em> <em>(#45PHN 2023)</em> - Jaeck showed a lot of improvement in his offensive game this week. He looked like a legitimate stretch big, knocking down threes in both pick and pop and catch and shoot situations. With his size and new found outside shooting, he’s definitely a player that should be on coaches’ radars. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1494678" first="Kollin" last="McCoy"] <em>6’0 SG Las Vegas 2023</em> - McCoy was a revelation this week. The sniper put together several quality games for LV, showing the ability to stretch the floor from all over the court. A shooter’s shooter, McCoy has a quick release and was accurate from both the wings and corners. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="986964" first="Ryder" last="Bryan"] <em>6’5 PF Liberty 2024</em> <em>(#30PHN 2024)</em> - Bryan is a bruising forward that played with a little finesse. He showed some decent post moves scoring with his back to the basket Bryan is a big strong player, whose rebounding and interior defense has a ton of value. </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/bruceprephoops/?hl=en">Exclusive Content With Top Prospects</a></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/LuX4_-tN5iU" width="560" height="314" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>