Grind Region Finals: Friday Playmakers

<p>Grind region finals have started in Dallas texas for teams on the prep hoops circuit and players are showing out early! Games tipped off Friday at 2 pm at the SWAC and here are the playmakers that stood out to us.</p> <p>Jasiah Saunders (Nike Pro Skills San Antonio 2025)- Saunders out of San Antonio came in with a point to prove. Being inserted into the starting lineup for the first game he is making the most out of his start. Jasiah isn’t your most oversized guard, he is definitely on the smaller end of the stick but his long wingspan and big hands make up for it on the defensive end. His long wingspan and big hands open up many opportunities to get stops on the defensive end by playing the passing lanes and pickpocketing the best ball handlers. Offensively there is no doubt that he can contribute, he is a good scorer that can shoot the 3 with his step back, or use his craftiness and finish at the rim. </p> <p>Ezekyal Shaw (I AM 3 Prospects 2025)- The wing for the prospects has elite athleticism that allows him to play bigger than his actual size at 6’1". Shaw isn’t your typical jumper that has to run and jump, he has the ability to explode up vertically and out rebound a lot of people. His ability to come in and crash the boards gives his team the ability to win that category and helps them get out in transition or get a second chance point. His athleticism helps him defend on the other end by being a chase-down artist and getting shots off the glass when he needs to. If you watch him play you will see that he plays in the passing lane really well which helps him get in transition to showcase his finishing ability. </p> <p>Alvin Breaux (TJ Ford 2024) - The guard for the prominent TJ Ford program showed Friday he can make plays whenever he wants to. On multiple trips up the floor, we have seen him double-clutch through 2 people and finish at the rim untouched. After the defenses make the adjustment he then draws 2 defenders to dish it off to the post players under the rim for the easy finish. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1432249" first="Cole" last="Newfarmer"] (Team Dream 2024)- Cole is a heck of a player for this Team Dream 2024 team. What stood out to us Friday was his ability to help jumpstart his team runs by finishing at the rim after much-needed stops. Add him to the list of players that will be soon blooming in front of everyone eyes. Newfarmer has sneaky athleticism that you wont see coming until he already decided to jump or blow by you. </p> <p>Carmin Garza (Nike Pro Skills San Antonio 2024)- We have seen a lot of growth in Carmin’s game over the course of the prep hoops season. Garza went from a predominately scoring guard to a playmaking guard. He went from having tunnel vision to seeing the floor and getting his shooters involved when he drives it now. This opens the floor for the Nike Pro Skills team because now defenses have to account for everyone. </p>