Prep Hoops Live ATL: North Alabama Elite 2023 Report

Josh White

July 12, 2022 @ 08:44 PM

The North Alabama Elite squad had a solid showing at the Prep Hoops ATL tournament. With a roster packed with solid talent, let’s look at who represented the state in their time in the A! https://twitter.com/NorthALEliteAAU/status/1545179251577655298?s=20&t=Igdsv2CmdtGGfJNAufdmYA [player_tooltip player_id="1108892" first="Kaden" last="Justice"] 6’7 SF/PF Justice’s size and skill were impressive to see throughout the tournament. He’s a solid athlete with versatility and played 3-5 during the tournament. He showed an ability to be an inside-outside scoring threat as the primary scoring option. As an interior player, he was a solid finisher who could withstand contact and play bigger than his frame. He also showed a good set of hands when catching the ball on post entries, dump-off passes, or making rebounds. In addition, justice showed a solid jumper on the perimeter when shooting off the catch, which spaced the floor tremendously for the offense. https://twitter.com/NorthALEliteAAU/status/1546320599961796608?s=20&t=Igdsv2CmdtGGfJNAufdmYA William Llyod 6’1 PG Llyod is a pure point with extortionary court vision and skill as a passer. As the offense’s engine, he showed command of the offense and how to get his teammates involved. Lloyd can make all the throws to get his teammates open shots. Full court passes in transition, pocket passes out of pick and rolls, and dump-off passes when driving the lane. Most importantly, the passes are usually on target and on time, leading to many easy looks. Outside of his talented passing, Llyod made timely buckets and got involved as a scorer when his team needed a boost. He showed he could knock down set shots or create for himself at the rim when playing overzealous defenders. https://twitter.com/NorthALEliteAAU/status/1545947901033078784?s=20&t=Igdsv2CmdtGGfJNAufdmYA Landon Tweedie 6’5 SG/SF Tweedie was a solid contributor throughout the ATL tournament. With ideal size, he played both wing positions and contributed as a secondary scoring option. Tweedies ability to slash and create opportunities at the rim off the dribble gave the offense pop and gave him solid efficiency and consistency throughout the tournament. These paint touches seem to always result in good shots or drawn fouls. Tweedie was also highly effective as a rebounder from the wing and was one of the better rebounders at his position. https://twitter.com/NorthALEliteAAU/status/1546320599961796608?s=20&t=Igdsv2CmdtGGfJNAufdmYA Zach Lamey 6’4 SG/SF Lamey drained eight total threes in the first two games and was an absolute flame thrower to start the tournament. He did a solid job of operating as an off-ball floor spacer and finding space in the defense with movement and relocations. He also showed accuracy from the deep corner, providing space for the offense. Defensively, Lamey offered solid effort and did a good job positioning himself to contest shots and cut off driving lanes. https://twitter.com/NorthALEliteAAU/status/1546321900124749825?s=20&t=Igdsv2CmdtGGfJNAufdmYA Taiwan HardyJr. 6’4 SG/SF Hardy showed shot creation flashes against E2E Elite and helped them seal the win in overtime. Late in the 2nd half/overtime, the 6’4 guard got aggressive with his touches and started carrying the load. His touch from the mid-range was smooth, and he showed burst with his north-south style in isolation. These buckets were crucial due to the offense’s stagnation and the game’s momentum shifting to the other side. It’ll be interesting to see if Hardy can assert himself more as an offensive presence for the rest of the summer.