Rangy Defenders from the Grind Region Finals

<p>[player_tooltip player_id="1451311" first="Israel" last="Akeye"] - Next Level Elite - Harmony Public School - 2024</p> <p>Akeye is prolific multipositional defender and rebounder at roughly 6’5. Given his lengthy wingspan, there are not many opportunities to score down low against the young forward. It’s not often that you find athletes with something like a 6’8+ wingspan who are capable reaching above everybody else on the glass. Going against the Fresno Flyers, Akeye had a physical matchup with Jae’Coby Osbore, he held his own versus the future NCAA athlete. </p> [caption id="attachment_1473193" align="alignleft" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/06/Corbin-Brown-Sammie-Laeky.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1473193 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/06/Corbin-Brown-Sammie-Laeky-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a> #22[/caption] <p>Sammie Laeky - Victory Academy Gold - Allen - 2024</p> <p>The wiry 6’6 wing was brings a unique defensive skillset given his length and bounce. He was effective boxing out his man while staying aggressive on both ends. Since he is so lanky, Laeky possesses abnormal reach and mobility on the perimeter. Within full court press situations, he is a terror since he can get all over the floor and use his quick hands to grab steals. Within halfcourt situations, Laeky showed quick passing instincts within loose ball situations.</p> <p>Judah Peña - Team ESBY - iSchool of Lewisville - 2024<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/04/Judah-Pena.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-1441254 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/04/Judah-Pena-300x206.jpg" alt="" width="286" height="196" /></a></p> <p>Peña has clearly gained some strength since my last time seeing him back in the spring. The 6’4 wing was capable defending 1 through 3 without fouling. The lefty showed a bit of passing vision out of the top of the key to cutters and low post threats. Peña also created passing opportunities when driving off of screens, most notably with the left hand. Given his bounce and lengthy frame, Peña is legitimate rebounder and has continued to improve his strength. He proved to finish shots around the rim with physicality, even contributing a few free throws as part of that contact. The one area of improvement for Peña will come from the jump shot consistency, although his form shows legitimate signs of progression.</p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/06/Ahmad-Abualneel.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-1473164 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/06/Ahmad-Abualneel-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="272" height="181" /></a>Ahmad Abualneel - Hard Hoops - McMillen - 2024</p> <p>Abualneel played up in the 2023 bracket for a reason, his defensive impact. Although skinny, Abulaneel is anything but weak. The 6’4 wing had some major blocks versus strong guards and wings who were a full year or two older. Given his length, Abualneel makes a major impact both one on one, as a help defender, and passing lane instigator. It is not often you find guys with reaction speeds like his, but even more rare to find guys 6’4+ who possess long wingspans. Arguably the best part about Abualneel’s effect is his leadership, where he plays a major role directing the defense.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1105551" first="Jyrin" last="Sowell"] - OWE-RW3 - Captain Shreve - 2024 (title picture)</p> <p>Sowell was one of the most prolific rebounders on both ends at this event, in part due to his size but most notably from his effort level. The forward was practically a vacuum cleaner, as his combination of overt physicality and effort level was too much to hang with most teams. Within fast break situations, Sowell was often one of the first couple guys down the court either on offense or defense. Another area of success came from his low post defense, where his strength shined versus opposing forwards. I look forward to tracking Sowell’s progression on the offensive end of the floor, particularly as a jump shooter.</p>