The Last Dance: Teddy's Saturday Takeaways (Part 1)

Daniel Sveiteris Stands out for 15u Breakaway Basketball   This was the first time I got to watch Breakaway basketball this summer. Despite two tough losses this afternoon, there was a player that surely stood out to me. That's 6'5" F Daniel Sveiteris. I saw a terrific fight from the very beginning. To start, he displayed tons of strength on the glass, and got tough buckets through traffic inside. His footwork was stellar. Capable of breaking past defenders and spacing out for open looks. He extended his range with a 3-pointer later in that game.     In game 2, he showed even more confidence with his shot and scored 18 points. I also notice Sveiteris become a playmaker, and picked up numerous assists against the Tennessee Stars. He really took over for a couple minutes late too. Scoring two driving layups and a 3-pointer to make it a 3-point game. All of which were heavily contested.       15u Fundamental U Split's Morning   Fundamental U is one of the most balanced team's I've covered. There's lots of players who I like on this team that each have their own sparks. They opened the morning with a win over Breakaway. [player_tooltip player_id='2321433' first='Theo' last='Rocca'] had hot hand to start. Midrange pull up and corner 3, followed by steal and score on fast break to start. He showed solid hustle by preventing his own shot from going out of bounds on a rebound. [player_tooltip player_id='1284210' first='Reid' last='Olson'] displayed limitless range. A deep 3 to start and a heavily contested 3 late in the first half for him. [player_tooltip player_id='2724328' first='Drew' last='Bartolai'] was hot in the 2nd half. Breaking off defenders with ease for several inside buckets to stretch their lead.     In their second game, it was the Ayden Farrare show. He scored 16 points and made tons of contributions on offense. He hit several 3's and flashed a super quick burst to the rim. He hit a fadeaway shot late to keep them in it, and had a breakaway dunk. But they'd fall to Chicago Hoops.       Isaiah Pickens a 2025 to Watch for DBallers   I missed the first part of this game. But Pickens had five first half 3's in the opening half and 16 points total. Makes it look easy from deep, and hit another 3-pointer to open the 2nd half. There's more that stood out in the 2nd half that caught my attention. He's got blazing speed in transition, and can finish through contact and make the extra pass. A seventh 3-pointer cut their deficit to 4 with 2 1/2 mins left. Despite the loss to Full Package, Pickens scored 30 points. Last night, he scored 32 points to in a loss to Northwest Indiana power Team GRIII.     Hoops 4 Health and NorthStar Titans play Thriller in 17u   I loved watching this game between Hoops 4 Health and Minnesota's NorthStar Titans. believe it or not, [player_tooltip player_id='1385291' first='Jeremiah' last='Fears'] wasn't there. Kind of disappointing because I was really excited to see him play at a live event. H4H's Nicholas Andreano opened the game with two three pointers. He added a strong bust to the hoop for two more points after that. [player_tooltip player_id='939076' first='Xavier' last='Sulaiman'] found lots of scoring opportunities inside too. He continued to show off his speed and athleticism to the hoop, and finished through contact.      For the Titans, PG [player_tooltip player_id='1158739' first='Raoul' last='Vaidya'] is a name to watch in Minnesota. He's Pure floor general with excellent footwork lots of early assists. He knocked down a 3-ball to begin the game. He displayed 3-level scoring abilities with a tough drive to the hoop and a midrange fadeaway by the end of the first half. [player_tooltip player_id='1485219' first='Wyatt' last='Hawks'] dominating on the interior He's a 6'7” PF who dominated the rebound battle and finishing strong inside. I've yet to see someone put up a fight on the offensive glass as much as Hawks this afternoon. They took the lead, but [player_tooltip player_id='939079' first='Sonny' last='Williams'] sped up the floor for a solid coast-to-coast finish to close out the opening half. This cut the Titans lead to 1 at halftime.     The 2nd half was a show A putback slam by Sulaiman, and a 3 by Preston Van Pelt gave H4H the lead back. Van Pelt hit two more in a row a short time later, and H4H was up 41-33. Then 6'7” SF Treyton Smith put the springs on for NST, with his head reaching near rim-height as he slammed home an alley-oop. A spin-move and-one through traffic by Smith showed more athleticism, and cut the lead in half. More strong play inside by Hawks and a Midrange baseline jumper by Vaidya tied it. They eventually took the lead off a nice feed by Smith. An athletic coast-to-coast finish by Sulaiman tied the game late. In the final seconds, a reverse layup by Jayden Maxwell in the closing seconds gave Hoops 4 Health a 61-59 win