The Summer that Was for Team Brandan Wright 17u

Team Brandan Wright made their first foray into 17u boys basketball with a decent side or middle Tennessee talent. As July wraps, Team Brandan Wright Head Coach Donovan Gilmore shared his time in this extended interview, recapturing The Summer that Was.   Every evaluation, complete with skills, character and areas for improvement was transcribed as Coach Gilmore and I spoke on the phone July 29th just after noon.   [player_tooltip player_id='1378602' first='Calvin' last='Goliday'] (Hillwood) Excellent player. I think he is going to have a breakout senior year. A lot of regional awards. Tough kid. Competes. We started around March. His improvements, I would say, would be his confidence. I am really big on giving guys confidence. I think travel ball should help guys expand. He definitely did that. He is the guy at his high school. Being around other guys ....I would recommend, his body, he is young, but he could add 20 pounds and it is a different story.   Team Brandan Wright 17u Roster #0 Justin Burrows #1 [player_tooltip player_id='1197530' first='Ryan' last='Vollero'] #2 [player_tooltip player_id='1019053' first='Jayson' last='Nixon'] #3 [player_tooltip player_id='1262794' first='Drey' last='Moss'] #4 Andrew Smith #11 [player_tooltip player_id='1378602' first='Calvin' last='Goliday'] #14 Josh Roberts #15 [player_tooltip player_id='1029084' first='Jack' last='Medalie'] #20 [player_tooltip player_id='1037847' first='Lincoln' last='Aholt'] #21 Blake Palmer #24 Hector Larsson   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/3j51gcSH-dg </div></figure>     Josh Roberts (M.B.A.)   Josh is a super-duper high-levle athlete. I don't know which sport he is going to choose. He is probably one of the best athletes I have seen in a long, long time. In terms of vertical, lateral, explosion. He competes at a high level, both with me and his high school team. I think his confidence grew.....He had a breakout game against George Hill. That turned a lot of heads. His handling of the ball is a weakness. He doesn't have to be a pitter-pat guy, but to be able to handle a little ....His agility is almost next level. One thing I would say about him is, he actually understands water intake. He sleeps well. He does the things to keep his engine running.     Your environment is not conducive to high level athletes. He happens to be in an environment that allows him to. The guy could probably go to the Olympics at some point.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/nkGRp72YCf4 </div></figure>     [player_tooltip player_id='1262794' first='Drey' last='Moss'] (Brentwood Academy)   Excellent defender. He was one of my favorite kids to watch. He is charismatic. Glue-guy. . Good locker room guy. Deflections. Activity. Always getting high-fives. Really big on touches. One of those guys I had to have in the game. I wanted him at the top of the press. I know he is at a really, really good program at BA. I didn't get to see him play HS, because I wasn't here. I know he wants to play in college. Smart kid. Getting to the basket. Hitting shots late. Area of improvement, I would say just staying on his confidence. I don't see any areas that he really, really needs to improve. Defense is going to be his bread and butter. The role he is comfortable with, when you are a defensive-minded guy you are not the primary option offensively. A lot of times he is not aggressive as he could, but that is not a knock. He could win a game for me, to answer your question. He is an excellent free throw shooter. He didn't shoot a ton. I told him, 'You have your feet set, knock it down.' He did that late.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/1tEks7Bohv4 </div><figcaption>TBW 17u in Kentucky Expo Center (May 2022)</figcaption></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='1019053' first='Jayson' last='Nixon'] (Brentwood Academy)   He is relentless. He is not super big. His basketball I.Q. is through the roof. He was definitely the heart of our team. Offensively. Defensively. Just understanding everything that was going on. I am really excited to see what he can do. He wants it and he works for it. He is not 6'5" but he works. If he wants it, he will work. Feedback from a school, they just mentioned they want more shiftiness. He understands angulation. I think he is effective. He was fun to watch. He brought the best out of everybody. That is important. He had to win. A lot of people, with travel ball want to showcase.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/vdm5L8b0d7k </div></figure>       [player_tooltip player_id='1029084' first='Jack' last='Medalie']   Jack is talented, man. He is 6'6", 6'7", 6'5". He can handle it. Lipscomb, Furman reached out. Chattanooga called me. I think he is TOp 10 in the state. I don't know a lot about his high school, but I know a lot about him. He will play the D1 level for sure. It is hard to find 6'5" that can shoot it, handle it. His parents are involved. I am excited for Jack. He is a talented kid. Hopefully he decides to chop it for four years.   [player_tooltip player_id='1197530' first='Ryan' last='Vollero']. Ryan, if I gave out awards, he would be Best Character. Actually more athletic than most people realize. He benches 295. He gets in the gym. He will improve. He rebounds well. Defends well. Area of improvement, I would say working on finishing. He is good finisher, but with his strength and athleticism, I think he will be unstoppable for [lots of defenders]. The good thing about most of my kids, just about all of them have great grades.   Justin Burrows (Webb-Bell Buckle)   I love Justin. Great kid. Really, really quiet guy. I want to see him work on, 'You gotta initiate things. YOu have to be boisterous. Lead by example. Any time he took initiative he had an excellent game. Sometimes he would have a little bit of trouble with pressure, but his key attribute was speed and getting into transition. He played alongside Jayson. He sometimes didn't feel good about not always scoring. He really helped us, he was there every weekend. Helped us get some big wins. I saw him 6-7 three's in a game, down in Atlanta. Good grades.   Hector Larsson (Webb-Bell Buckle)   I think he is from Sweden. He had an injury, bi-lateral knee thing. Really good kid. Finishing around the basket would be an area for improvement. Really good rebounder. International kids, sometimes that can be an adjustment.   Blake Palmer.   Football background. Tough. Blue-collar guy. He understood I am not going to score 30. I am not going to cross people up. I am going to rebound. I am going to screen. 'We need a rebound, we gotta get Blake in there.' He was the most mature. Younger guy on the team, but really mature as a player. I don't know if he will play football or basketball. Area for improvement is footwork. He hasn't played as long of a time. Understanding the game a little bit more. I have seen a lot of improvement over the year.   Andrew Smith (M.B.A.)   To begin with, I think the kid scored a 33 on the ACT. His intelligence and understanding of the game...he was always in the right spot. His basketball I.Q. was impeccable. Relentless defensively. Where he would lack athletically, he would always make up for mentally. He was his biggest critic. He had an ankle injury in June. He is an Ivy League guy academically. I don't know where he will go. He was the only kid I knew that was doing homework on the road and cool with it. Mature. His brother is at Notre Dame. He has a twin sister. He is going to be just fine. He has a plan. Knows what he wants to do.   [player_tooltip player_id='1037847' first='Lincoln' last='Aholt'] He had a hand injury earlier in the season. He got it going later. Big-bodied kid. Strong. I really liked him. At BA, I am not sure what his role was. Passes. Understood the game. He has a lot of things going for him. He plays a lot bigger than he is. Biggest critic. I have seen him pick'n'pop. Finish around the basket. I like the kid a lot. I didn't coach him a ton. We finished up winning down in Louisville last weekend. We won and took it home. Finished 5-0.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/7YGb4_wCMXk </div></figure>

Team Brandan Wright made their first foray into 17u boys basketball with a decent side or middle Tennessee talent. As July wraps, Team Brandan Wright Head Coach Donovan Gilmore shared his time in this extended interview, recapturing The Summer that Was.