OTR Best of Summer: Underclassmen Review

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This piece continues our look at some of the underrated classmen in Marcus Sloan's OTR Best of Summer tournament in Houston. This batch was too good to pass up. Let's dive in a little deeper and take a look at these athletes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cameron Smith- East Houston Ballers (North Shore High School G, 2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cameron stood out to me a lot during this tournament because of the way he was able to command leadership of his team and also set the tone for the game. His contribution was instrumental to his squad's 59-36 win over Houston Hype on Wednesday. Mr. Smith chipped in 15 points on 6/12 shooting from the field and also hit both of his free throw shots, going 2 for 2. His physicality on the boards was unmatched, grabbing 6 rebounds and also diming out 3 assists. He was also a big factor defensively, having 6 blocks and this was too much for his opponents to overcome. Coaches, watch out for this big guard in your future!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Chase Ashby- NSHTX Elite (Atascocita High School G, 2024)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Chase was a big contributor to his team's 73-68 win over Texas Elite 16u. He was a great facilitator often bringing the ball up and running the offense, passing for 6 assists in the process. He also shot very well from the floor, going 5/8 and 1-2 from beyond the arc. He was very active on defense, getting up in the offensive players space and amassing 6 steals. He was a very good help defender this game as well, setting himself up for 4 blocks. Chase has a very bright future with Atascocita High School if he continues to play at this level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1226457' first='Eric' last='Lavergne']- RL9 UA Rise ( CE King High School G, 2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Eric is a shifty point guard out of CE King High School who was a tough guard for any matchup this weekend. His quick movement allowed him to blow by defenders and finish at the rim for a solid 10 points on 5/8 shooting. He also was very vocal on defense, calling out instructions to his teammates, allowing him to get 4 steals. Eric never let his attitude get in the way of his game and this led to him finishing with a respectable stat line of 10 points, 4 steals, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists. Eric will be a great locker room leader for CE King if he keeps up the good work.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Toby Princewill- Texas Takeover Smith (Fulshear High School F, 2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Toby was one of the cases this weekend where he proved that points aren't what matters most on the stats line, but effort is key. He finished with 10 points, but his aggressiveness was key to his team's 51-29 successful win against an Invictus Red Storm squad. He showed great resiliency in never giving up and ended up with 9 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 2 steals really showing up on the defensive side of the ball. He also was never afraid to pass out if he felt like he didn't have a clear shot to the rim and ended up with 5 assists going off his court vision. Toby was impressive to me for someone who played with a lot of aggressiveness, yet never gave up no matter how tired he got. All I have to say to Toby's opponents is look out when he's defending you.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->