OTR Christmas Crossover: Underrated Performances

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This past weekend, we took a trip to the OTR Christmas Crossover tournament on Saturday at the Woodlands Christian Academy and saw some great basketball contests…let's take a look at some of the more underrated performances this weekend…..</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1225693' first='Christian' last='Jones']- PSAT Academy</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In his team's 66-58 win against ISchool of Lewisville, Christian was lighting up the scoreboard from all three facets of the game on the offensive end.&nbsp; He showed his expertise in using the pick and roll to create his own shot and make space between him and the defense, knocking down multiple jumpers. Jones vision was also on display the entire game where he constantly was able to find teammates under the basket and spotting up on the arc for open looks. Christian's hustle was also unmatched, diving for every loose ball and always in the face of his matchup playing aggressive defense. Jones finished this contest with 15 points on 6/11 from the field, adding 7 assists as well and this has earned him our featured image of this article.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kaden Judie- Good Vision Academy</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kaden was heavily involved in GVA's blowout win over John Cooper early on Saturday afternoon. Judie was crashing the glass on both ends of the floor, often coming away with the critical rebound and going coast to coast where he would usually finish off a lob from a teammate or slamming it down with authority at the rim. Kaden finished with a double-double of 20 points on 9/13 shooting and 13 rebounds in his squad's victory and even added a three pointer beyond the arc. The most impressive part of Kaden's game to me was how he was able to use his size to advantage, running the break after coming down with a rebound and taking the ball coast to coast and finishing with ease over the defense. Kaden will only continue to improve as he looks to lead GVA Prep to a dominant statement record this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1226621' first='Jace' last='Jeffries']- Concordia Lutheran</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jace was a big time playmaker in Concordia's win over Asheville Christian. Jeffries was a marksman from behind the three point line and was adept at getting past his defender and driving to the basket, often converting and-1 opportunities at the free throw line. Jace showed efficiency in his ability to run the offense and direct teammates to the right spots as well as his court awareness on defense. Jeffries finished the game with 18 points on 7/11 shooting in a 73-60 win for the Crusaders. Jace was also effective in being physical on the glass, despite a size deficit, battling hard for every loose bal. The team will look to Jace to be one of the leaders on the floor through this upcoming season as the Crusaders look to make a strong case for themselves.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Derek Burditt Jr- Shaun Dumas Academy</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Derek was a big part of handling the ball for his SDA hoops team in their blowout 86-43 victory over JL Swish and distributing the rock. Burditt ended up with 13 points on 6/8 from the field and had 8 assists as well as 4 rebounds. Derek was adept at driving to the basket at will past his matchup and would lay the ball up with ease over the defenders. He excelled off the pick and roll as the ballhandler, always knowing the right spot to hit his teammate in under the basket. Derek will continue to help lead the offense as the season progresses and the schedule only gets tougher. I was impressed by Burditt's ability to rally his teammates and his nonstop aggression on the defensive side of the ball, despite being up big by over 30 at one point.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->