2K Showcase: First Weekend MVPs

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first weekend of the 2K Showcase took place this past weekend at Aquinas College as four west-side teams matched up with four east-side teams. Below are my most valuable performers from the event. Stay tuned for further takeaways from Saturday's games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1300936' first='Uchenna' last='Amene'], 6'2 G, Detroit Catholic Central 24"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1300936' first='Uchenna' last='Amene'] led all scorers with 31 points in Catholic Central's 73-70 win over Muskegon Reeths Puffer. Uchenna made his living driving the lane and finishing layups through traffic. He used his quick first step to establish angles when driving the paint. Uchenna finished several drives by making off-balanced shots after taking contact on contact. He also made a tough step-back long-range two with a hand in his face. Defensively, Uchenna forced several turnovers while operating in front of Catholic Central's pressure. He made life hard on Reeths Puffer's guards, ultimately helping Catholic Central regain the lead for good in the last minute of the 4th.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1140922' first='Chas' last='Lewless'], 6'2 G, Detroit King 23"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Chas got off to a slow start in the first half, but rebounded nicely, scoring 13 points in the second half to help King to a comfortable 50-33 win. Chas showed a little bit of everything in the second half, knocking down mid-range pull-ups off one foot, catch-and-shoot threes from the perimeter, and tough drives in the paint. Defensively, Chas was disciplined when guarding against Unity's ball screen sets and had several deflections thanks to his active hands. Chas also made several nice passes in transition to his bigs for easy layups.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1300920' first='Carson' last='Vis'], 6'3 G, South Christian 25"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Carson showed a little bit of everything offensively against Detroit Edison. The sophomore guard knocked down multiple three-pointers, a few floaters in the mid-range, and made his way to the rim with a couple of nice dribble drives. Carson was efficient in transition, seemed to put himself in the right passing lanes, and spaced the floor well for his teammates. Defensively, I thought Carson closed out on Edison's shooters with good discipline and prevented a lot of dribble penetration throughout the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1212739' first='Tae' last='Boyd'], 6'3 G, Grand Blanc 23"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The best game of the day was saved for the finale as Grand Blanc escaped with a narrow 53-50 win. [player_tooltip player_id='1212739' first='Tae' last='Boyd'] was the most impressive performer in game four, scoring 16 points while grabbing a handful of rebounds and tallying four steals. I thought Tae played the most complete game of any guard on Saturday due to his contributions on both ends of the court. Tae came up huge for Grand blanc on offense, scoring some much-needed buckets in the mid-range and in the paint with the game on the line. Defensively, Tae's length forced Rockford into several tough looks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->