EYBL Session 2: Local 17U Notes

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Session 2 of Nike's EYBL took place in Phoenix, Arizona. There was a three hour time difference but that didn't stop teams and players from NJ and PA from making some noise. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NJ Scholars</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Scholars played well again, going 3-1 and progressing to 7-1 overall. With their three victories each coming by 9 points or less, they showed the ability to grind it out in crunch time. [player_tooltip player_id='1213160' first='Billy' last='Richmond III'] was their closer. The powerful slasher averaged 16.8 ppg and 6 rpg. He also got to the line 25 times, where he shot 76%. [player_tooltip player_id='1050393' first='TJ' last='Robinson'] continued his display of high level shot-making with 18.8 ppg. He hit 47.8% of his threes (23 attempts) and 93.3% of his free throws (30 attempts). [player_tooltip player_id='1050396' first='Terry' last='Copeland']'s usage was pretty low but that didn't stop him from making an impact. He averaged 9.3 ppg and 7.5 rpg, featuring a 16 and 15 performance verse NY Rens.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='2078709' first='Team' last='Final']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Advancing to 7-1 overall, [program_tooltip program_id='2078709' first='Team' last='Final'] went 4-0 over the weekend. They were book-ended by performances from [player_tooltip player_id='1281786' first='Ahmad' last='Nowell'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1189096' first='Jalil' last='Bethea'] and steered by [player_tooltip player_id='1116063' first='Robert' last='Wright III']. Nowell had another of his efficient games Friday night with 18 points on 4-of-7 threes, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists against Indy Heat. And though his shots didn't fall as often in the other three games, he made connective passes and played tough defense. Wright III wisely picked his spots and performed at a consistent level throughout each game at 12.8 ppg and 4.8 apg. He and Bethea led them back from a double-digit deficit versus AZ Unity. While Wright III was steady, Bethea went federal, scoring 34 points on 14-of-17 from the field and 5-of-5 from three.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Others</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All Ohio Red's [player_tooltip player_id='991401' first='Brandin' last='Cummings'] was one of the most productive scorers with 21.3 points and 4.3 rebounds, shooting 66.7% from 3 on 4 attempts per game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1153959' first='Dylan' last='Harper'] of NY Rens was an unstoppable force at times. He put up 18.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, and 3.8 apg.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1589152' first='Macon' last='Emory'] of Team Melo was mostly used as a key defender but shot 41.6% from three on 12 attempts in 3 games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>New Heights Lightning went 3-1 in session 2 and 7-1 overall thanks to help from [player_tooltip player_id='1050389' first='Tahaad' last='Pettiford'] and [player_tooltip player_id='991408' first='Meleek' last='Thomas']. First in both points and assists, Pettiford and Thomas contributed 15 and 14 points, respectively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->