Grit Memorial Classic: Mike’s Saturday 16 U Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Grit Memorial Classic had a busy day on Saturday with games starting at 8 A.M. in the morning and with the last games concluding around 10 P.M. In this article we'll break down some 16 U performers who caught my eyes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1438244"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"I was really impressed by The Process from Michigan's squad with the amount of size, skill and patience they showed. Blanton optimized the patience and ball security of this team. As the point guard, he set the table for the taller forwards and made shots from the outside off the catch and dribble. With the game in crunch time, Blanton hit a fallaway floater and lefty finish at the rim to give his team some room to breathe against a pesky [program_tooltip program_id='2078639' first='Mac' last='Basketball'] 16 U squad. Overall, I was really impressed by Blanton and his team as a whole.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1691977"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"A guy who keeps getting better, Whorton was a powerful presence in the paint as OBC battled with Nova in a 16 U Under Armour battle. Whorton keeps showing more promise as a shooter and knocked down a catch and shoot triple on one of the first possessions of the game. When Whorton is able to get to his right shoulder, it's tough to stop him in the paint. OBC got solid production from Whorton, [player_tooltip player_id='1506017' first='Kenny' last='Scott'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1875366' first='Maxwell' last='Bollin'], but it wasn't enough as Nova used a huge second half push to get the victory.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["1503915"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"McMorris has had a huge spring for Nova's 16 U squad and dominated on the interior. During the second half he had a couple breakaway dunks that put an exclamation point on Nova's big late charge to turn a nine-point deficit into a double-digit victory. McMorris was dominating on the interior and has expanded his post game with a couple nice spin moves and offhand finishes. Nova also flipped a switch when Westerville North guards [player_tooltip player_id='1432010' first='Micah' last='Young'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1480850' first='Tai' last='Perkins'] turned up the defensive intensity and caused OBC's guards trouble with their ball pressure. Young and Perkins are excellent at turning defense into offense and once Nova had some momentum it just continued to build until the final buzzer.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["1701047"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"An athletic forward, Nicholas came off the bench and provided an instant spark for Ohio United's 16 U group. A couple dunks on Saturday, Nicholas is super bouncy. With his athleticism and vertical pop, Nicholas also grabbed a handful of offensive rebounds. His most impressive move was when he caught the ball on the block and used a spin move into a quick lefty layup that left the defense in a daze. Ohio United's 16 U squad had a few players make big contributions on Saturday with [player_tooltip player_id='1952007' first='Amari' last='Hodges'] also providing good defensive effort and efficient scoring as well.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["1432022"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"Spiva was filling in this weekend with Nova-Harrington and had a big impact. A guard who is best in the open court, Spiva can attack and start the fast break off rebounds and steals. Pushing the pace with the ball in his hands allows Spiva to have his biggest impact and that's what he looked to do when he was on the floor. With his quickness and ability to score with acrobatic finishes at the rim, the defense started to key in on Spiva, this allowed him to use his play-making ability to give his teammates open shots. The duo Spiva and [player_tooltip player_id='2448280' first='Ulysses' last='Ponder'] formed with this Nova-Harrington squad was a big reason why they had success on Saturday.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6472a9a8a4165"} /-->