Magic Memorial: Best 17u Slashers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>ANAHEIM — Open Gym Premier played host to the annual Magic Memorial Day tournament which is consistently one of the better late-May events on the west coast. We were in the gym Saturday for the BattleCup championship and third-place games on the 17u and 16u levels and saw plenty of talent from Southern California and beyond. In this piece we take a look at some of the better slashers we evaluated.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1817898' first='Alier' last='Alier'], SF Rebels</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alier's natural athletic gifts are nearly unmatched no matter who he takes the floor against and his combination of length, leaping ability and motor when rim-running was on full display. The 6-foot-7 forward is an agile and active transition threat whose ability to fill lanes and slash for above the rim finishes earned him a spot on this list.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1630624' first='Caleb' last='Versher'], Compton Magic</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Versher isn't your traditional slashing wing that you'd expect to find on this list but he is a stellar transition athlete and scorer. The 6-foot-2 combo guard has great feel in the open court and uses his smooth athleticism, length and burst to blow-by defenders and extend to the rim for high percentage baskets.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1510774' first='Cayden' last='Ward'], Lakeshow</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ward had a handful of impressive finishes at the rim and most of them came off of cuts in the half-court and when getting out and filling the lane in transition. The 6-foot-4 wing has great instincts on knowing when to time his cuts and his ability to backdoor his defender, catch, elevate and finish through or above contact made him one of the better slashers we saw Saturday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Eli Gaeth, ETG Midwest</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gaeth is a lengthy guard who can do a little bit of everything on the court but what he does best is move without the ball and find gaps or space to cut to or through. The 6-foot-3 rising senior has a good pop of athleticism and can get off the floor quickly to rise up finish on his off-ball movement.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Jae'Coby Osborne, Dream Vision</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Osbourne was one of the more explosive wings that we saw in the building Saturday. His first and second jumps are both quick and explosive, he runs the floor with purpose, and proved to be a smart and timely cutter when teammates got into the lane. The 6-foot-6 senior-to-be had a handful of high-flying, highlight-reel finishes in the BattleCup championship game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->