The Tune Up: 14U All-Tournament Team

Braeden Baker’s great offensive instincts, basketball IQ, and discipline were his best set of skills. The efficiency and consistency Baker showed as a playmaker were pivotal to winning each game. His feel for the game along with his anticipation for the next play was remarkable, Baker was always two steps ahead of everyone, he saw plays developing before they ever happened both on and off the ball, offensive and defensively. Outstanding rebounding point guard, Braeden and his teammate Ryker Buckley were by far the top glass crashers at their positions. Baker used effort on the defensive boards to immediately start the offense in transition where he was aggressive at throwing the ball ahead and attacking in the open court. He also played with a steady pace, changing gears and directions swiftly with ease before creating space by initiating contact which often gave him the pathway to penetrate. Baker showed elite footwork on his way to the basket, utilizing euro steps and hop steps to misdirect a defender before finishing with his soft-touch go-to floater. 

The top defensive prospect in the 14U division goes to Ryker Buckley. This kid proved to be an incredibly tough high motor defensive guy who really got after it and made opposing guards work for every inch they got. Buckley was as disruptive and pesky as they come, he applied relentless ball pressure utilizing active hand and feet. His instincts in the passing lanes and as a rebounder produced countless extra possessions every game for H.2.H. Buckley was nightmare on defense in a multitude of ways from his lateral quickness to his effort to his willingness to contest as many shots as possible, even blocking shot attempts from behind, ripping ball-handlers clean, and forcing his opponent into traps and awkward situations.

Rodrieon Dillard is a heavily skilled wing prospect who went on runs where he completely controlled the game on both ends of the court. His help defense was outstanding due to his ability to cover so much ground in just a couple of strides, Dillard’s length allowed him to block high arcing shots, and his anticipation made on-ball takeaways and passing lane steals look easier than ever. All these things always led to extra offensive possessions often led by him going end to end with the ball. Good coast to coast shot creator, Dillard used his body to initiate contact and get separation in stride, he was amazing at absorbing the contact while finishing the play through it. His lengthy reach made life easy for him when driving through traffic giving him the capability to score over the top of the trees inside. Rodrieon Dillard drew a lot of attention as the go-to guy as he carried the scoring load yet he was still unguardable in isolation. Dillard showed off an impressive one-on-one prowess that is going to increasingly become more dangerous over time. He displayed a wide array of moves but was also able to get to his spots for a clean pull-up in a limited amount of dribbles. Dillard’s smooth hang dribble got his defender to either stutter their feet or drop their hands giving him the perfect opportunity to fire. Good looking stroke from behind arc, high release and consistent follow through, and hit nothing but the bottom of the net, his ability to nail contested jumpers is what really set him apart from some of the other top scorers at his position.

7th-grader, Kameron Jake Stuckey played up in the 14U division and was the biggest x-factor in the building. Stuckey set the tone for each game always scoring the first bucket in the paint with his back to the basket either drop stepping and scoring scoring over his man or knocking down a contested turnaround jumper. He converted shots around the basket over both shoulders with either hand and kept a consistent soft touch. Stuckey established himself in the high or low post each and every offensive possession, displaying the ability to post up bigger, taller, and stronger opponents and get a good shot using his spin moves, a pump fake step through or a combination or the two, even when he was outside of the lane Jake was able to get a defender off their feet with his ball fakes. Intelligent player, he let the game come to him and took advantage of what the defense gave him. His ability to pass, shoot, and penetrate as a high post option opened the entire offense up for his teammates, giving him the ability to hit his back door cutters or baseline scorers. Great free throw shooter, rarely, if ever missed. Defensively, Stuckey made the offense account for him any time he was on the floor due to his rim protection skills, he blocked shots as players came downhill and altered several interior passes and shot attempts. He was also willing to challenge any shot that came inside, whether he blocked it or not Jake Stuckey made the shot difficult. 

Dylan Wilkinson continues to display tremendous potential as a three level scorer. Wilkinson’s efficient baseline scoring prowess was on full display this past weekend as he drilled corner three-pointers off the catch and attacked close outs on the baseline where his floater was sure to fall. Dylan got the bulk of his points by looking to attack the basket any time a defender ran him off the perimeter and once he got inside Wilkinson showed a knack for making tough shots look easy as he finished with either hand on and off balance showing great body control off one and two feet. In the championship game, When his team needed points the most, Dylan stepped up and took charge, running through catch and getting straight to the basket where he used his smooth reverse layups to complete the play. Dylan Wilkinson’s offensive rebounding has been one of the most threatening aspect of his game this entire grassroots season, he has a knack for following a teammate’s shot all the way to the rim where he’s known to put it back in off a tip. Not only is Wilkinson skill set developing at a rapid pace but he already looks as if he’s developing prototypical size to go along with it at the wing positions.