#NHRState: Max’s Friday Night Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Seven of the prospects who impressed in the games I watched on Friday at the NHR State Tournament!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1874928"],"_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":"Reid had a big game leading his Minnesota Lightning team past Start Strong Hoops in the opener on Friday night. During the first half it was all at the rim as the 6'2 guard knew exactly when to put the ball on the floor to attack. Once in the paint he has a solid frame and good body control to finish at a high percentage off one or two feet. In the second half he started flashing the perimeter game a bit more, hitting back-to-back threes early in the half, and then draining another three late in the game when it was still anyone's game to win. Made smart plays with the ball down the stretch to help his team hold on to their lead.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1284155"],"_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":"Jayden had a huge second half to keep the game close for Start Strong Hoops. At 6'4 he had no problem sitting in a stance and defending smaller guards, as he's a high level athlete with good lateral quickness and explosiveness. That explosive ability showed offensively as well with a two handed dunk and a few other strong finishes in which he just hung in the air for what seemed like seconds at a time. One of the best mid-range shooters in the 2024 class, Jayden showed the ability to stop on a dime and elevate to get his shot off from a variety of angles.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["1874877"],"_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":"The unsigned senior from Fridley had another big scoring game, as he's so smooth on the ball with the ability to create space on the perimeter or blow by his man to get to the basket. When Woods brings in a defensive rebound, he's immediately looking to push the ball ahead, able to weave through defenders as he goes coast-to-coast to the rim. He just seems to glide when he elevates to finish and then has the soft touch to lay it off the glass in traffic. Can also elevate for a pull-up jumper and was on fire from three for a stretch.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["1434055"],"_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":"Poet caught fire in the second half for Minnesota Spartans in their big opening night win. There was a stretch where it seemed like as soon as the ball touched his hands, a confident shot was going up and going through the net. He's the type of shooter that can just take a game over as his confidence grows with every made shot. Even picked up a steal that led to a dunk that got his whole team fired up. Hard working defender who doesn't mind being the gritty worker when his teammates are on, but as he showed last night he can also be the guy putting points on the board.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["1284157"],"_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":"Jerome was everywhere on defense and didn't give the opposing team's guards a second to breathe on Friday night. As soon as the ball was inbounded he was right up in their face applying pressure the length of the floor, and he has great hands and instincts to pick his moments to poke the ball free for steals. Can afford to take some risks as he knows he has the agility to get right back on his man if he gets beat in the full-court. Offensively he does a great job of getting to the paint and making plays off two feet as both a facilitator and finisher.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_5_player":["1284207"],"_player_evaluations_5_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"Another big scorer for the Spartans on Friday night was [player_tooltip player_id='1284207' first='Randy' last='McClendon Jr']. Was active moving off the ball putting himself in the right spots as his other guards got into the paint, allowing them to kick it out to him for good looks from three. So dangerous as a corner shooter and did a nice job of having his feet and hands set to immediately catch and shoot. Utilizes shot fakes to beat bad closeouts and get better looks for his teammates. One of those players who just has an effortless look to his game as he makes scoring the ball look so easy at times.","_player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_6_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_6_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='2636704' first='Raphael' last='Berje']","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_6_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_6_player_details_height":"6'2u0022","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_6_player_details_position":"77247","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_6_player_details_school":"Wisconsin Dells","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_6_player_details_club_team":"HOW All Stars","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_6_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_6_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"Playing up at the 17u level, Raphael had some nice flashes against a loaded Minnesota Spartans team. Really aggressive slasher with a strong and athletic frame that allowed him to finish through contact and also throw down a dunk right on a defender in transition. Smart enough to recognize when a path to the lane isn't available, and can stop on two feet to either hit a short jumper or pivot and kick it back out. Showed some nice potential moving forward and could be in for a breakout junior season at Wisconsin Dells this winter.","_player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":7,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-647b22e1bce79"} /-->