Arch Madness: Teddy’s Sunday Notebook

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>BTB Elite Wins at the Buzzer</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I started the day covering a pair of 17U squads I haven't seen yet in Arkansas' LRJ and MO/KS BTB Elite. LRJ's Marcus Britt was a name that stood out early. He's a high-volume shooter who knocked down a handful of outside shots to put his team ahead early. Marcus Britt also worked well off the ball to find open looks and even grabbed his own miss on a few occasions. For BTB, PG Aidan Nash made some big time plays. He showed lots of craft with the ball to break past defenders and dished out quite a few assists to keep the game tight. Late in the opening half, Greg Ballard and Bryson Thrasher led BTB on a run. Thrasher displayed excellent defensive awareness to cut off passing lanes, force turnovers, and turn it into offense. While Ballard was shooting and scoring at a decent volume. As the game went on, Marcus Britt continued to score consistently and hit several contested three's to keep the game close. He wouldn't stop from there, and started finding the hoop inside and from the midrange. Ultimately giving LRJ their lead back before Aidan Nash and Greg Ballard tied the game back up. With five seconds left, Greg Ballard drained a contested corner three to win the game 70-67 lead! Le led BTB with 22 points while Marcus Britt scored 32 for LRJ&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pocket City 17U Advances to Championship</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In one of the 17U Semifinals it was Pocket City facing Wisconsin Hoops Select. The threes were raining for Wisconsin Hoops Select in the opening stages, as their first six buckets came from beyond the arc. Lots of guys contributed, but it was mostly Cyle Steffl. He knocked in half of their three's in the opening stages while also dishing out a corner assist. For Pocket City, 6'7” F [player_tooltip player_id='1761697' first='Malachi' last='McNair'] made his presence felt down low. He displayed excellent body control to make his job much easier. This allowed Johnson to score plenty of buckets inside and even earned if from the free throw line too. 2025 G [player_tooltip player_id='1539999' first='Luke' last='Ellspermann'] also found several holes to score inside and played a big part in keeping this game close. He consistently made cuts to the rim and showed he can score with both hands efficiently. After being down double digits in the opening half, Pocket City took their first lead of the game midway through the second half behind a pair of triples from [player_tooltip player_id='2089943' first='Eli' last='Speer']. Some free throws from [player_tooltip player_id='1761697' first='Malachi' last='McNair'] in the final minutes would seal the deal in an exciting contest. He finished with 21 points to advance to the 17U championship.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pocket City 2025 Beats [program_tooltip program_id='2077046' first='Mid' last='Mo Elite']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Asher Harris put on quite the clinic for Pocket City 16U late Sunday morning. He had a spectacular start and was responsible for almost all their points in the opening stages. Not only can he shoot confidently outside, but he has such a quick bust the hoop. It took no-time for Harris to reach double figures in a fast-pace contest. As the game progressed, harris showed lots of defensive capabilities. He blocked a shot inside while also utilizing excellent footwork while on the ball. As a passer, he made a wide range of plays to get guys involved as almost everyone on Pocket City scored at least a couple times in this one. In the second half, Pocket City exploded ahead to a 12 point advantage led by Zaryen Moore. He's another three-level scorer who showed plenty of length as a guard. He's also very fast in transition, making his job a whole lot easier. I also liked what 6'8” F Andrew Colvin can do. The lengthy big also showed excellent speed up and down the floor and capped it off with some athletic finishes inside. Despite Mid Mo making a run late, Pocket City held them off and secured a solid win.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pocket City Cruise to 17U Championship</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the championship, [player_tooltip player_id='1761697' first='Malachi' last='McNair'] had another solid outing. He continued to use his strength to his advantage to create several easy buckets on the inside. He also found the bucket in transition with several contested drives in the opening half. It took no-time for Pocket City to jump out to a 16 point lead. Later on, [player_tooltip player_id='1539999' first='Luke' last='Ellspermann'] became more involved. He also showed plenty of confidence attacking the rim and created trouble on the defensive front. [player_tooltip player_id='2089943' first='Eli' last='Speer'], a lengthy 6'2”, combo, buried three triples in the contest too. It was all pocket-city as they blew past Hardwood Elite for the tourney title. This was also my first look at Hardwood Elite this weekend. Despite the loss, I really like what I saw from Point Guard [player_tooltip player_id='1160843' first='Caden' last='Casey']. A Top 100 prospect in Missouri, Casey scored 16 points earlier in the day in their semifinal matchup. He showed tremendous ball-handling and slashing abilities in this game with a quick release. [player_tooltip player_id='1598839' first='John' last='Renken'] was also productive inside and finished with 21 points in the loss.&nbsp; I really liked his ability to get up and down the floor while continuing to fight for his team when down.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->