PH Arch Madness: Day 1 – Top Difference Makers (16U)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Day 1 brought a lot of excitement to the court thourghout all age levels for the last Prep Hoops AAU event of the season. There were tight matchups with the game coming down to the last shot, thrilling victories and heart-break defeats, and a whole lot of hooping. Below are my Top Difference Makers of Day 1 here at Arch Madness for the 16U level, in no particular order. Thanks for tuning in and enjoy. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2126292' first='Andrew' last='Groos'] - 2025 - 6'4 - Combo Forward - Osage High School, Missouri - [program_tooltip program_id='2077046' first='Mid' last='Mo Elite'] 2025</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2126292' first='Andrew' last='Groos'] was his team heartbeat today at Day 1 of Arch Madness. In almost every play that I saw from this team, Groos was in it and usually playing a big part. He rebounds like crazy on both sides of the floor while moving around the paint. He has great hands and coordination on the catch, with the smarts to know when and where to score from most of the time. [program_tooltip program_id='2077046' first='Mid' last='Mo Elite'] 2025 has taken care of business throughout their first two games of Day 1, with hope of going into Sunday at 3-0. With Groos's play and a few other key pieces they have on this roster, it's something more than do-able. No matter what, they will come ready to play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Trentyn Mead - 2025 - 5'10 - Point Guard - Searcy High School, Arkansas - Arkansas Ducks 2025 Camarata </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Arkansas Ducks 2025 Camarata group is an interesting team to me. They beat their competition in their first two games today, one being closer and one with ease for the most part. The reason for their success being their diverse and versatile roster. It's a lot of guards and guard like players, that can do a little bit of everything out there. They have every piece to be really, really good and they have been so far. One of their main players, who usually keeps them in check is Trentyn Mead. Mead, is a skinny point guard at 5'10 with a shifty handle, and aggressive demeanor. He has the ball on a string, while working effortlessly to make sure that his team is going to get a bucket each possession, even if it's not one made by himself. In his first contest today he showed glimpses of being solid but not enough for my liking. That changed in game 2 this afternoon, where his team ended up winning by 25+. This team is going to be one I keep my eye on moving forward this weekend, that's for sure.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Will Beck - 2025 - 6'2 - Combo Guard - Shawnee Mission East High School, Kansas - GABL Future 16U</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Will Beck had the tough matchup in Game 1 today of facing the Ducks team that I spoke about right above this. With that being said, he held his own and showed me that he may of been the most fundamental player on the floor between both teams. Beck's size seems a little bigger than 6'2 and he definitely plays like it. He posted up on ANY smaller defender today in that matchup, while scoring a good amount of the time near the basket because of it. When a double team would come, Beck showed great awareness to hit an open cutter, or a player outside looking for a three pointer. Today for Day 1, Beck was definitely one of the Top Difference Makers out there for his team. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Drew Austermann - 2025 - 5'11 - Shooting Guard - Lafayette High School, Missouri - Hardwood Elite 2025</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hardwood Elite 2025 had a big comeback win today in their first game this morning. Trailing late, Hardwood Elite put on an impressive press that made their opponent turnover the ball at an alarming rate. These turnover led to opportunities for Hardwood Elite to get back in the game and that's just what they did. This whole team hit big shots. I can't stress that enough. The last 5 minutes of the game including two overtimes, everyone was clutch. To end the game though was Drew Austermann. Austermann was the player in double OT, who had their 1 point to go up with 45 seconds left until the BTB XXV team scored once more. With the game on the line and 15 seconds on the clock, Austermann created a wide open look for his big man under the hoop by drawing a double team and making a pin-point bounce pass. The big man caught &amp; pump-faked, watching his opponent fly by, then scored with about 4 seconds left on the clock to go up by 1, eventually winning the game for Hardwood Elite 2025. Big time performances by some big time players today for this group, Austermann standing out the most in the end. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cameron Johnson - 2026 - 6'2 - Combo Guard - University High School, Illinois - Royalty Hoops Ect 2025 (1)</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cameron Johnson is a freshman playing at the sophomore level but by the looks of it, you'd never be able to tell. Johnson is a menace on the court. A player that can move between the 1 or 2 position, while having the ability to knock down open shots from deep or take his man off of the dribble for an easy finish at the rim. In his first two games today, Johnson was one of his teams lead guards in both contests. He showed great discipline and that he more than belonged with this group, out there on the court. His Royalty Hoops Act 2025 (1) team started the day out undefeated in impressive fashion. We will see if the combination of Johnson and Marcus Russell, their other elite playmaker, can keep up that momentum moving forward.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->