The Last Dance: Teddy’s Friday Notebook

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2024 Eli Ellis Dominates For Kyle Guy</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I began the weekend watching 17U Kyle Guy (IN) go up against Big 3 Hudson. It was 5'11 PG Eli Ellis of Kyle Guy Elite who stood out the most. In the opening minutes, he drained a pair of threes and converted two free throws. After reading a pass on defense, he turned it into another smooth 3-pt jumper on the other end. The game was very tight as the first half went on with Big 3 moving the ball well and converting second-chance opportunities. But Ellis continued to shine. He hit a pull-up midrange shot with ease and followed it up by faking out a pass for an open look from deep. Shortly after, he hit his fifth triple of the half from way outside to give Kyle Guy a seven point lead. But the run wasn't over. Showed an outstanding burst and touch towards the rim to score a pair of tough layups with each hand. His sixth three-pointer made it a 20 point game. They ended the opening half on a 29-1 run. Ellis opened the second half exactly where he started and drained two more deep three's. Shortly after, he converted on a really smooth running floater. He even hot his teammates involved and picked up a handful of assists, keeping Kyle Guy up big in the second half. Ellis finished with 37 points and scored an astounding 26 in the first half. Kyle Guy won 69-51</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>MAC (OH) Beats Team Ten</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Next up for me was Team Ten Jabari Parker facing off against Ohio's MAC Basketball Club. The game started with plenty of defense and lots of different scorers eary on. The explosiveness and IQ was very noticeable from MAC's [player_tooltip player_id='1352458' first='Derek' last='Fairley']. 6'1” Point Guard made great reads and changed direction well with the ball in his hands. Helping MAC get up a wide range of buckets in the opening half. On the other side, Team Ten had a handful of contributors. Most notably, Jorey Boley. The 6'3” wing showed plenty of confidence attacking the rim, while also showing an excellent ability to win rebounds with his physical build and long arms. [player_tooltip player_id='1352458' first='Derek' last='Fairley'] was able to score from all three levels late in the first half to help give MAC a solid advantage before halftime. Tino Yli-junnila also showed lots of capabilities for a 6'7” forward. Midway through the game, he knocked down a pair of three's. He also showed excellent length to snag tough rebounds and defended well in many spaces on the floor. A contested pull-up three from Fairley made it an 18-point game midway through the second half. They held on to win 71-51 as Fairley finished with 21 points.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>AUSA 2024 Ed vs INB</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I was really intrigued by the skillset of AUSA's Ed team last week. I got a good glimpse of them Friday evening against Indiana's INB. AUSA bursted off to a 10-0 start behind terrific playmaking abilities from Benjamin Tweedy. He was a big-time playmaker last weekend with tonight being no different. 6'10” PF Liam Switzer had an and-one slam early on to go along with excellent mobility on the offensive end. 6'4” SG Eden Hobbs showed off some blazing speed in the open floor as well. He had numerous buckets in the opening half to help put AUSA up a dozen in the first ten minutes. It took no-time for AUSA to go up 20 as they completely outsized INB. 6'11” C Nate Hargrave was one of those prospects. He showed intense physicality in the low block and accumulated a handful of buckets. He also picked up a pair of assists in the second half. Towards the end of the game, Benjamin Tweedy had a big-time spin move and-one. He followed it up shortly after with two more assists to push the lead to 30. Tweedy led the way with another big-time performance as AUSA hoops won 73-41</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>AUSA Sepo Takes Down LA Broncos 17U</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>AUSA team Sepo had a really strong game against LA Broncos Friday night. This was the most anticipated game of the day. 6'7” Wing Kynan Philippe knocked down a pair of threes early and followed it up with a baseline fadeaway. 6'7” G Lucas Impey did bits of everything too. He was a factor on the board and also displayed plenty of awareness on both ends. Late in the first half, he had a very strong coast-to-coast finish at the rim. Early in the second half, he made three assists to put AUSA ahead by 5.&nbsp;&nbsp;There wasn't a player showing more confidence than Impey out there. Making great cuts to the rim and finding open lanes in defense to get himself some more second half buckets. With about five minutes left, he got to the rim for a transition slam. Lachlan Brewer also had a solid performance. He can score from all three levels while also drawing fouls and finishing through contact. He hit a long two in the final minutes to help seal the deal for AUSA.&nbsp;&nbsp;They won 78-65.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TreyDez Green Big Time for LA Broncos</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Not only is he the #1 tight end in the country heading to LSU, but he's a big-time baller. TreyDez Green had a very hot start in a high-tempo game. He opened the contest with a three and followed it up with a bank-shot floater. He later tipped in his own miss to go along with some stelar defense on the other end. A step-back bank-shot put him in double figures just six minutes into the game. Defensively, he was ferocious on the boards. He seemed to know exactly where a ball would bounce off the rim and was the first player to that area. He was nearly up to a double-double for points and rebounds by halftime. He had a breakaway dunk to begin the second half, too. As the game went on, he continued to be aggressive inside by showing lots of physicality and drawing fouls. He bullied his way down the baseline for an and-one finish in the final two minutes. He was easily the strongest, most athletic player in this game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Full Package Gold vs Midwest Basketball Club</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I ended the night with 2025 Full Package facing Midwest Basketball Club. After a slow start, [player_tooltip player_id='1545144' first='Samuel' last='Hirsch'] hit a three and followed it up with a midrange pull-up in transition to tie the game. He hit another open three shortly after and went coast-to-coast to then give Full Package a comfy lead. But Parker Maurer knocked down three triples early to help keep MBC in the game. Towards the end of the first half, [player_tooltip player_id='1564889' first='Aidan' last='Bardic'] was making strong drives to the rim to help place FP in front again. This included a tough reverse layup on the baseline in the final minute of the first half. Jayden Hunt also got involved with a quick first step to the hoop and a block on defense. But yet again, Midwest Basketball Club came back behind some more buckets from Parker Maurer. He was all over the place. But [player_tooltip player_id='1545144' first='Samuel' last='Hirsch'] continued to shine. He got it done inside with both hands and included a really strong reverse layup into this standout performance. There was so much explosiveness from him on display as he seemed unstoppable at times.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->