Hoopers Only #Hooplife: 2029 Evals

I didn’t get an exact height on Phipps, but he’s a tall, long athlete, that showed a ton of potential. He was impactful with his Grab and Go ability, showing the skill to lead the break several times after snagging a rebound for his team.

It kept throwing me off a bit, as Alcantara shared the same number with another player. Eventually the talented guard would stand out for himself. He was magnificent, developing a knack for using a quick first step to get into the lane. Once getting his paint touches, he displayed solid skill, finishing floaters and runners over opponents.

Armstrong has a lot of dawg in him. The incoming 7th grader was fearless despite playing against older kids all week. He has a pure shooting stroke, in the gym range and insane confidence. It would have been easy for the sniper to rest on his laurels, however he also played with good defensive instincts, getting passing lane steals. Perhaps his best trait was his confidence as he ran toward the big shot En route to leading his team to the 14U title.

It seemed like when Armstrong wasn’t hitting a backbreaking three, Quinet was. The lefty sniper loved to make shots from the corner, but wasn’t restricted to any one area. He put together a masterful game in the semifinals throwing in 18 points in the first half alone.

Muniz highlights why winning is so critical. The first time I saw him play, I hardly noticed the jitterbug PG, all I saw was three-point buckets getting splashed from every direction by his teammates. As the stakes were raised however, I started to realize that those open shots were the result of his initial penetration. Sometimes he made the assist, many times he made the hockey assist, regardless, it was his initial breakdown that led to the collapse of the defense, and open shots for his teammates.

Esquivel was one of the best passers I saw at the event. The PG wasn’t shy about making the risky, flashy pass, he hit a teammate with an underhanded dime from half court, that he couldn’t have handed to him better. He also made the simple hit ahead or next pass, keeping the offense going. The PG used his handle to create angles before delivering on time, on target dimes for teammates.