Play by Play Classic: Sleepers and Unsigned Prospects Day 1

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Pete &amp; Jameer Nelson Play by Play Classic is back, featuring no shortage of highly-touted names and future college stars. But there are many others who don't fit one of those categories, yet stood out nonetheless. Here a few from Thursday at Widener </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1848627' first='James' last='Anderson'] | 6'2 G 2024 Unionville</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If Anderson had the ball and a fellow Longhorn was open, he found him. Anderson habitually caught the defense off guard by getting the ball into compromising spots, most notably right next to the basket. Additionally, he threw laser passes out to Unionville's reliable shooters on the perimeter. Even though they all didn't count as assists, the senior floor leader threw dimes that directly resulted in points or bent the defense and eventually led to points. His vision and hands translated to defense too, as he was able to force turnovers. He tallied 7 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1116013' first='Jaden' last='Colzie'] | 5'11 G 2024 Plymouth Whitemarsh</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Colzie got the party started against WC Henderson with three pull-up twos over the arms of outstretched defenders. Next, he closed out the opening quarter with a DEEP pull-up three, surpassing the 1000-point mark for his high school career. Locked in a dog fight with the Warriors, there was no time to celebrate. He kept getting shots up, ending the first half with 19 points. Colzie continued scrapping defensively in the second, especially on defense to retake the lead in the third, before eventually coming up short. He finished with 5 steals, on top of his 31 points.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1454311' first='Jelani' last='Easter'] | 6'4 W 2026 Central Dauphin</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Finishing with 12 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block, Easter utilized his athleticism in a number of ways. He's not much of a shooter (yet), so when he caught the ball on the perimeter and the defense played off of him, he drove to the hoop where he either converted the lay-up or got fouled (4-for-4 FT). The sophomore wing had an even bigger impact on defense. He had a block and 3 steals, two of which were instrumental in the Rams making a comeback in the third quarter. He finished with 12 points and 3 rebounds, in addition to the defensive plays.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1589404' first='Connor' last='Fleet'] | 6'1 G 2024 WC Henderson</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Instead of getting drawn into a shootout with Colzie and the Colonials, Fleet led Henderson to victory by opting to be a well-balanced floor general. He created for others using the strength he normally displays on self-created baskets. His drive-and-kick (or drop-off) game spread the ball around to three of his teammates who reached double-figures and netted him 4 assists. As a scorer, he did most of his damage by getting to the charity stripe, where he went 7-for-8, totaling 11 points, in addition to the dimes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2336679' first='Ahmeil' last='McLaurin']</strong> | 6'5 F/C 2026 Friends Select</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the Falcons' starting five-man in foul trouble early, McLaurin was suddenly asked to play a huge chunk of the game versus Parish Episcopal, but he more than held his own. PE's team featured some physical big men and McLaurin mixed it up right with them inside. He blocked two shots and got a couple putbacks on his way to 7 points and 10 rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2383229' first='Robbie' last='Ruisch']</strong> | 6'2 G 2024 Parkland</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After three first quarter triples, it was amazing that Ruisch was still getting open. With all the attention [player_tooltip player_id='1123885' first='Nick' last='Coval'] was getting, Ruisch capitalized on the defense being tilted away from him and making late rotations. He made another two threes in the third quarter and when Eastside's defense started closing out harder on him, he made good decisions with the ball. Ruisch put up 15 points and 3 assists.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Day 2 is on Saturday at Widener, at the Schwartz Center. There will be more under the radar and/or unsigned seniors to take note of.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->