Roundball Classic: Friday AM Standouts

In its 28th year, the Motor City Roundball Classic continues to be one of the premier holiday showcases in the Midwest. This years lineup lives up to that billing. Barring something unforeseen. I should be on hand for days 2-4. Following are standouts from the AM slate of games on Friday.   [player_tooltip player_id='1587840' first='Jonathan' last='Ingalls'] 5-11 2024 St Ignace Ingalls repeated his outstanding performance from last year's event. Scored in a wide variety of ways. Has always been effective scoring in the post. Especially for a sub 6-foot prospect. Does this with an assortment of pivot and spin moves you only get from growing up in the gym. Has extremely deep range on the perimeter. However it wasn't falling at its usual clip. Forcing him to cleverly take his game down into the post. Testament to his versatility. As he put up 34 points without having his usual shooting touch. Cemented his place as one of the top players in the both UP and Division IV statewide.   [player_tooltip player_id='1587851' first='MJ' last='Yeager'] 5-102024 Saginaw Nouvel Got to a slow start shooting from deep. Which I didn't think was possible. However, it gave him chance to show off the other parts of his game. Penetrated hard against Imlay City's tall frontline. Also passed the ball well in pick and roll situations. In the second half the shot started to fall which opened up driving lanes even more. Isn't just a standstill shooter. Relocates well and is in constant motion off the ball. Catches it in the shooting motion and gets it up quickly. Finished with 25 points and took him co-MVP honors with……   [player_tooltip player_id='1300912' first='Donny' last='Yeager'] 5-10 2024 Saginaw Nouvel You guessed it. Use whatever twin cliche you would like. Be it the “Saginaw Splash Brothers”, or my personal favorite the “Yeager Bombs”. Whatever you use, it doesn't do justice to devastating duo that these two are. On Friday morning Donny picked up the slack for MJ's rare cold shooting start. Everything I wrote about MJ above. Copy and paste here. In constant motion off the ball. Heck they are in constant motion with the ball in their hands. Finished with a game high 27 points. After an 0-3 start this was a good win for Nouvel against a quality Division II opponent. Inserting themselves back into the conversation as one of the top Division IV teams in the state.   [player_tooltip player_id='1300916' first='Zander' last='Nash'] 6-7 2025 Imlay City Nash is a versatile prospect capable of playing and defending multiple positions. However against a smaller Nouvel squad. It was nice to see him show some “mouse in the house” assertiveness. Did this on both ends of the court. Has an effective spin move and the footwork to operate down the baseline. Long and wiry frame also helps score from unique angles at the rim. Doesn't need to catch it in the perfect position to be effective. Is a willing passer who plays with his head up. Started transition opportunities with efficient and decisive outlet passes. Will need to add weight to his frame to take next step in his development. But there is a lot to work with already. Is a hard working prospect with an excellent academic profile.   Terez Holmes 6-7 2025 Center Line Last year Mohammad Habhad announced himself to the Detroit area with a big game at the Roundball Classic. This year history might have repeated itself a bit as Holmes played well against Habhad. Has always had extreme length and bounce. Played with a bit more strength than I had seen before against the bigger Habhad. Used the aforementioned length to close out quickly and block a few three pointers which you don't see often. The length also helped him be extremely active around the rim. Had a nice tip dunk in the first half. Is slender but seems to know he is post prospect. That being said, did show nice range out on the perimeter. His big day was knocked off track by early foul trouble. In spite of that. Seemed to adjust well and was a factor all the way to the end of a close loss.   [player_tooltip player_id='1434240' first='Mohammad' last='Habhab'] 6-9 2024 Dearborn Fordson (pictured) The Central Michigan commitment is as skilled and versatile of big man as you will see. Can pass it, shoot it, and handle it. Maybe the only weakness is establishing deep post position. Understandable, as his skill level allows him to simply initiate offense all by himself. However against a more slender opponent like Holmes. It would have been nice to see him work a little harder down low. There— now that I got anything negative out of the way. Onto the good stuff. And there was a lot of it. Absolutely stuffed the stat sheet and competed hard all night in a close contest. Owned the glass with 16 boards. Protected the rim in a major way with six block and who knows many adjustments. Passed like a seasoned veteran out of double teams. Had five assists and a bunch of hockey assists as well. Has the advanced ball skills of a good point guard. Topped it off with two rim rattling dunks. Finished 14 points. Central has reeled in a major steal. With a little weight gain he could really break out at the next level.

In its 28th year, the Motor City Roundball Classic continues to be one of the premier holiday showcases in the Midwest. This years lineup lives up to that billing. Barring something unforeseen. I should be on hand for days 2-4. Following are standouts from the AM slate of games on Friday.