Impressive On-ball Defenders

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>PICTURED: [player_tooltip player_id='1642603' first='Owen' last='Lentz']</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Read about these good on-ball defenders.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1318557' first='Tylan' last='Lewis'] (Independence)</strong><br>Tylan is a 4A State Champion. Used his elite change of direction to challenge shooters all year. Tylan completely hand-cuffed future college player [player_tooltip player_id='1317053' first='Odell' last='Bradley IV'] (Beech). It was one of many exceptional performances. In addition to his quickness, Tylan is a strong, built guard that uses his chest and arms to deliver the bump as a deterrent to penetrating guards. It does not fit into the purview of this story, but Lewis is also quite good as a rebounder.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jaylan McMillian (East Nashville)</strong><br>After the season wrapped East Nashville Head Coach Avery Patton raved about Jaylan's sophomore season. "He has long arms and he can get a lot of tips and deflections," said Coach Patton. "I put him the front of the 1-3-1 and he created a lot of havoc. He was doing a lot of the dirty work. Next year he will need to score more, but he was great defensively." </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2350882' first='Eli' last='Graf'] (Alcoa)</strong><br>Quick hands. Elite change of direction. Eli played and frustrated numerous guards throughout his 2A State Championship season. Eli also plays football for Alcoa, which may help him develop the appropriate defensive mindset.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Brian Jones (Pearl-Cohn)</strong><br>The Firebirds played a hectic, scrambled defense all season. They thrived in rattling ball-handlers. In order to do that effectively, Pearl needed Brian Jones entering passing lanes and getting his hands in the way. He was excellent on-ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ladamion Hunter (Pearl-Cohn)</strong><br>Jet-quick guard. Hunter gambles quite a bit on defense, as do many of the Firebird players. It works and it doesn't. Hunter's success often leads to fastbreak opportunities. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1642603' first='Owen' last='Lentz'] (Knox Webb)</strong><br>Owen earned Defensive MVP at a @PrepHoopsTN Combine. Webb was a very young team this past season and needed some grimy defensive leadership from the sophomore Lentz. He delivered.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->