Grit Region Finals: Mike's Sunday Standouts

The Grit Region Finals were intense battles and on Sunday we were handing our championship trophies to the winning teams. With that being said, let's take a look at some Sunday standouts I caught at Farmers Bank Fieldhouse.    Grassroots Elite has been a program we've covered a lot on the Prep Hoops Circuit and there's been some familiar faces leading our standout articles. Newman is their most talented guard scorer and he was going to work early and often on Sunday morning. Able to use a variety of crossover moves to create space and get to the rim, Newman had a couple of acrobatic finishes in the paint. As a shooter, Newman also knocked down a couple deep spot-up 3-pointers. With our next rankings update coming after the July live periods, expect Newman to make his debut on our list after strong Prep Hoops Circuit performances.     The prospect with the most upside from the Grassroots Elite group, Staley is a mismatch for opposing teams due to his size and length. Those skills are effective on both ends of the court as Staley blocked a few shots and grabbed a handful of offensive rebounds. Still progressing as a big, Staley dropped a couple tight window passes but when he was able to catch and go up at the rim, shot an extremely high percentage in the paint. Seeing continued growth from Staley who should be an option for small college and JUCO options with a strong senior season.     Clemons almost single handedly led one of the craziest comebacks I've ever seen. Down around 15 points with about 3 min to go, Clemons knocked down back-to-back heat check 3-pointers before being fouled on a third attempt and converting all three free throws. He helped his team cut the deficit to five before eventually falling short but Clemons sparked life into a game I thought was finished. With a good frame and some quick twitch movement ability, Clemons made a couple plays on the defensive end of the court throughout the game as well.     Playing up an age group this weekend, Pointer competed on both ends of the court as one of the smallest guys out there. Knocking down a couple shots from the outside and using active hands defensively, Pointer wasn't afraid of the bigger and older competition. I also thought his basketball IQ was high for a player of his age, taking care of the basketball when it was in his hands.     I could've picked a few players from Pocket City as [player_tooltip player_id='2463041' first='Kaden' last='Naab'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2466205' first='Lavell' last='Tinsley'] both impressed me on Sunday as well, but I decided to spotlight Richason in this article. An impressive shooter, Richason knocked down back-to-back triples to start the second half which extended his teams lead to 25 points. Showing good touch in the paint, Richason had a fake pass that led to a turnaround push shot and was fouled on a couple layups at the rim. As a team, I thought Pocket City passed the ball at a high level, passing up a good shot for a great shot a couple times.     Last time I watched All Heart 15 U they were hoisting the Ohio State Tournament championship in Columbus back in May. While they didn't quite have enough juice to win the Grit Region Finals, they still had some bright spots. I thought the Goshen duo of [player_tooltip player_id='2422126' first='Braylon' last='Settelmayer'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2422272' first='Karson' last='Alderman'] showed promise as a duo that can continue to build chemistry in the high school season. I opted to spotlight McQueen because his toughness and production levels were exceptional. A guard who wants to get downhill and finish off two feet at the rim, McQueen got lots of buckets in the paint off dribble drives. As a defender, McQueen was getting after loose balls and forcing turnovers with his pressure. It will be interesting to see how McQueen fits in on a Moeller squad that has some experienced talent returning from a GCL-South championship squad.     After falling behind by double-digits at the start of the game, Sigmund caught fire and immediately flipped the script for [program_tooltip program_id='2076924' first='EG10' last=''] 15 U as they ended up winning the semifinal battle with All Heart comfortably. With a smooth stroke, Sigmund hit a couple 3-pointers spotting up but also knocked one down running off a screen and another as a pick and pop option. While his teammates did a nice job of flipping the switch on the defensive end of the floor, Sigmund's shooting ability changed the scope of the game for [program_tooltip program_id='2076924' first='EG10' last=''] offensively.

The Grit Region Finals were intense battles and on Sunday we were handing our championship trophies to the winning teams. With that being said, let's take a look at some Sunday standouts I caught at Farmers Bank Fieldhouse.