2024 IYBL Back to School League- Championships- Best of the Rest

The last two months have been awesome!! The Back to school League has given us countless amounts of talent worthy of being seen as some of the best in the state.    Paxton's a really good offensive player who scored in a number of ways over the weekend. This young man has the capability of being a very dynamic scorer in the near future. He can create off the dribble and either knock down pull-ups or get to the basket. I watched him do this on countless occasions, regardless of whoever defended him. Excellent rebounding small forward who played tough in the paint. I watched him go inside and grab a number of rebounds despite the physical contact from larger players. Paxton can shoot the long ball with no hesitation! He's a very confident shooter with a nice form and rotation to his shot. In Saturday's game he knocked down two threes on four shot attempts. A good ball handler and passer, who often broke down the defense and setup teammates with nice dimes. These passes lead to easy points in the paint or along the perimeter. Defensively, he stays attached to his opponent by applying constant pressure using quick hands and good footwork. Paxton's the kind of player who hustles for every loose ball on the floor. He does all the intangibles needed to help a team succeed on the basketball court. Keep it up Paxton!!     Corvier's an excellent passing combo guard who has the ability of playing as both scorer and facilitator. He's a high energy player who can create for himself and his teammates. I watched him throw a number of flashy passes that always seemed to find wide open teammates around the basket. Corvier can really score the ball in a number of ways. He made shots from all over the floor on Saturday. Whether it was making floaters, attacking the rim, knocking down mid-range shots or hitting the occasional three.. It really didn't seem to matter.. Corvier was a really tough cover for the opposition. He constantly made plays for his squad on both sides of the court. On defense, he's a tough minded guard who really pressured opposing players into mistakes. Corvier's an excellent defender who forced four steals in the game I watched on Saturday. Some of the turnovers turned into fast-break opportunities where the team usually capitalized. I saw a young man who was clearly the emotional leader of the team. He plays the game with tons of energy and emotion. This is a great trait to have because he seems like the kind of player who hates to lose. Keep grinding Corvier!!     I witnessed the exploits of a great shooter over the weekend! He shoots the basketball with perfect form and good ball rotation. I can see that Alex has taken the time to really work on being a great shooter. I bet he throws up at least one hundred shots a day! During the game I saw, most of his baskets were scored through jump-shooting. Alex knows how to move around within the offense. He always found ways of getting open for free looks at the basket. Often by staying in motion and using player screens. Whenever the shot was available he knocked down multiple threes with confidence and fluidity. On defense, he's a decent on ball defender but an even better team defender. He often held his ground whenever he guarded opposing guards and on occasion bigger players in the paint. Alex already has a valuable skill that puts him ahead of most kids his age. (shooting) If he continues to work on his ball handling, passing and aggression driving to the basket, he'll definitely play at a high level for Hagerstown Middle School this season.     Brody's an excellent scorer who has the capability of knocking down both long or mid-range shots from the perimeter. He was really good at creating his own shots with side and step back jumpers. These shots dropped for him very frequently over the weekend. It didn't seem to matter if the shot was from two or three point range. Brody was in the zone during the game I saw on Saturday. This guy just didn't miss!! I'm pretty sure he lead his team in scoring on this day. In isolated situations, he showed the ability of beating his defender off the dribble and attacking the basket for easy layups. This guy's a very skilled player who stayed in constant "attack mode" whenever he was on the court. Brody's a really good defender who stayed velcroed to opposing players. He had no problem, fighting through screens and being disruptive to players on offense. A really good rebounding guard who had no issue going in the paint and attacking the glass on both ends of the court. In my opinion, Brody looks like he could be the main scoring option for Hagerstown Middle School this fall. I definitely plan to check on his progression throughout the basketball season.     Aggressive player who has a variety of ways to score the basketball. Taylor's really good at getting into the lane and making plays at the basket. Whether its driving and kicking out to teammates or finishing at rim himself.. his style of play always seemed to be effective. As I said, he can really score the ball! A good ball handler who can create off the dribble and knock down jump shots over the defense. He has great size and length which allowed him to get his shot off over the smaller defenders. This was a major issue for those attempting to guard him. Taylor basically took smaller players in the post area and scored right over the top of them. He can also make shots from behind the arc. I saw him take and make threes with extreme confidence in his shot. He converted on a number of them in Saturday's game. On defense, Taylor was able to use his length as a strength against opposing guards and forwards. His long arms and good footwork made it really tough for the opposition to be effective. Taylor's an excellent offensive player who could be a problem for any opponent during Clay Middle School's basketball season.     Jayden's a very athletic player who loves attacking the basket no matter who's in the paint to defend him. I watched him drive to the basket and score on a player much taller than himself. Of course, he was fouled and scored through contact which lead to a three point play opportunity. (he converted the free throw) A great rebounding guard who constantly attacked the glass and lead fast breaking situations when the presented themselves. In these cases, he often found open teammates streaking down court with timely passes. He also took these opportunities to drive the ball coast-to-coast for the easy score. Jayden was really good at using his athleticism to get where he needs to get on the basketball court. He knows how to move around picks and screens to free himself up for open looks. This young man has a good understanding of what it takes to function within an offense as a scorer. Jayden knows where he can be most effective on the floor. A lot of his makes were out on the wing in regard to jump shots, while he did most of his rim attacks from baseline dribble drives. Defensively, he was excellent at applying ball pressure to the opposition. He forced a number of turnovers from various players. Jayden's a good all around player who skills will continue to progress now and in the near future.

The last two months have been awesome!! The Back to school League has given us countless amounts of talent worthy of being seen as some of the best in the state.