ZG NH (North) Fall Finale Standouts: Part 2

On Saturday, November 2nd, I attended the Zero Gravity Fall Finale (North) in Hampton, New Hampshire. I saw most of the varsity teams play at least one game; however, as always, it's difficult to get a great read on every player in an entire division over the course of one day.   That being said, here are my part 2 standouts.   Here are my <a href="https://prephoops.com/2024/11/zg-nh-north-fall-finale-standouts-part-1/">part 1 standouts</a> if you missed them.   Part three will be coming tomorrow morning.    Farland was easily the best on-ball defender I saw at the tournament. He was getting into opposing players all day and forcing them into turnovers left and right. Offensively, he has a very compact shot and understands how to get it off, both off the catch and off the dribble. He won't wow you with creation off the dribble, but he can attack a closeout when necessary and make the kick out pass to open shooters. Farland will need to get quicker or bigger (or both) if he wants to play at the D3 level, but the door is definitely open.      Sierra was quite difficult to stop from getting to the front of the rim; he used his quickness and strength to craft his way to the hoop and then was able to finish with contact in the air. He also attacked the offensive glass with reckless abandon and was his squad's best perimeter on-ball defender. He also has solid vision. Sierra will need to improve his shot and shore up some of his ball-handling skills, but a potential D3 spot somewhere is not out of the question if he can do so.     Kalombo showed some flashes of three level scoring offensively; he can get to the rim and finish athletically, he can hit the midrange pull-up, and he can even knock down the occasional three. He moved a bit too fast for his body at times, but that's often the case with highly athletic players who are still developing. Kalombo will have to become more under control and patient if he wants to play at the D3 level, but I could see that happening this year.     Day was a bull with the ball in his hands, attacking the rim with aggression and ferocity all day. Both in transition and in the halfcourt, he used his quickness and off-hand to blow by defenders and then figured out ways to finish amongst the trees when they came over from the help side. Size will hurt his chances at playing D3 hoops, but I would imagine he's good at another sport. Just too athletic and tough-minded to not be good on a football or lacrosse field.     Lopes, a lefty guard, is young and physically underdeveloped. He isn't going to wow you with athleticism and he's only about 5-foot-10. However, he's very skilled and cerebral with the ball in his hands; he understands how to change speeds, use his body, and play out of the pick and roll. I could imagine him developing into a solid D3 player if he gets bigger and stronger, which will almost definitely happen with time.

On Saturday, November 2nd, I attended the Zero Gravity Fall Finale (North) in Hampton, New Hampshire. I saw most of the varsity teams play at least one game; however, as always, it's difficult to get a great read on every player in an entire division over the course of one day.