2030 Class shines in the Raymond Park-Stonybrook Matchup

Players from both teams shined throughout this competitive game of back and forth. Sadly, there could only be one winner. Raymond park came away with the victory in Tuesday night's contest.    I really enjoyed watching this young man play Tuesday evening. DJ was the best shooter in the game. I watched him make a high percentage of his three-point attempts. He's an excellent ball handler who easily blew past his defenders. Once he got around his opponent, DJ either attacked the basket or hit teammates with flashy passes. Offensively, he may be one of the best scorers in Indiana for his 2030 class. DJ is a shot-maker! In the game against Stonybrook, he caught fire and nailed five three-pointers in three quarters of play. The Raymond Park squad was beating Stonybrook in convincing fashion, so the starters sat out the fourth quarter. Who knows, if he continued to play, DJ could've hit four more threes and finished with thirty-one instead of nineteen. He runs the floor and scores during fast-break opportunities. DJ can make free-throws and score through contact when he attacks the basket. He converted multiple three-point opportunities. On defense, he stays with his opponent and pressures them into mistakes or turnovers. In my opinion, this young man has what it takes to be successful at any level of basketball. He's already a dynamic scorer at a young age. He'll only get better as he continues to grow. Keep balling DJ!!     This is my second write up of Cameron. I first saw him play during AAU season this past summer. He continues to be a really good all-around player who can play both guard positions. Every time I watch him play, his game portrays that of a point guard. He's an excellent passer who always seem to find his teammates in spots where they can be effective on the floor. Over the course of the game he lead his team in assists. Cameron excels at dribbling past defenders and getting to the basket. He can score with driving lay-ups, floaters or mid-range pull-ups. If he needed to knock down the three ball, he's shown the capability to do so. Defensively, he's a pest for opposing guards trying to bring the ball up court. He applied constant pressure by poking at the ball and staying in front of his man at all times. He generated a couple of steals that lead to fast-break points. Cameron is a great all-around player who has the drive to be even better in the near future. He finished the game with (4 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists) Keep it up Cameron!!     Colin plays his position like a small forward with guard like capabilities. He can handle the ball, make plays for others, grab rebounds and play defense. Colin is what I call "A Swiss Army knife" This is the kind of player who does everything on the court. This term perfectly explains how Colin plays the game of basketball. As I said, he handles the ball with the best of them. He attacks the basket and scores in the paint like a post player. On a number of occasions, he scored through contact by showing off his strength. He can also run the floor and make plays for his teammates with pin-point passing. At least two of those assists lead to easy lay-ups for other Raymond Park players. Colin is a great rebounding guard/forward who lead his team in this category based off sheer will to get the ball. On defense Colin excelled at playing passing lanes for steals. These steals lead to easy transition baskets for his teammates. Colin is a do it all kind of player who could be a valuable asset to any team he plays for. He finished the game with (4 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assists, 1 steal) Keep working Colin!!     The big man was the most dominant inside presence on the floor Tuesday night. He easliy scored in the paint with great footwork and excellent post moves. I believe Caden has the potential to dominate even more in the near future. He's a very skilled player at such a young age. Caden showed off a nice touch from the perimeter and free-throw line. During the game he was given open looks from the wing to shoot jump-shots. Caden was able to knock down the shots with no hesitation. He's a very athletic player who can run the floor and finish at the basket during transition opportunities. Caden was great at grabbing offensive rebounds and scoring on put-backs around the basket. I watched him score five baskets in this fashion. Defensively, he forced a couple of turnovers and blocked a few shots using his great leaping ability. Driving into the lane and being effective was a big task for the Stonybrook squad. Caden made scoring difficult for the opposition by challenging all shots being attempted. He's a really good player who has a very bright future. Keep it up Caden!!     It was really fun watching this young man play for the second time. I watched Mekhi the first time during AAU season. He didn't disappoint then, and he doesn't now. Mekhi came in the game with a lot of energy off the bench. He showed a lot of grit and hustle on the floor. I remember him using a nice dribble move to get around his defender and score a nice lay-up. After he made the basket he was fired up and showed his emotions. I really appreciate players who use their emotions to get them going. Mekhi is an excellent passer and play-maker, capable of dishing out flashy dimes and making plays for himself and others. He can handle the ball and get to the basket regardless of who guards him. On a few occasions, he was able to lead the fast-break and choose the option of either scoring or assisting. During majority of theses situations, Mekhi dished off an assist to a teammate streaking to the basket. On defense, this young man was great! He forced three steals with his excellent on-ball defense. Mekhi has great foot work and excellent speed to stick with any guard on the court. In my opinion, Mekhi has the talent to be an elite defensive player as the years move forward. He can be a great two-way player if he continues to enhance his skills on defense and offense. Keep it up Mekhi!!     Zeek is the prototypical floor general who lead his team in every facet of the game Tuesday night. The Stonybrook offense revolves around the way Zeek performs. I really enjoy watching this little guy play basketball. I watched Zeek play over the summer during AAU season. I was thoroughly impressed with his skills then, I must say "nothing has changed." He continues to be a dribbling wizard who beats everyone off the dribble and makes plays for his team. He's a great scorer who puts the ball in the basket all types of ways. Whether its getting to the basket, scoring floaters or knocking down threes; Zeek gets it done. He lead the Stonybrook team in scoring and assists. During the game Zeek went on a personal scoring and assisting streak. He scored three straight baskets and dished out four assists in a run that helped his team get back in the game against Raymond Park. Zeek showed great leadership skills by calling out all he necessary plays needed to be effective on offense. He constantly communicated with his teammates by keeping them motivated regardless of the circumstances. Zeek forced two steals and played great on-ball defense on the Raymond Park guards. Stonybrook lost the game but Zeek gave his all and stood out among most of the players on the court. Zeek is a star in the making! As long as he keeps his aggressive style of play, the sky's the limit for this young man. He finished the game with (10 points, 5 assists, 2 steals) Keep balling Zeek!!     Antwan showed the ability to create his own shots by breaking down defenders off the dribble and getting to the basket. In isolated situations, he was able to get off his jump-shot by using side and step-back moves. He is a very skilled player on the offensive side of the ball. Antwan was really good at scoring the basketball. Whenever he was in the game, he stayed in constant "attack mode." He also excelled at rebounding the basketball at the guard position. It was really unexpected to see a small guard going into the paint and fighting for boards. This mentality shows heart and toughness, which Antwan showed to the fullest. On defense, he was really good at playing passing lanes and generating steals. On one occasion, the little guy was able to block a shot on a much taller player. As I said, this young man has heart and he's a big time scorer. His ability to make shots will take his basketball journey an easy road to travel. Keep scoring Antwan!!     Jayden is an offensive minded shooting guard who loves to shoot the three ball. He showed the ability of getting into the lane and scoring floaters. Most of his shots were from behind the arc. I saw him nail two threes as part of a run Stonybrook went on to get back in the game. When he attacked the paint, he showed a high level of fearlessness by seeking physical contact from opposing defenders. On defense, Jayden is very knowledgeable of where he needs to be and how he must attack. He knows how to crowd opposing guards and make it tough on them being effective. He was able to force multiple turnovers and play a positive role on the Stonybrook team. If he works on attacking the basket more, Jayden can have the best of both worlds; A three point shot and slashing ability. Keep working Jayden!!

Players from both teams shined throughout this competitive game of back and forth. Sadly, there could only be one winner. Raymond park came away with the victory in Tuesday night's contest.