John Wall Invitational: Dynamic Playmakers

10p 8r 2a vs Westchester   -Athletic 3/4 tweener fills several needs for a Highland team that has gotten off to a hot start this season. Hamilton can be moved up and down the lineup defensively depending on foul situation and rotations but usually is tasked with guarding opponent 5s or the strongest interior presence. Hamilton works well as a mover off the ball and can serve as a connector from the wing, looking to make the next pass to give his team the best possible look in the halfcourt. The ballhandling and footwork on pivots have improved to enable him to finish better in traffic around the basket. Has picked up offers from College of Charleston and Oklahoma State in the past month.     12p 5a 2r 3s/game   -The veteran of a young Sidwell team that is missing the other two starters in the backcourt, Gillus stepped up as the vocal leader at both ends of the floor. The senior guard got to the rim or created a perimeter shot when the Quakers needed a bucket, stepping up his offensive production to keep his team in games against a good slate of NC talent. Although he sees the passing reads on his half of the floor I would like him to look opposite more to the wings and corners to shift the defense a bit more for a Quakers team that lacks the shooting that usually spaces the floor for them in the halfcourt.     18p 9r 3a /game   -Huge weekend for the Queens commit as he LIVED in the paint en route to a championship game appearance for STAB. Coles uses his energy and athleticism to dominate the glass from the guard position, constantly putting pressure on the defense to be in help and box out crashing guards from the perimeter on the glass. His speed in the open court and ability to get lower than his matchup to change directions and explode past them really stood out over the course of the weekend.     24p 13r 1a 1b 1s vs Southern Durham   -Overall floor game as a wing has improved quite a bit, Allmond is handling the ball better in space and he's getting more smoothly into jumpers/passes off the bounce. He also showed much better decision-making and quicker reads with the ball in his hand or while running the lanes in transition. The full skillset was on display against Southern Durham. Allmond started it out with a steal and euro through the contact for the bucket, hit a 3 off the bounce, performed a great seal on the low block to lay it up past the defender, scored on a fastbreak dunk, had a great crosscourt dime to the shooter off a live dribble, and is making much crisper rotations as a help defender. Although he has dependable hands around the basket sometimes he doesn't realize how far he is under the basket or outside of the paint after grabbing an O board and can miss the putback as a result. Fully expect him to clean up some of the mechanical issues around the paint to be an efficient inside-out presence at the next level.     16p 3r 2a vs Westchester   -The sophomore guard came up big time in a primetime matchup between Ariza/Ament with a 4/6 performance beyond the arc to space the floor for Highland in the win. A big shot-taker and big shot-maker, Smith isn't afraid of the spotlight and can step into big shots without touching the ball for the first half of the possession. Like his progression over the past year of attacking closeouts, getting two feet in the paint to force the defense to shift after he's hit a few jumpers. Want to see what his decision-making skills look like more often in the halfcourt, want to see if he can make skip passing reads in the split seconds he has coming off of screens, what his post entry passing skills look like, etc. Expect him to continue to thrive in an off-ball role this year playing behind a senior-laden group.     13p 2r 1s 1b vs Clayton   -Green had some nice flashes off the bench for Sidwell as a switchable defender that can do a little bit of everything. Green went 3/3 from beyond the arc, confidently stepping in to drill shots from the wings but also mixing it up in the paint to extend possessions for his team. Will be interesting to see if he's able to add more perimeter flair to his game to handle the rock off of reverseals while sharpening his lateral movement skills to stay in front of guards, or if he will end up as more of a 3+D tweener that can switch onto bigs. Will be an intriguing freshman season to track as Sidwell has dealt with some injuries early.