Prephoops The Stage: 13U- All Tournament (1st Team)

The play of these young men stood out as the best of the 2030 class. All players on this list were truly worthy of being on the All Tournament 1st Team.    Prince was one of the most skilled big men in the 13U class. This young man excelled at dominating in the post, grabbing boards, passing and defending. There were moments during yesterday's game when Prince was the most unstoppable force in the paint. I remember a sequence where he scored on four straight possessions. He did it with a variety of post moves such as hook shots, offensive put-backs and up and under moves. I was pleasantly surprised to see the big man pass the ball as well as he did. Prince is masquerading as a big man who has point guard skills. The dimes he threw to teammates were special! Whether it was chest, bounce or no-look passes; this young guy made plays constantly. Prince runs the floor and scores during fast-break opportunities. On defense, he blocked five shots as he protected the paint from the opposition. Two of the five were chase down blocks from behind. Prince is a great player who has a chance of becoming elite in the near future. Keep working Prince!!     Shannan is a tough big man who plays with a physical mentality. There were a number of times, I watched him score in the paint despite being fouled by opposing players. Whenever Shannan had smaller defenders in the paint, he dominated them. He didn't miss to many shots when this occurred. He also showed off a nice shooting touch from the perimeter. During Saturday's game he nailed mid-range shots and converted three-point play opportunities from the free-throw line. Shannan was great on the boards throughout the game. He used his physicality to dominate on both ends of the floor; ultimately finishing the game with a double-double in points and rebounds. Defensively, Shannan aggressively blocked shots and defended the paint area. Some of those blocks were sent out-of bounds when opposing guards attacked the basket. This young man is a really strong player already! Just imagine how he plays when he grows and matures? He could be dangerous. Keep working Shannan!!     I truly enjoyed watching Chris play over the weekend. He's a fiery player who had no fear on the basketball court. Chris showed off elite ball handling skills during the game. He easily blew by defenders and scored at the basket with either lay-ups or floaters. Many of his drives to the rim, ended with scores over taller defenders. Some he made despite being fouled, which lead to three-point conversions from the free-throw line. Like I said, this little guy was fearless! It didn't matter who guarded him or defended the paint; Chris was going at them with bad intentions. If he needed to knock down threes, Chris did so with no hesitation. I watched him nail multiple threes from beyond the arc in Saturday's game. Defensively, he gave the same energy as he did on offense. Chris applied great on-ball pressure to opposing guards. He forced numerous turnovers, which lead to positive outcomes for [program_tooltip program_id='2076166' first='Grand' last='Park Premier'] 2030 White. Chris has a very successful future ahead of him. Keep it up Chris!!     This guy was a defensive stopper! Zebulun was the best defender in the 13U class in my opinion. I watched him lock down his opponents and force turnovers with numerous mistakes. On some occasions, he pressured the opposing guard so bad, his opponent had a hard time bringing the ball up-court. Zebulun also excelled at timing passing lanes. During the game he generated three steals by darting into passing lanes with great timing. Many of those steals lead to scores in transition for himself or teammates. Don't be fooled by him only playing defense. Zebulun can score too! He attacks the basket and scores at the rim. Drawing fouls and getting to the free-throw line was a major strength of his game. If getting to the basket didn't work, he had a decent mid-range game to fall back on. I really appreciated how Zebulun plays the game of basketball. He attacks on offense and defends on defense, there's no common ground. When you play against this kid, be ready to fight for everything on both sides of the ball. Keep locking them down Zebulun!!     Blake is an elite scorer who happens to play point guard. He's the primary ball handler for the Team Blaze squad. Blake's an excellent passer who lead his team in assists. Many of his passes seemed to always be right on the money whenever he had a teammate open. As I said, this little guy can score! Blake beats opponents off the dribble and gets to the rim for easy lay-ups. I was really impressed by his shooting ability. In the game I watched yesterday, Blake nailed six threes. Some of those shots were contested by the defense and it still didn't matter. Blake was in the zone! He's shown the ability to catch fire and carry his team despite being the primary facilitator of the basketball. On defense, this little guy was fiesty! He defended the opposition with great man to man pressure. Blake was excellent at giving players no space to be effective. In my opinion, he'll become a great point guard as he continues to grow and mature. Keep shooting Blake!!     This is my second write up for Reggie. He continues to be a great scorer of the basketball. After watching him play over the weekend, I believe Reggie has the capability of becoming an elite scorer. He's great at getting to the basket and drawing contact from opposing defenders. Many of those fouls lead to him going to the line and completing three-point plays. This young man keeps the pressure on defenses by staying in "attack mode" throughout the game. Reggie's a great shooter from anywhere on the floor. In yesterday's game, he nailed three shots from beyond the arc despite being closely guarded by defenders. When the defense focused on defending him at the three point line, he attacked them from mid-range. I witnessed a different facet of his game over the weekend. When I saw Reggie play the first time, passing wasn't a strong part of his game. On Saturday I was able to see more of a facilitator. He threw a number of assists that lead to easy scores for his teammates. If he continues to improve on his passing skills, Reggie could become a great all-around player. Keep working Reggie!!     I loved watching Maddux play basketball! This young man is a prototypical pass first point guard. He always looked to get his teammates involved on the offensive end of the floor. Maddux plays with an unselfish attitude on the court. I never saw him force a shot or play out of control during yesterday's game. On the contrary, he was always under control when he ran the Era Elite 2030 offense with flawless precision. Maddux is a great ball handler who showed the ability to get where ever he needed on the floor. He lead his team with eight assists. Some were flashy enough to get reactions from people in the crowd. Many of his dimes seemed to always find the open man for easy scores. Did I mention how great of a shooter Maddux is? Well, he was excellent at knocking down threes during yesterday's game. Especially when the opposing team was foolish enough to leave him open. What I truly appreciated about watching Maddux, was the leadership he displayed throughout the game. He was always communicating with his teammates. Whether it was calling out offensive plays or making sure everyone was in the correct defensive sets; Maddux was the floor general of the team. As he continues to grow and mature, I believe this young man has what it takes to be a great point guard of the future. Lead the way Maddux!!     Emerson showed the ability to play inside and outside the paint during yesterday's game. He was able to dominate smaller defenders in the post with a variety of good moves around the basket. On numerous occasions, Emerson stepped outside the paint and knocked down perimeter shots. I must admit, I didn't see that aspect of his game. He was so dominate in the paint, I believed he was most effective there. Well, I guess I was wrong big-time! Emerson really impressed me with his ferociousness on the glass. He was great at grabbing rebounds on both ends of he court. I can strongly say he finished the game with a double-double. Emerson scored many of his baskets on sheer effort. He fought for offensive rebounds and scored on multiple put-backs around the basket. Another strength was the great screens he set to free up teammates. Emerson's screens allowed his teammates to be efficient on offense. He's a good interior post defender who had no issues boxing out his opponent and fighting for rebounds. Emerson is very knowledgeable in regards to defending the painted area. He showed the ability of defending opposing post players without generating many fouls. He's an excellent young player who'll be hard to guard in the coming years. Keep it up Emerson!!

The play of these young men stood out as the best of the 2030 class. All players on this list were truly worthy of being on the All Tournament 1st Team.