Queen City Clash- Rise of the Big Men 14U

These young men showed their dominance in the paint over he weekend. The players in this article will have successful high school careers.    Jordan showed his prowess as a scorer throughout this weekend's games. He used his size and strength to dominate smaller defenders in the paint. The big man showcased great footwork on the basketball court. He grabbed rebounds at a high level on both ends of the floor. Jordan used his physicality to attack the glass and score on offensive put-backs around the basket. Whenever his teammates needed open shots, he excelled at setting solid screens to free them up. Defensively, Jordan was great at protecting the paint and blocking shots. He made driving into the paint difficult for opposing guards. He has a promising future in the game of basketball. Keep working Jordan!!     This is my second write up for Waylon. He continues to be an excellent player in the post. Waylon used his size and strength to dominate smaller players in the paint. He capitalized on using a variety of pumps and fakes. This allowed him to get clean looks near the rim. Waylon has added some new dimensions to his game. He now has a pick and pop game! During the game, Kentucky Future Elite ran a couple of pick and roll actions between Waylon and the teams's point guard. During one of the plays, Waylon was able to set a screen, roll to the basket and score. The next play set him up for a mid-range jumper, which he calmly knocked down. He's always been a great rebounder and that hasn't changed. Waylon attacked the glass on both ends of the court. On defense, he used his size to protect the paint. Scoring was not an easy task for the opposition. Whenever they attacked the basket, Waylon was there to change their shots. He will easily transition into high school basketball next season. Keep it up Waylon!!     Mekhi is a tough player who made things happen against his opponent. He dominated his one-on-one match-ups and made winning plays in the post. Mekhi was the best passing big man in the tournament. He made a number of passes that led to easy baskets for his teammates. One of those passes was accurately made to a player cutting down the lane. He also hit a few teammates outside the three-point line when he was double teamed. I would call Mekhi a "clean up man." He scored a large amount of his team's misses, including a game winner at the buzzer. His buzzer beater put the [program_tooltip program_id='2320052' first='All' last='Ohio Red'] squad in the 14U championship game. On defense, Mekhi used great footwork and timing to block shots. He was great at protecting the paint or defending on the perimeter. Mekhi is a skilled big man who plays hard. Who wouldn't want a player of his caliber? Keep grinding Mekhi!!     Donta was one of the most skilled big men I watched over the weekend. He easily scored in the paint over smaller opponents. Donta was able to dominate the glass on both ends of the floor. I'm confident he finished the game with a double-double. A dimension I didn't know he had was the ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the rim. Donta made this happen on a number of occasions. I expected him to only score in the paint. Well, I guess he proved me wrong because this young man did more unexpected things. Donta can make shots on the perimeter. I watched him nail multiple baskets by creating space off the dribble. He also scored transition points whenever the team go out and ran during fast-breaks. Defensively, Donta was the perfect rim protector. He used his length to block shots and turn away opponents at the basket. Keep it up Donta!!     After watching Von play for the second time, I had to ask, "Where was this a couple of weeks ago!" We laughed and he did the I don't know gesture. He's a physical hard-nosed player who fights opponents on every possession. Whether it was grabbing rebounds, fighting for loose balls or establishing inside position, Von was always around the basketball. He scored a lot of tough baskets in the paint. Many of those scores came off fighting for rebounds.This led to offensive put-back scores around the rim. Von was great at scoring transition baskets whenever the team had opportunities to run the court. Von excelled at running the pick and roll. Whenever the [program_tooltip program_id='2078646' first='Next' last='Level'] team ran this play, Von effectively attacked the basket or nailed jump-shots. On defense, he gave maximum effort. He was a nuisance in the paint. The opposing team had a hard time scoring while Von patrolled the lane.. Keep working Von!!

These young men showed their dominance in the paint over he weekend. The players in this article will have successful high school careers.