Grit Finals: Teddy’s Saturday Notebook

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Back in action today covering some of the regions premier 16u teams at the Prep Hoops Grit Region Finals. The best part about this was covering prospects and teams from six different states. Here's some of my top takeaways.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lockdown Guards lead Charge</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I began the weekend with Lockdown 16u Daniel's facing FP Select. It was a gritty game to start with a ton of defense. Especially from Lockdown's backcourt. [player_tooltip player_id='2532350' first='RJ' last='Lewis'] hardly ever got beat defending on the ball. [player_tooltip player_id='2829863' first='Dominic' last='Walker'] also showed great hands and forced lots of turnovers. But the most effective Lockdown guard this morning was Sawyer Asgedom. Like Lewis and Walker, Sawyer was a dawg defensively and forced numerous turnovers. But his offensive abilities were just as impressive. Knocked down four triples, including three straight in the 2nd half to give lockdown a late lead in the contest. A lead they wouldn't give up as they held on to win 56-51.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>SEMO Select Wins on Defense</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was a full-team effort for SEMO in their morning matchup vs BNB. Their 2-3 zone made it extremely difficult for them to get anything going. Especially on the inter. Much of that was from big man Andrew Robbins. Big-bodied forward was a dominant presence on the glass. Took advantage of his size to box out well and force bad misses. That translated to a ton of easy points offensively. Ended with 14 points in a dominant 76-42 win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Power 5 Surges</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>KL's Power 5 squad dominated their games Saturday vs All-in and Big 3. They forced countless turnovers on the defensive end which led to so many easy buckets in transition. [player_tooltip player_id='2140977' first='Reece' last='Jordan Jr'], [player_tooltip player_id='2288469' first='Jalen' last='Brown'], [player_tooltip player_id='2141478' first='Isaiah' last='Fox'], and D'anthony Brown were some of the names who were most effective in the first game vs All-in. In fact, everyone scored in the first 10 minutes of their opening game. It was nothing new in the 2nd game. Making Big 3 pay big time in the open floor. Every player getting involved one way or another. I'll have to watch them more Sunday to get better player evaluations. But this group is exciting!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>M14-1 comes back to win thriller vs FP Black</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>FP Black vs M141 was probably the 16u game I was most looking forward to. [program_tooltip program_id='2078374' first='Full' last='Package'] got off to a sensational start. The lengthy forward duo of [player_tooltip player_id='2834476' first='Daniel' last='Spychala'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2834471' first='Landon' last='Lethunya'] allowed nothing to get in their way inside. But the most impactful guy on the floor was [player_tooltip player_id='2125684' first='Tej' last='Johnson']. He changed the game with his pace and ability to create shots anywhere.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But M14 didn't go away. [player_tooltip player_id='2392177' first='Chase' last='Kunzer'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2409219' first='Vince' last='Earl'] forced several turnovers defensively and turned it into easy points in transition. Earl's a big bodied guard who scored tough buckets inside during this run. While Kunzer displayed excellent vision finding open guys on the floor and playing with pace. Earl propelled M14 with 20 points in a thrilling 69-67 comeback win and clutched up with some key plays in the closing minutes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Northern Kentucky Legends win with Pace, Aggression</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>NK Legends took care of business in their second tournament game on Saturday. Their leader, [player_tooltip player_id='2842421' first='Roman' last='Combs'] was sensational in so many ways. But I was also impressed with the aggressive play and pace from lots of his teammates. [player_tooltip player_id='2326411' first='Amontae' last='Lowe'] is one of those guys who's a lengthy wing guard that's effective on the glass and pushed the tempo. Mark McCutchen Jr is a big, physical two-way prospect that made a variety of plays on the interior's.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->