Havoc in the Heartland: Rising Stars 12U

These players were great in their own right! They may not have made the All Tournament team, but they are definitely rising stars.    Colton is a hard-nosed player who attacked the glass, defended and scored in the paint. Despite being the youngest player on the floor, he always showed toughness and determination. Colton was great at grabbing offensive rebounds and scoring around the basket. He also ran the floor and scored in transition whenever the Legacy Ice ran fast-breaks. Colton showed an ability to beat his opponents off the dribble whenever he was on the wing of the court. Either he scored or dished out passes to his teammates. On defense, Colton played with physicality by bodying up his opponents and making scoring difficult for them. He also had a couple of blocks in the game. Colton is the perfect team player. He works hard and does all the dirty work for the Legacy Ice 12U squad. Keep working Colton!!     This young man is a shooter! Dylan wears the number thirty because of his favorite player. Well, the way he shot, kinda made you think of that certain player who resides in San Francisco. During the game, I watched him knock down four long distance threes. Dylan knew his role as the team shooter. He's very knowledgeable of using screens and moving around within the Legacy Ice offense. Dylan always found ways to free himself for good looks at the basket. He also showed the ability to score off the dribble with runners down the lane. Defensively, he gave maximum effort by staying attached to his opponent. His pressure on the ball, made handling difficult for the opposition. With his shooting ability, Dylan will always have a spot on a team. Shooting is a valuable skill and this young guy has it! Keep shooting Dylan!!     Chase was the kind of player who did everything on the basketball court. He scored, assisted, rebounded and defended. When he stepped on the floor Chase immediately made an impact. On offense, he knocked down numerous shots on the perimeter. He often found teammates in scoring positions with his passes. Chase was great at getting around his defender and scoring. This young guy played the game with heart and determination. Whenever he needed to make a positive play, he did so in the form of scoring timely baskets or grabbing important rebounds. During fast-breaks, Chase finished with strong lay-ups at the rim. The Legacy Ice had numerous opportunities to score on the break. Chase took advantage of the situation. On defense, he fought for rebounds, took charges, forced turnovers and blocked a couple of shots. Keep it up Chase!!     Takeo is a good all-around player. This young man showed the ability to make plays on the basketball court. Whether it was scoring, rebounding, passing or defending, Takeo was always around the basketball. He was part of a great defensive team who generated a lot of turnovers. Takeo was one of the main contributors to stealing the basketball. He finished the game with four of them. Rebounding was also a strong part of his game at the guard position. He had no problem attacking the glass on both ends of the court. Takeo excelled at beating opposing  players to the basket for tough scores. Whenever the All Ohio Red team ran the floor, they were able to score transition points. Takeo scored multiple times under these circumstances. He's a hardworking player who gives maximum effort on both offense and defense. Keep it up Takeo!!      The big man was the most dominant player on the court. Zach was unstoppable in the paint! He dominated smaller players with a variety of post moves. I was pleasantly surprised by Zach's outstanding footwork. Whenever his teammates gave him the ball, he scored by using pump-fakes or drop-steps in the paint. Zach is also a great rebounder. A couple of his scores came from grabbing offensive boards and immediately scoring on put-backs. He controlled the glass on both ends of the court. I am pretty sure he finished the game with a near double -double. (10 points, 9 rebounds) Defensively, Zach protected the paint by contesting every opposing shot coming into the lane. Zach has a bright future in the game of basketball. Keep working Zach!!     Xavier is a hardworking player who gave his all on the basketball court. He plays hard on both sides of the floor. Offensively, he shoots the ball well from mid or long range. In the game against All Ohio Red 12U, Xavier knocked down a couple of threes and found ways to attack the basket. He showed great effort by attacking the boards on offense and defense. Many of his scores came from cleaning up his teammates' misses near the rim. Xavier had no problems fighting for rebounds despite being smaller than his opponents. On defense, Xavier was great at applying on-ball pressure to opposing players. His tenacity forced numerous turnovers from the opposition. He's a talented player who has a bright future. Keep it up Xavier!!

These players were great in their own right! They may not have made the All Tournament team, but they are definitely rising stars.