PH Michigan State Tournament: Friday Night Notebook

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The final spring stop of the Preo Hoops Circuit commenced Friday night with the bracketed Michigan Stare Tournament. Limited to teams from the Mitten. There were plenty of outstanding performances. Following are handful of players and story lines that caught my eye.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">West Michigan Premier looks locked and loaded for a “repeat”</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The name has changed and the team has morphed into a new rotation. But the bones of the West Michigan Premier program is essentially the defending champion from last year's event held in Grand Rapids. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In an opening win over Midwest Stampede, WMP received contributions from up and down their talented and deep roster. The scoring touch came from Holland Christian guard [player_tooltip player_id='2610369' first='Titus' last='Spencer'] Doesn't feature the size you would expect from the always tall Maroon program. However the guard features quick twitch athleticism that makes him an effective penetrator. This burst also makes him a surprisingly good finisher at the rim for his size. Developing into the rare 5-11 three level scorer.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While Spencer was filling it up below the rim. [player_tooltip player_id='2112227' first='Amari' last='Lewis'] (Portage Northern) and [player_tooltip player_id='2477378' first='Carter' last='Grubb'] (Traverse City West) were handling affairs above the rim. Lewis has a highlight reel stop and go drive that he finished off with an emphatic dunk in traffic. The Kalamazoo area wing also had a nice tip dunk. Grubb (6-6) continued to show that his Northern Michigan bounce travels well in any region. Lewis finished with 11, while Grubb put up 10. <br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[program_tooltip program_id='2075759' first='Oakland' last='Elite'] will be tough to beat in the 16U Bracket</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='2075759' first='Oakland' last='Elite']'s opening contest was bit of a mismatch. With the final result decided early. This squad showed what they are really about. It would be easy for team to try and “eat” and seek out highlights with sloppy play. This is AAU basketball, I see it often.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='2075759' first='Oakland' last='Elite'] buckled down, continued to run their sets, and seek out improvement. The inside out duo of [player_tooltip player_id='2140466' first='Ace' last='Walters'] (Clarkston) and [player_tooltip player_id='2873445' first='Cannon' last='Flynn'] (Rochester Adams) play well in pick and roll situations. Flynn can play out on the perimeter and on block with an equally high skillset. Walters who appears to be playing through a facial injury. Controls tempo well and sets up teammates. Flynn finished with a team high 17 points. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Old Faces in New Places </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>West Michigan squad Higland Premier was impressive in their opening victory. Playing in the Detroit area, they added Ferndale's [player_tooltip player_id='2639284' first='Kari' last='Ouwinga'] for the weekend. The 6-5 versatile forward fit in well. He played within the offense and didn't force the issue offensively. This allowed 6-8 [player_tooltip player_id='2442131' first='Braydon' last='Nemmers'] (Caledonia) to play with a little more space at the rim. [player_tooltip player_id='2746378' first='Levi' last='Vanderveen'] (Hudsonville) also played above the rim at 6-4. I will be intrigued to see how this trio plays together throughout the weekend. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St Clair's [player_tooltip player_id='1588191' first='Braylon' last='Frantz'] (pictured) is a recent addition to the Baller's Elite program. He took over late in a clutch victory to close out Friday evening. In the final three critical possession. Frantz scored on penetration, hit a teammate with a clever lob pass, then wrapped things up with a drop off assist. The definition of a power guard. Frantz plays off of two feet with plenty of bounce. In the first half showed off the bounce in an unusual way. Missed a dunk, landed, then rose quickly to get his own rebound. Not sure I have ever seen that— but he wasn't done yet. After missing again was able to get a third rebound. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I've written about quick “second jumps”. Pretty sure I've never discussed someone's “third jump”. Ultimately didn't score on that possession. But a 6-1 guard essentially going Moses Malone on the glass (look it up kids) is worth a mention. Frantz finished with 22 points and a handful of assists. In only his second tournament with Ballers Elite he appears to be acclimating quite nicely.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->