Ohio State Tournament: Mike’s Saturday 14/15 U Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Ohio State Tournament continued at Fieldhouse USA with some intense action on Saturday. In this article I'll break down the standout 14/15 U performers I caught.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2830423"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-683b386cc893d"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Filia had 21 first half points in a competitive game that Nova Village 15 U eventually ran away with the win in the second half. Filia is a crafty guard who does a nice job playing into contact which gets him to the foul line. His craftiness also is shown with his finishing ability, able to play through contact with either hand at the rim. One of the top guards in central Ohio, Filia will debut very high in our 2028 rankings update coming after July basketball wraps up. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2831065"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-683b386cc89b6"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">A perfect fit on the Nova Village 15 U squad, Jones plays tough defense, runs the floor and finishes open shots at the rim and from beyond the arc. Letting his star guards make plays off the dribble and either cutting or spotting up to make himself available and hitting the easy look has been the name of Jones' game when I've seen him and he impacts the game at a very high level on both ends of the court. One of the better wing guards in central Ohio's 2028 class.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2874012"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-683b386cc8a02"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Lee caught my eye initially with his size and rebounding ability, having the height and soft hands to simply reach over defenders and secure rebounds. Lee also was efficient as a scorer on the block and even extended his range out to the 3-point line in the second half of the game I caught. Fun new name to discover this weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='2873857' first='Evan' last='McNeal']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2029","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'3u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"77247","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Gahanna","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"[program_tooltip program_id='2075761' first='Ohio' last='Buckets']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-683bbf4d417f5"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">McNeal had the highlight of the day for [program_tooltip program_id='2075761' first='Ohio' last='Buckets'] 14 U with a 3/4 court shot to end the first half! A strong wing forward who wanted to get to the basket, McNeal had a couple impressive coast to coast drives to the basket and also looked to post up smaller defenders when he had a mismatch. With his athletic tools at his size with enough ball handling coordination makes him a very tough cover at the 14 U level. I was very impressed with McNeal's ability to close the game out with a win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Jordan Fortino","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2029","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'1u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"77248","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Saint Ignatius","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"[program_tooltip program_id='2075761' first='Ohio' last='Buckets']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-683bbf4d418a1"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">A very impressive guard talent, Fortino caught my eye due to his quickness with the ball and confidence as a ball handler and scorer. Able to get by the first defender either from a standstill, attacking a closeout or beating the press, Fortino was able to create advantages for his team. What I was most impressed by was how much ground he covered going after loose balls and defensively guarding multiple areas of the court. Based on what I saw on Saturday I would imagine Fortino is one of the top rising freshman in northeast Ohio as we start to get familiar with 2029 prospects in Ohio.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->