Oklahoma State Tournament: Sunday's Game Changers

Here is a list of guys over the weekend who changed the momentum of certain games. Whether it was by a single play, their grit and energy, or by absolute total domination from beginning to end. These guys made a huge difference because the team around them became much better with them being in the game. All it takes sometimes to get a win is for 1 guy to make 1 play to create the right spark for the whole team.    MVP of the Tournament in the 16U division. Certified Baller. Hard to play him in man coverage, because he'll blow by you eventually. Hard to double-team him because he doesn't hold on to the ball for long and keeps the offensive flow moving. Hard to zone him because he will shoot the lights out from beyond the arc or the mid-range, and he rolls with a squad (OK Runners 16U OKSTATE champs), so they will filet you as well. Hard to target him on defense because he has quickness, hands, speed, and just enough jumping ability to challenge you at the rim. Your best bet against Jeremiah is not to bet against Jeremiah.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/20250601_1606291-rotated.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/20250601_1606291-rotated.jpg?w=768" alt="" class="wp-image-2875806" /></a></figure>     This kid is amazing! Played with grit and energy the whole tournament. Hunter couldn't buy a bucket the whole tournament until the championship game, where he literally couldn't miss a shot. The amazing part is, throughout the time when he couldn't make a bucket, his defense was constant. His hands were always in the passing lanes, and he was anticipating every opponent's moves in hopes of making a deflection. He was getting huge rebounds over bigs and under bigs. He kept at it the whole time. He gave good overall on-ball pressure and made things hard for any opponent in the vicinity. When it all came together for him in the championship game against [program_tooltip program_id='2385445' first='Legacy' last='Youth Basketball'], his team(OK Runners) was unstoppable.     Had a play in the championship game that, to me, clinched the game. Josiah through a behind-the-back bounce pass to a teammate in transition for a lay-up, and once he did that, the crowd knew that the game was over. It halted any comeback that the [program_tooltip program_id='2385445' first='Legacy' last='Youth Basketball'] Team may have tried to make. This was hands down the most impressive pass of the tournament and the only behind-the-back bounce pass the whole weekend, to my knowledge.     Elite athletic guard who can take over games. Rebounds well at guard, can control pace at point pretty well, and directs traffic. Can go bucket for bucket with anyone. Competes on the defensive end and challenges bigs at the rim at point. Andrew had an impressive one-handed dunk in transition on Sunday, where he got up well above the rim with ease on the way to a dominant victory over Kinetic 2027, who also had an impressive Day 1 in the tournament. Andrew was the only guard in the tournament that I saw who was dunking like the bigs were. In some cases, more than the bigs were.     Jerry has the 3 E's. Energy, Effort, and Encouragement. On Day 1, not sure what his (+- ) was on the night, but it had to be at least +10. When he got into the game against the Servants Black 16U squad, his team (Kinetic 2027) was pretty stagnant, and I believe they were down for the majority of this game. He came in and helped spark a huge comeback that eventually went into overtime, where it took the final play of the game for a win. He did a great job of encouraging his teammates and motivating them. He gave max effort on defense and loose balls. The energy he played with was contagious, and it made all the difference. He only played a few minutes in the game, but when he did, things got back on track for Kinetic.     Reese is the guy on the team who fills in all the gaps. Rebounding, cuts to the basket, second chance points, scoring, playing big, and most importantly, has a knack for timely plays throughout a game. He's the guy who kills you because you never see him coming. Even though you know that he is there. Every team needs this kind of guy.     In limited minutes, does a great job of filling in the gaps for his team (Team Oklahoma). Tayten is a forward who does a little bit of everything. His biggest strength to me is his ability to identify what is going on from the opponent's side on defense. He can read and react pretty well to what other teams try and do against them.     Ignore the height, he plays like a forward. Plays way bigger than his size. Heston can jump really well, and he battles for boards with bigs. He hustles on every play and does all the little things, like being a constant pest when someone on the other team tries to secure a rebound. Heston gets limited minutes with Team Oklahoma, but this kid has the right makeup and style of play for winning. His style of play won't ever show up on a stat sheet because what he does in a game can manipulate momentum shifts for his team. Nobody tracks momentum shifts, but they should, because it is what causes huge runs. Huge runs lead to winning.

Here is a list of guys over the weekend who changed the momentum of certain games. Whether it was by a single play, their grit and energy, or by absolute total domination from beginning to end. These guys made a huge difference because the team around them became much better with them being in the game. All it takes sometimes to get a win is for 1 guy to make 1 play to create the right spark for the whole team.