Shane's Top Players from Saturday - Midwest Live

This past weekend, I was in Sandusky, Ohio, for Midwest Live. The best high school basketball teams in Ohio and surrounding states are all in one gym and competing for the last weekend of June. This article will be about my top players on Saturday.    Horton was a dominant player last year, and this seems to be even more extreme going into his senior year. You give him the ball in the post, and he is going to score it. He will either get a bucket, fouled, or both. He posts up so strongly and clears out space for himself. He does a lot of his work before he even gets the ball. You could see him posting people up and moving them underneath the rim. This basically makes it a simple layup when he gets the ball. He is such a big and physical player. His footwork and patience are always great. He also has a nice shot, so you cannot just hack him. He knocks down free throws consistently, and when he starts shooting it more, I truly don't know how you can stop him.     Joiner is a special player. He has such a unique build and look to his game. He has a really long wingspan and huge hands. He moves differently than most – he has a bounce in his step, explosive speed, and can leap out of the gym. He covers so much area of the court on both ends. The biggest takeaway for me was Joiner's defensive ability and presence. He can instantly take anyone out of the game if he wants. He has great anticipation and shows this with a couple of blocks in the half-court and fastbreak. He had multiple blocks and even one as the one defender back on a fastbreak against three opponents. Then, offensively, this kid can score whenever he wants to. He has a high-level ability to score it on multiple different levels. The ball has a perfect rotation when he shoots it. Goes in often. Joiner has such a high ceiling.     Washington is a household name in Ohio, and sometimes those players become satisfied and stop working as hard or caring as much. This is not the case with Washington. One of the best parts of his game is his motor. He dives on the ground, plays almost the entire game, seems to never get tired, and is a great encourager to teammates. His game continues to become more well-rounded. His passing and court vision are impressive, along with how willing a passer he is. He sees the floor well and shows off his high IQ for the game. He scored a couple of tough buckets, which you can expect from Washington. He will not be stopped from scoring. His defense was a takeaway as well. He took on the challenge of guarding one of the state's best scorers in the game I watched and shut him down. You could tell there was a focus and intensity on that end. He has the wingspan and athleticism to do this to anyone he plays against and has proven it.     Bates is going to have a huge senior year. He is already on a great path with how he has played in AAU and now in June. This continued at Midwest Live, one of the biggest stages of the year for high school hoops. In the game I watched, he was the biggest factor on both ends of the floor. He was the focal point on offense, and he knows that. He has the ultimate green light and confidence to score the ball at a high level. He has unlimited range and can shoot the heck out of the ball. He is really good at attacking slower defenders off the dribble and attacking pressure. When he gets in the lane, he has great touch but also can find teammates when someone helps too much. Then defensively, he guards the other team's point guard and makes their job of bringing the ball up extremely difficult. He has a great ability to pickpocket ball handlers and did this multiple times in the game I watched.     Reed-Davis is a young player I am a huge fan of. He is just so competitive on the floor and is not scared of anyone. He is not the biggest player on the court, but he plays as if he is. He finishes strong and towards the rim every time he goes up. He was in a great offensive rhythm in the game I watched Bradley play. This started in transition as he got easy buckets. He was knocking down shots off the dribble well. I expect him to be a bigger scorer this upcoming season, and he is ready for it. He is shooting it with confidence and is looking for scoring opportunities. I like what Reed-Davis showed, and he seems poised for a big year.

This past weekend, I was in Sandusky, Ohio, for Midwest Live. The best high school basketball teams in Ohio and surrounding states are all in one gym and competing for the last weekend of June. This article will be about my top players on Saturday.