National Open Championship: All Tournament Team Stand-outs 15U

The players from the class of 2028 showed up and showed out over the weekend. Their games showcased why they stood out above the rest.    David has improved as an overall player since I watched him play last summer. He's grown four inches and improved his scoring ability. David has always shown the ability to beat opponents with his ball handling. He's a great one-on-one player who showed a knack for winning his match-ups. There was a moment in the game where David yelled out to a teammate “give me the ball!” Once he received the pass, David knocked down a three-pointer with a step-back move. That's an example of how confident he is with his skill set. He attacks the basket, scores through contact and knocks down jump-shots. David has the ability to make shots from all levels of the court. Whenever he had the opportunity to score, he took advantage of the situation. Whether it was scoring in the paint or making perimeter shots, the Davis Brothers team had no answers for him. Defensively, he continues to be great at using his length to be disruptive against opposing offenses. He forced multiple turnovers and blocked a shot. David is a great player who I expect to have a breakout season in high school. He finished the game with (17 points, 3 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block)     Zahden continues to be an elite level point guard who showed the capability of being a scorer and facilitator. In the game against NLG 15U, he began the game by getting his teammates involved offensively. He showed a knack for setting up players with accurate passes. The majority of his assists led to easy scores around the basket. Zahden is a shifty guard who easily beats opponents off the dribble. Once he gets into the paint, either he scores or draws in defenders. This opens up easy scores for other [program_tooltip program_id='2471005' first='Legacy' last='Ice Elite'] players. In the second half of the game, Zahden took over the scoring load by attacking the basket and knocking down perimeter shots. He finished the game with (20 points). Defensively, he applied great on-ball pressure to NLG 15U guards. The pressure allowed him to generate turnovers and make ball handling a difficult task for the opposition. Zahden is a great floor leader. Going into his Sophomore season, I expect to see stellar play at the lead guard position.     Kaysen is an aggressive player who has a scorer's mentality. Whether it's attacking defenders, getting to the basket or knocking down three-pointers, Kaysen is un-guard-able in most situations. I enjoy watching this young man play basketball. He gives maximum effort on both ends of the court. In the game against Pack 15U, there was a sequence in the game where he scored on three straight possessions. Kaysen nailed two threes and attacked the basket. He's the type of player who scores in bunches if he catches fire. On defense, he stays attached to his opponent by applying pressure and being physical. Sometimes Kaysen gets down on himself if things aren't going right. Once he breaks this mentality and plays through it, the sky's the limit for this young hooper. I have expectations of Kaysen thriving during the high school basketball season.     In my opinion, Khaliq was the best overall player at the National Open Championship. He's an excellent floor leader who scores and facilitates. Khaliq was the initiator of the Pack Basketball offense. He led the team in assists with eight. Most of his passes were on the money. Whenever he broke defenders off the dribble, he attacked the paint and made plays. Khaliq was great at drawing in opposing players and dishing assists to teammates around the basket. If he needed to score, he did so with no hesitation. Whether it was driving to the basket, knocking down three-pointers or nailing mid-range pull-ups, Khaliq was tough to guard. I appreciated his basketball mentality and IQ. Defensively, he was great at jumping lanes and forcing turnovers. He has a smoothness to his game that allowed him to play poised and under control. Khaliq is an elite player who is destined for greatness.      I enjoyed watching this young man play over the weekend. Tyler is an athletic wing who attacks the basket, knocks down threes and defends. His athleticism was totally unexpected! During warm-ups he and teammates were dunking. Tyler drove into the lane and completed a wind-mill dunk with ease. His leaping ability showed in the games he played. He easily dribbled past his defenders, knocked down mid-range shots and extended his range beyond the three-point line. Tyler showed a knack for scoring tough baskets through contact. I can't count the amount of three-point play conversions he had throughout the tournament. On defense, he excels at jumping passing lanes and applying great on-ball pressure to the opposition. Tyler finished the game against Multiplier 15U with a game winning lay-up at the buzzer. He's a great all around player who showed the ability to be clutch in the closing moments of a game.      Bryce plays the game with energy and intensity. Whenever he made a play, Bryce let it be known. There was a sequence in the game where he forced a turnover, ran down court, caught a pass and finished with a thunderous dunk in transition. He let out a loud scream and fired up teammates. The energy from that slam seemed to propel his teammates, which led to a comfortable win versus Powerhouse MN 15U. Byrce is an excellent rebounder who dominated the glass on both ends of the court. He scores in the paint by posting up smaller defenders or grabbing offensive boards for put-backs around the basket. He also showed the ability to knock down three-pointers and short perimeter shots. I appreciated the amount of contagious energy Bryce played with. On defense, he forced steals and blocked multiple shots. Bryce is a special player with a bright future ahead of him.     Dezaya is one of those players who could be classified as “un-guard-able.” He was aggressive on both ends of the court throughout the game. There was a sequence in the game where Dezaya scored four straight baskets when he attacked the paint. In isolated situations on the wing, he easily beat his opponent to the rim. On numerous occasions, he scored through contact. This led to three-point play opportunities from the foul-line. Dezaya was one of the best rebounding guards I saw in the tournament. He attacked the glass on both offense and defense in spite of being smaller than opposing players. Defensively, this young man was a menace towards the opposition. Dezaya was great at applying tough on-ball pressure and causing turnovers. He also excelled at playing the passing lanes. Dezaya finished the game with three steals. He is a great two-way player who has the capability of becoming elite as his game progresses.     Drew is a play-maker! During the match-up against [program_tooltip program_id='2076924' first='EG10' last=''] 15U, he was the most un-guard-able player on the floor. He's a tough shot-maker who showed a knack of scoring through contact. He had multiple three-point play opportunities throughout the game. Drew kept the pressure on [program_tooltip program_id='2076924' first='EG10' last=''] 15U's defense by staying in constant “ attack mode.” Drew showed great ball handling skills by beating defenders off the dribble and making plays. Most of his scores came on floaters down the lane or straight line drives to the basket. Drew showed a great shooting touch from long range. He knocked down four threes despite being closely guarded on many occasisons. Drew showed great leadership and court awareness. He was the main catalyst in the teams surprising win over [program_tooltip program_id='2076924' first='EG10' last=''] 15U. No one saw it coming but Drew and his Davis Brothers 2029 teammates. Drew is an awesome player who I enjoyed watching! His transition into high school basketball will be easy.

The players from the class of 2028 showed up and showed out over the weekend. Their games showcased why they stood out above the rest.