OhioBasketball Grassroots Championship: Indiana/Ohio Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I had an amazing opportunity to be invited down to Louisville, Kentucky this past weekend to officiate the OhioBasketball.com Grassroots Championship. Between being on the court, watching from the sidelines, and seeing clips afterwards, here are 5 players from Indiana/Ohio who stood out to me.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1561478"],"_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-68829425a0652"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Lance made a pretty big impression night one with his physical play. Despite only being 6'1, he was able to hang on the inside, due to his strength. This enabled him to finish through contact in the paint, (with either hand), and also compete on the glass. He can also step out and hit perimeter jumpers. Smith attempted to take a charge in transition with seconds remaining and was called for a block. I don't think I've ever seen a high-schooler handle a big call not going his way with more maturity. His overall decision making, effort, and character made him an enjoyable player to watch. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2530884"],"_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-6882a966ad23e"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Diallo was a key contributor for his All-Ohio Select team. With a bigger frame, I found him having more natural guard skills, passing and dribbling. He sees the floor pretty well and made some nice skip passes over the defense. Delaney's biggest asset has to be his shooting ability, hitting multiple 3s in the game I saw.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2891920"],"_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-6882a966ad29e"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">When you see a guard wearing the jersey #50, the opposition should know they're going to be in for a dog fight. That's exactly what Williams turns a basketball game into. He is consistently up on defense creating havoc with his speed, physicality, and ball pressure. On the offensive end, Xavier sets the table for his teammates and usually makes the right decision with the ball. To be honest, I was most impressed with his communication amongst his teammates, on and off the court, throughout the game. </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='2914823' first='Marc' last='Smith']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'0u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"77246","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Reading","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"[program_tooltip program_id='2078657' first='Shining' last='Star']","_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-6882a966ad341"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Marc is a dynamic athlete on both ends of the court. He has decent foot speed to be able to defend and stay in front of quick guards on the perimeter. Off-ball, he does a great job of being active and hunts deflections/steals. Offensively, Smith does most of his damage in transition. He is quick off the dribble and is an above average finisher at the rim, preferring his dominate left-hand.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2573749"],"_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-6882a966ad38f"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Playing up a class, Walker had a solid weekend with the Ohio Future. A true 6'6, he is already knows how to make his mark in the paint. Dupler is solid at finishing around the rim and is tenacious on the glass. He is also a high energy player, consistently engaged on both ends of the floor. Dupler has all the physical tools to be a dominant high-school basketball player. Even though I'm not from Ohio, I will for sure be keeping tabs on how Walker's game matures at the high-school level for Philo.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->