9th Annual Gatorade Invitational: The Best of the Rest 15U

Each player on this list showed how skilled they are this past weekend. These young men are destined to be great for their perspective teams this fall.    Amare plays the game with a quiet calmness. He's an excellent floor leader who always looked to make the right play. Amare has the ability to be a great passer or scorer when he needs to be. He ran the Fire Orange offense with flawless precision. Amare excelled at setting up teammates for high percentage shots. There were points in the game where he set-up Fire Orange teammates with perfect bounce or no-look passes. Some of his assists were to players cutting to the basket, some were during transition scores. When he attacked defenders, he easily beat them off the dribble and scored in the paint. Amare is a great shooter! He picked up his scoring in the second half of the game. I watched him knock down a couple of threes and a number of mid-range jumpers. As his game continues to progress, Amare has shown the capability of becoming an elite player in the future.     A physical player who has the ability to score inside and knock down perimeter shots. Quentavious is a big-time shot maker! During the game against Dixon Stars Basketball Club he used a quick first-step to blow by defenders and score tough baskets at the rim. Sometimes these scores led to three-point play opportunities from the foul-line. I was impressed by his rebounding prowess. Quentavious attacked the glass with the same ferocity as he did on offense. Especially when he grabbed offensive rebounds. Many of his inside scores came from put-backs around the basket. There was a play in the game where Quentavious drove into the paint and finished with a one-handed slam. He's an athletic player who plays hard at all times. Whenever the team had chances to score, Quentavious was one of the focal points of the Fire Orange offense. On defense, he blocked a few shots and forced turnovers with excellent pressure on the ball handler. Quentavious is destined to have a great high school basketball season this fall.     Tyion is a tough minded guard who goes at his opponents. He stayed in “attack mode” throughout the game and plays with no fear. Tyion is an excellent ball handler. He easily breaks down opposing players and attacks the paint. Offensively, his shot of choice was the mid-range jumper. Whenever he used the dribble to beat his opponent, Tyion created just enough space to knock down a high percentage of his shots. In some instances, he scored tough baskets through contact. This led to him going to the foul-line and capitalizing on thee-point play opportunities. He's also a flashy passer and play-maker. Most of his assists turned into easy scores for his teammates. Whether it was a bounce or no-look pass, Tyion was on the money. A great overall player who should have an outstanding Sophomore season this fall.     Jordi was great on the boards! He led the Dixon Stars Basketball Club in rebounding. I am confident in saying “he finished the game with nine or ten.” Jordi is not only an excellent rebounder, he scores the ball too! I was surprised with his ball handling ability. In some instances, he brought the ball up-court, initiated the Dixon Stars offense and made plays. Whenever he dished out assists, the majority of his passes led to scores by his teammates. In one-on-one situations, he often scored in the post or attacked the paint. Some of his scores led to three-point play opportunities. On defense, Jordi blocked shots, protected the paint and matched up well against smaller players whenever he guarded on the perimeter. Once he improves his offensive skills, Jordi will become a force at the high school level.     Noah is a big-time scorer for Dixon Stars Basketball Club. Whenever the team needed a basket, Noah was there to knock it down. He is a legitimate three-point threat for his team. I watched him knock down four over the course of the game. Noah is a great scorer of the basketball. He beats his opponents off the dribble and finishes strong at the rim. Most of his scores came from tough shots in the lane. Some of those baskets came through contact, while others came from high arching shots over defenders in the paint. Anytime Noah found himself in scoring positions, he took advantage of the situation. Defensively, he made all the hustle plays needed to help Dixon Stars Basketball Club win games. After watching Noah play, I view him as a winner!     Dree is an athletic center who excelled at blocking shots and scoring around the basket. During the game against Fire 2028 Red, he made a number of plays with positive outcomes. Dree has shown an improvement to his game. After watching him play the first time, I did not see the ability to score on the perimeter. Dree showed a decent touch from mid-range. He knocked down a couple of jumpers and scored tough baskets inside. Dree is an excellent rebounding big man who had a knack for converting offensive rebounds into points. Dree impressed me on defense. He was great at protecting the paint and blocking shots. Whenever opposing players attacked the paint, Dree was waiting to turn away their shot attempts. If Dree continues to work on his game offensively, he could become a serious threat for opposing players and coaches. I expect him to have a great season at Washington High School this fall.     Jayden was the “hustle guy” for Fire 2028 Red. He did a little bit of everything on the basketball court. I was impressed with his rebounding prowess on both ends of the court. Jayden attacked the boards with authority, especially on the offensive side. Whenever his teammates missed a shot, Jayden was always there to clean it up by scoring put-backs around the basket. If the team had an opportunity to score in transition, Jayden sprinted down the court and finished strong at the rim. He's a good ball handler who creates his own shot by beating defenders off the dribble. His drives to the basket led to mid-range pull-ups or assists to other Fire 2028 Red players. Jayden played great team defense, which caused numerous turnovers for the opposition. A great two-way player who will excel during the high school season.     He's a shifty guard who easily wins his one-on-one match-ups on the perimeter. Sherwin made an immediate impact when he stepped off the bench. He scored on multiple possessions by attacking the basket and knocking down perimeter shots. Sherwin has the confidence of a player who knows he can excel on offense and defense. Offensively, he kept the pressure on opposing defenders who had the task of guarding him. He was great at drawing fouls and getting to the free-throw line. Sherwin showed a knack for scoring floaters in the paint. Defensively, he used his quick hands to force opposing guards into mistakes. Sherwin forced a number of steals that led to fast-break scores for his teammates. He's a great two-way player who will factor into the success of his high school team this fall.

Each player on this list showed how skilled they are this past weekend. These young men are destined to be great for their perspective teams this fall.