Warren Township Middle School Tournament- All Tourney 1st Team

The stars of Middle School basketball were on full display Saturday afternoon. These young men were the best performers throughout the tournament. Every person on this list showed why their futures are bright in the game of basketball.    Every time I watch him play, this young man never disappoints. Drey continues to be a great all around player who does everything on the basketball court. Whether it's playing as point forward or big man in the post, opposing defenses had no answers. Drey is an unselfish player who looks to involve his teammates with pin-point passing and verbal leadership. He's capable of being the primary facilitator in the Kokomo offense while being the team's dominant scorer. Drey is very agile and quick for his size. He handles the basketball and often beats defenders to the basket. Whenever he had a mis-match in the paint, Drey used his strong frame to dominate the opposition. If he needed to knock down mid or long range shots, he proved it would not be an issue. On defense, he continues to get after it! Drey plays excellent man-to-man and has a tendency to block shots. I'm looking forward to seeing his personal growth as a player in the years to come.     This little guy continues to impress me on the basketball court. Harrison is a serious problem for opposing coaches and players. I have always had an appreciation for smaller players who fearlessly attack the opposition. Harrison is very quiet and serious about his craft. These types of players are the most dangerous. He does not let any obstacle deter him from doing what he needs to win games. Harrison continues to be a player who knocks down shots from every area of the court. He easily beats defenders off the dribble, attacks the paint or uses hesitation moves to free himself for long-ranged threes. Defensively, he pressured opposing guards into mistakes. He forced three steals and showed a knack for jumping passing lanes. Harrison is a great player who is destined to do big things.     Ke'Vonte has improved since the last time I watched him play. He was already a great scorer. Now, he's added an awesome passing game to his skills. There were a number of occasions where Ke'Vonte hit teammates with flashy passes that generated crowd reactions. I saw a couple of pin-point bounce passes to go along with multiple no-look assists. As I said, he's a great scorer. He attacks the basket, knocks down mid-range shots and extends his range beyond the three-point line. Ke'Vonte has now added a post game to his offensive package. On numerous occasions, I saw him post up opponents and finish around the basket with high percentage scores. Defensively, he's all over the court making plays. He forced multiple turnovers and blocked shots throughout the game. Ke'Vonte has taken his game to the next level. Imagine how good he could be in a couple of years.     I was thoroughly impressed with his play at lead guard Saturday afternoon. Jayon showed why he was the best play-maker on the court in their matchup against Raymond Park. Whether it was scoring, passing, defending or being a leader, Jayon was the catalyst to the team's success. In his one-on-one match-ups, Jayon easily drove around his opponents and made plays in the paint. Either he scored or threw assists to teammates around the basket. Jayon showed the ability to knock down a high percentage of his shots from mid-range. Whenever he had the opportunity to extend his range beyond the three-point line, he did so effectively. Jayon is a shifty guard who blows by opponents, makes clutch plays and shows great leadership. In my opinion, Jayon will become an elite player in the near future.     Gabriel is an athletic center who excelled at blocking shots and scoring around the basket. During the game against Park Tudor, he was the most dominant player in the paint. Gabriel showed a knack for scoring tough baskets through contact. Those scores often led to three-point play opportunities from the foul-line. The biggest change I noticed offensively, was his post moves. Gabriel has worked on his low-post game since I watched him play over the summer. He is definitely a viable threat within the Kokomo offense. Gabriel is a ferocious offensive rebounder. Whenever his teammates missed shots, Gabriel was there to clean them up for easy scores. He continues to impressed me on defense. Gabriel is a great rim protector. Whenever opposing players attacked the paint, Gabriel turned away their shot attempts. In some cases, he defended players on the wing. He used his athleticism to keep opposing players in front of him. Gabriel is a great player with a chance of becoming elite.     Solomon has a big-time scorers mentality. He showed the ability to make shots from all three levels of the court. Whether it was getting to the basket, scoring from mid-range or knocking down three-pointers, Christel House had no answers defensively. Solomon easily beat opponents off the dribble. This allowed him to make plays by either scoring or dishing out assists to his teammates. In one-on-one match-ups, he was able to create enough space to effectively make jump-shots on the perimeter. Whenever the opportunity came to nail a three-pointer, Solomon showed no hesitation. In my opinion, this young man was the most skilled offensive player on the court. As I said, he literally scored from everywhere on Saturday. Defensively, he finished the game with three steals and two blocks. Solomon is a legit scorer who has a bright future ahead of him.

The stars of Middle School basketball were on full display Saturday afternoon. These young men were the best performers throughout the tournament. Every person on this list showed why their futures are bright in the game of basketball.