Commonwealth Motors Christmas Classic: Tuesday's Best 5

On Tuesday, December 30th, I attended the Commonwealth Motors Christmas Classic at Merrimack College in North Andover, MA. There were 7th place, 5th place, 3rd place, and championship games, and I watched all of them.   My coverage will exclusively be discussing TUESDAY games.   To start, here are the 5 best players I saw on Tuesday.    Lopez was the star of the show Tuesday. The senior guard lit up the Beverly defense for 17 first quarter points on three point shots, mid rangers, and finishes at the rim in the championship game. He gets so much elevation on his jumper that nobody (not even bigger players) can contest it, but he also has the ball on a string and changes speeds quite effectively on drives to the hoop. Lopez is going to be a high D3 player and will excel both on and off the ball, and it'll be exciting to see him player at a higher level where he can showcase more of his passing ability and feel. Lopez is calm, cool and collected even though the focus is on him at all times. Stud.     Roux is a probably the best shooter I've seen in the MIAA. The 6-foot guard has amazing footwork coming off screens and moving without the ball, and then he has a super quick release that he can get off over anyone. He can shoot with range, too, and he does it off the dribble or off the catch. I was also impressed with his ability to attack closeouts and finish with contact at the rim, something he seems to be improving at as of late. Roux is probably a high level D3 player, but reclassifying and gaining an extra year could be huge for his scholarship hopes.     Tutwiler is only a sophomore but plays like an upperclassman veteran. The 6-foot guard is incredibly quick and shifty with the ball, and he's always under control once he gets into the paint (which he did QUITE often against Greater Lawrence Tech on Tuesday). He can hit the pull up and he can finish with both hands at the rim, but he's most impressive as a passer. He has excellent vision and can make all the passes you'd want a floor general to be able to make. He's going to be a STAR in the MIAA for years to come if a prep school doesn't snag him in the next couple years. He'll probably be an awesome D3 player but all levels are on the table, especially if he reclassifies.     Lopes is a brick wall and has an impressive level of physicality and toughness for someone his age. He handles pressure exceptionally well and throws on time, on target passes consistently; on many of his passes, he whips them so hard that his teammates get an extra split second to shoot. The 6-foot sophomore also hit multiple threes against Andover and had some strong takes to the rim. He has great hands and plays hard defensively as well. Lopes is as solid as they come and will be a star at Greater Lawrence Tech for awhile.      Klass didn't have his three point shot going in Tuesday's championship game, but he still changed the game offensively with his ability to play both on and off the ball. He had a good number of takes to the rim and did a good job taking contact at the hoop, but he also did a good job cutting off the ball and slashing to the rim for easy buckets. The lefty needs to learn how to impact the game more with his passing, but that'll come with time. He's going to be an awesome D3 player from the start next year.

On Tuesday, December 30th, I attended the Commonwealth Motors Christmas Classic at Merrimack College in North Andover, MA. There were 7th place, 5th place, 3rd place, and championship games, and I watched all of them.