SNKRS4SANTA SHOOTOUT- South Bend Saint Joseph Huskies

South Bend is a great overall team with talent at every position. This team has the ability to make a serious run back to the Indiana State Championships.    Ethan is a great ball handler who pushed the pace and made plays via score or assist. He excelled at beating defenders off the dribble and scoring in the paint. It did not matter if he got to the rim, scored on floaters or knocked down shots from mid-range, Ethan was a big problem for Cathedral to handle. In some instances, he was able to utilize fade-away jump-shots to score over opposing players. Ethan is a great passer who often found his teammates in positions to score. He's a strong guard who showed the ability to take contact from opponents and convert. Ethan calmly stepped to the foul-line and converted the three-point plays. On defense, he played with a tenaciousness to force turnovers and make ball handling difficult for opposing guards. Ethan is a tough minded player who is capable of leading St. Joseph's on a deep run in the State Tournament.     A tough, hard-nosed player who looked to get everyone involved. Ryder was one of the fiercest players on the court. He was great at attacking the basket and scoring on floaters in the lane. He also finished strong when the team had scoring opportunities in transition. Ryder showed his toughness when he battled for rebounds in the paint. Despite being smaller than opposing players, Ryder attacked the glass with ferocity. He showed a nice shooting touch on the perimeter when he nailed multiple jump-shots. On defense, he played the pass lanes and forced a couple of turnovers. Ryder is a great team player who gives maximum effort on both sides of the ball.     I was thoroughly impressed by this young man's performance at the Snkrs4santa Shootout. Elijah is a hardworking player who knocks down threes, attacks the basket, rebounds and defends. He was the most talented player I watched Saturday afternoon. There were instances in the game where Elijah took advantage of his one-on-one match-ups. He beat opponents to the basket for tough lay-ups. Some he scored through contact which led to three-point play opportunities from the foul-line. He also showed a knack for finishing in the lane with floaters. Where Elijah shined on Saturday, was from behind the three-point line. He put on a shooting exhibition by knocking down six for the duration of the game. He's a great rebounder who did not mind the physicality of fighting for them. He forced turnovers and played great on-ball defense. Elijah is a great player with a big-time scorer's mentality. He finished with a game-high 27 points.     The big man played an important role as the team's rim protector and inside scorer. Peyton is a great rebounder who did it on both ends of the court. I feel confident in saying, “Peyton finished the game with double-digit rebounds.” As I said, he can score in the paint. The majority of his points came around the basket when teammates threw him assists. Some of those baskets came off tough offensive rebounds. Peyton is a great team player who did all the little things. He set screens on offense and protected the paint on defense. Those screens led to high percentage shots for other Saint Joe's players. Defensively, he excelled at blocking and altering the shots of opponents driving into the paint.      Nick is a great all around player who attacks the paint and finishes strong at the rim. He's an excellent rebounder who attacked the boards with the determination to grab them all. Some of his defensive rebounds were fast-break starters for the Saint Joe's squad. They scored many points by pushing the pace up-court. In the first quarter of the game, Nick finished in transition with a nice two-handed slam. He also showed the ability to knock down the deep ball. Nick was able to make three of them in the duration of the game. On defense, he was great at blocking opposing players' shots. When he found himself guarding smaller players, he had no issues  pressuring them into turnovers. Nick is a special player who I expect to have a major impact in college next season.

South Bend is a great overall team with talent at every position. This team has the ability to make a serious run back to the Indiana State Championships.