The Battle Additional Eye Catchers

The Battle—an early-season showcase that regularly highlights several top programs from the tri-state area—returned once again with a weekend full of competitive action. This year's event took place at the Dunn Sports Center in Elizabeth, NJ, and featured a strong field of New Jersey programs that have opened the season on impressive footing. With plenty of high-level play on display, let's take a closer look at some of the standout prospects from last weekend's action.    Shouldering most of the ball handling responsibilities for Benedict's offense and displaying a potent poise and confidence against ball pressure, [player_tooltip player_id='3270158' first='Jack' last='Martinez'] displayed a keen understanding of angles and when to attack certain driving lanes. Martinez's pace off the bounce helped him get in the paint and convert on a number of soft touch runners and floaters and crafty reverse finishes. Martinez also displayed his perimeter shooting in this matchup against Elizabeth— knocking down shots both off the ball as a spot up shooter as well as creating his own shot off the bounce from three point territory.     A seamless offensive fit with the confidence and poise to produce at either guard spot, [player_tooltip player_id='2884567' first='Dominic' last='Mauro'] displayed the different ways he can impact the game both from a ball handling and decision making standpoint as well as a scoring and shotmaking standpoint. Mauro made a number of plays in the open floor, particularly initiating offense and getting the ball ahead in transition. A versatile shot maker from three point range, Mauro displayed his ability to be an in rhythm spot up shooter, a polished off the bounce shooter with compact mechanics as well as a smooth movement shooter. Mauro also attacked driving lanes off the bounce, finishing with dexterity and converting on a number of soft touch runners from different angles in the paint.     [player_tooltip player_id='2683649' first='Michael' last='Simborski'] is an excellent complimentary piece that effectively and efficiently scores off the ball— and much of that potent ability was on full display in Montgomery's matchup against Paramus Catholic. With Paramus Catholic's defense often times forced into rotations, Simborski was aggressive in attacking closeouts off the bounce to get in the paint for tough and crafty finishes around the basket, showing sharp footwork and excellent touch around the rim from different angles in traffic. Simborski countered his constant paint touches by displaying his smooth shooting stroke— knocking down a pair of open catch and shoot threes and even creating separation off the dribble and knocking one down off the bounce.     As Montgomery's lead guard and Often times tasked with creating a majority of their offensive production, [player_tooltip player_id='1790209' first='Ethan' last='Lin'] shined not only as a scorer, creating for himself but also as a facilitator and creating clean scoring chances for his teammates, highlighting his high impact as an effective overall playmaker. Lin attacked driving lanes with creative change of direction dribbles off the bounce and finish from different angles around the basket all while also knocking down open outside shots from the perimeter.     Reflective of the hot start he's gotten off to as a dangerous three point shooter this season, [player_tooltip player_id='3243556' first='Connor' last='Benedict'] continued his scorching shooting from the perimeter. Especially lethal as a spot up threat, Benedict caught fire early, finding a nice and solid rhythm from beyond the arc and confidently knocking down multiple open catch and shoot opportunities with impressive range and precision.     Delivering a standout performance that saw him stuff the stat sheet and contribute heavily in a number of statistical categories, [player_tooltip player_id='2344521' first='Micah' last='Gordon'] really shined as an overall savvy playmaker, reflective of his advanced instinctual feel and strong court awareness. Due in large part to his quickness off the bounce coupled with his potent feel for the game, Gordon thrived as a facilitator in the different ways he dissected the defense and created clean scoring chances for his teammates— getting the ball ahead in transition, creating drive and kick threes, and even hitting flashy dump offs off dribble penetration. Just as impressive as his ability to dish the ball out, Gordon also excelled as a scorer—attacking gaps with incredible pace and touch around the basket coupled with his smooth and in rhythm three point shooting ability, particularly off the catch and off the bounce.     An intriguing combination of blazing speed paired with a tight handle and excellent court vision, [player_tooltip player_id='1604422' first='Alex' last='Pace'] demonstrated his innate ability to be an overall confident playmaker— particularly with his ability to create for himself off the bounce as well as clean scoring chances for his teammates. Pace produced so much offense in transition— going coast to coast for crafty finishes in traffic at the basket as well drawing help defenders and getting his teammates open looks at the basket. Pace is an extremely fluid shooter with great touch and a quick trigger release— reflective of the numerous spot up and off the bounce opportunities he converted on throughout the course of Camden's matchup against Plainfield.     A strong and powerfully built downhill attacker, [player_tooltip player_id='2342647' first='Rashawn' last='Williams'] often times leverages his strength and physicality for strong inside finishes. Williams invites contact and embraces physicality to get defenders off him in order to get clean looks in the paint around the basket. Williams also demonstrated his ability to be a physical and ferocious rebounder with a solid second jump, as he's often seen crashing the glass and coming down with rebounds on both the offensive and defensive glass.     [player_tooltip player_id='1880464' first='Dior' last='Anderson'] settled into a nice rhythm offensively early, knocking down a number of open looks as a spot up shooter against Jackson Reed's (MD) 2-3 zone, highlighting his compact shooting mechanics from three point range. Anderson also shined as a facilitator— attacking the gaps of the defense to get in paint, drawing multiple help defenders and making sharp and on time passes to either cutting teammates, vertical lob threats, and even open shooters out on the perimeter.     Still very much a developing prospect but already equipped with many of the ideal physical tools, [player_tooltip player_id='2879104' first='Flory' last='Kuminga'] immediately pops with his high level athleticism and nonstop aggressiveness. Kuminga's performance Sunday evening highlighted his ability to be a strong and explosive wing with a quick first step— attacking closeouts and establishing himself as a constant downhill threat, showcasing the ability to finish through traffic and absorb contact at the rim. Kuminga's athleticism was also on full display with a number of above the rim finishes, particularly as a lob threat in transition.

The Battle—an early-season showcase that regularly highlights several top programs from the tri-state area—returned once again with a weekend full of competitive action. This year's event took place at the Dunn Sports Center in Elizabeth, NJ, and featured a strong field of New Jersey programs that have opened the season on impressive footing. With plenty of high-level play on display, let's take a closer look at some of the standout prospects from last weekend's action.