A Look at Some NWMO Forwards in Weekend Tournament Action

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Hoops Missouri spent some time on the stream watching some tournament action from the Northwest part of the state. We watched championship games from the Fairfax and Stanberry Tournaments, plus the third-place game from Stanberry.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nodaway Valley defeated Rock Port to win the Fairfax Tournament championship. King City defeated Platte Valley to win the Stanberry Tournament while North Andrew defeated Worth County for third place.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here is a look at some of those talented NWMO forwards from those two tournaments.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2477740' first='Noeth' last='Cook'] (North Andrew): A 6'4" 2028 forward who led the Cardinals to a third-place finish in the Stanberry Tournament. I was impressed when I saw him at the Midwest Showcase during the summer and I think he has gotten better. He is an excellent player from 15 feet on in. He elevates well on his mid-range jumper and he really passes it well. He makes his teammates better with his unselfish attitude and court vision. He makes good use of the jab step and uses a quick burst to beat a defender on the drive for a layup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2478746' first='Landon' last='Carlson'] (King City): A 6'4" 2028 forward who is one of the top young players in the NWMO area. In the championship game, he drew a crowd of defenders at all times in the lane. He was patient and he continued to work hard to get position. When he got his opportunities, he was money in the low post. He has good footwork and a nice shooting touch. He also showed his athleticism on defense with some good shot blocking.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2822899' first='Reid' last='Ellis'] (Rock Port): A 6'5" 2028 forward who had an impressive showing in the championship game with a team-high 21 points. He is a very skilled young player with good athleticism and versatility. He runs the court with relative ease. He protects the rim with his shot blocking and he also walls up to alter shots. He is a very capable offensive player around the basket and he was also hitting pick and pop 3-pointers off the catch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jax Crowden (Nodaway Valley): A 6'2" 2028 small forward who had a big performance in the championship game against Rock Port with 24 points and 11 rebounds. He is solidly build with a nice skill set, which made him equally tough to handle on the perimeter and in the low blocks. He was hitting pick and pop 3-pointers while also scoring on tough drives in the paint with good two-foot jump stops. He used his strength to score in the post with a nice turnaround jumper against a smaller defender.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Andy Mattson (Platte Valley): A 6'6 2026 post player who has a big body and he knows how to use his massive size to his advantage. When he establishes his position in the post, you are not going to move him off his spot. He catches the ball and he has a soft touch off the glass on the drop step move. When he snatches a rebound, there was no taking the ball away from him, despite the best efforts of people trying.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Colton Potter (King City): A 6'3" 2027 forward who was an energizer bunny on the court with good athleticism. He played a big role in King City's championship day performance with his high energy and playmaking. He was slashing into the lane for buckets, going coast to coast for layups after grabbing rebounds and also hitting elbow jumpers. He didn't take a play off, which was very impressive.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2869274' first='Tyler' last='Gray'] (King City): A 6'2" 2026 forward who is a rock solid performer at both ends of the court. One thing that stood out to me was his passing ability. He sees the court well and he was hitting cutters from the high post. He also made a couple of outstanding no-look passes, which led to layups. He is also a good screener who rebounds well out of his area. He has a nice shooting touch around the basket.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->