Cleveland Play By Play Top Performers

The Cleveland Play By Play Classic brought five games to Euclid High School for an action-packed day of basketball. In this article I'll break down my top performers from the day of basketball.    Lutheran West has had a tough schedule so far but pulled out a tight win to start the day over a scrappy Rhodes squad. Kuszmaul is one of the elite shooters in northeast Ohio's 2027 class and was making shots from all over the court on Sunday afternoon. Making quick moves to score the basketball, I liked that Kuszmaul made shots off the catch, a one dribble pull-up and a two dribble pull-up. Being able to be efficient with your dribbles is an essential skill for a shooter as at the college level there aren't many pull-up jumpers with more than two dribbles attempted. With his positional size and shooting ability, Kuszmaul should see his name on some small college radars this summer.     Glenville secured their first marquee win of the season in a back-and-forth contest against Hawken in the second game of the day. These two teams came out firing with nine made 3-pointers in the first quarter alone. Nelson hit multiple 3-pointers in that quarter off the catch and as a trail man. With his perimeter shooting, physicality and size, Nelson should be on some scholarship radars as a 3-and-D wing. After making the state title game last season, we'll see if this win sparks a winning streak for a Glenville squad that still has plenty of talent.     Brunswick is one of the top teams in northeast Ohio and they got a signature win over Akron STVM in a tight contest throughout. The Irish being unable to stop Drexler from scoring was the difference as he knocked down some insane 3-pointers both moving off the ball. Drexler also showed the ability to attack going right as STVM wanted to shade him away from his dominant left hand whenever possible. While Drexler had to work for almost all his buckets, his combination of tough 3-pointers and efficiency from the free throw line allowed him to score an event-high 36 points.     Garfield Heights dominated rival Shaker Heights in a game that was uncompetitive from the jump. Jones is an intriguing junior forward who has solid athletic tools, hit a couple jumpers and overall looked like he belonged in big-time games. While it was tough to get a full evaluation of Garfield Heights players in such a dominant win, Jones flashes are bright and he'll have a chance to attract some scholarship interest this summer if he can continue to play hard, defend and knock down perimeter shots.     A dominant performance by one of the top 2028 prospects in the Midwest, Zeigler put the Lutheran East offense on his back during stretches of their win over host Euclid. Zeigler knocked down a couple of deep 3-pointers off DHO concepts and what I loved most about his game was that he didn't start settling for 3's after making a couple early. Instead, Zeigler got to the lane and had some tough floaters and had a nasty reverse pivot fallaway 10 foot shot. I also loved a couple tough rebounds that Zeigler had in traffic, just making winning plays. Expect high major programs to start prioritizing Zeigler this summer at the 16 U level for Indy Heat.     One of the top long term prospects in northeast Ohio, Irby is still very much a baby on the court at just 14 years old but is already making a huge impact in high-pressure environments. I loved Irby's live dribble passing, making some huge assists while the defense rotated to stop him. Defensively, Irby had some impressive shot contests by staying straight up and not fouling against older physical players. Overall Irby impacts winning in multiple ways without scoring the basketball which is so impressive for a 6'5 freshman wing who also knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, including one at the first quarter buzzer.

The Cleveland Play By Play Classic brought five games to Euclid High School for an action-packed day of basketball. In this article I'll break down my top performers from the day of basketball.