Midwest Showdown 16U Top Slashers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I had the opportunity to watch the Midwest Showdown, at The Champion Center, specifically the 16U division. My apologies for the delay, but I spent last week tracking down accurate rosters. With that being said, Here are a handful of players that stood out to me getting downhill to the rim.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='3581677' first='Lemar' last='Morris-Bryant']</strong>-[program_tooltip program_id='2075425' first='CRCTB' last='']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Minneapolis Washburn's Morris-Bryant, a 5-10 guard, impressed me with ability to not only get to the rim, at will, but also his decision making when he got there. One trip down he finished with his off-hand, and arm, extended away from his body. Another occasion he drew a double-team and passed off for an easy layup. He also showed off a nice floater when the defense rotated over and cut off his drive. All in all one of the top lead guards that liked to push tempo and play fast.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2824158' first='Cooper' last='Schmitt']</strong>-[program_tooltip program_id='2485560' first='G-Elite' last=''] (Wausau East)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Schmitt stood out to me as one of the top facilitators that I watched at the Midwest Showdown. A blur with the ball, the hard-nosed Wausau East product was just as comfortable getting to the rim and finishing through contact as he was finding his teammates in tight windows. He also showed that he could score at all three levels showing a nice mid-range floater and the ability to knock down the three ball. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2694165' first='Alan' last='Reina Castrillon']-</strong>WI Dynasty (Waunakee)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I mentioned Castrillon in a previous article but he came away, in my opinion, as one of the bigger stock risers on the weekend. Big, physical player who got to the basket, at will, and just out worked and out hustled whoever he was in front of. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ray Snyder</strong>-WI Blizzard Klitzke (Oshkosh West)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Snyder (6-0) impressed me as one of the better lead guards over the weekend. "Hard-nosed" and physical, he stood out as one of the faster players, with the ball in his hand and had no problem getting to the basket, pulling up from mid-range, or finding cutting teammates for layups.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2613973' first='Brayden' last='Smith']</strong>-[program_tooltip program_id='2614144' first='Mammoth' last='Basketball'] (Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Smith was one of the handful of players that really caught my eye at The Midwest Showdown. He showed that he was equally comfortable taking the ball around traffic, navigating through the lane, on several occasions, to finish through contact but also knowing when to find a cutting teammate.&nbsp;When given space, Smith showed a nice outside touch knocking down several three's in each game I watched.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->