EYBL DMV City Series: Friday Night Difference Makers

Teams Durant, Final, Melo, and Takeover pulled up to to Suitland High School, just a few miles outside of DC, for EYBL's first ever City Series. The session brought together each program's 15-17U teams and it resulted in some high level performances. Here are the guys who turned the tides for their teams:    After a couple assists to get his team rolling against Takeover, Copeland turned up the scoring. He confidently got to his spots, whether he was driving straight to the cup, playing off of two feet, or pulling from the second level. His comfort and will to play inside the arc opened up windows for him to swing the ball along the perimeter or to kick out to a shooter. And while his teammates were knocking down triples, Copeland also hit some, two catch-and-shoots and one pull-up. 20p 5r 4a     Daniels brought the pain. With no consideration for who was guarding the paint or guarding him, Daniels finished at/above the rim with bad intentions. If he got a touch around the basket, he was guaranteed to go up with power through contact, be it in the dunker spot or at the elbow. His explosiveness off of two feet led to a couple of monster jams in general halfcourt. But his loud play was a transition dunk that shook them. Daniels was perfect from the free throw line too. 18p 4r 1b     A slashing wing, Hunter had his fingerprints all over the game versus [program_tooltip program_id='2078709' first='Team' last='Final']. His crisp made for frequent visits into the lane and defenders couldn't afford to play off him because he popped a three early in the first quarter. And he didn't need anything drawn up for him because he consistently crashed the boards. In the third quarter in particular, he intercepted a pass and in two dribbles put two hands on the rim for one of multiple dunks. He got another two due to how quickly he covered ground on fastbreaks. 19p 7r 2s     In the opening quarter against [program_tooltip program_id='2077004' first='Team' last='Takeover'], Smith flew around on defense to help his squad jump out to an early lead that they never relinquished. He created havoc at the point of attack, deflecting passes as soon as they left his man's hand. The intention Smith put into crashing the boards was notable too. Whether he was when he grabbed a rebound after blocking a shot then started the break or when he got an offensive board, in each instance, he showed the willingness and ability to attack the ball in traffic over bigger players. It wasn't as loud as his defense either, but Smith was effective slinking his way to the rim in different ways too. 18p 7r 2s 1b     It didn't matter who he was guarding, Washington's defense was on a different level vs [program_tooltip program_id='2078709' first='Team' last='Final']. He picked up each of their point guards full court and gave them more than they bargained for including turnovers, fouls, and transition buckets. Even when he was switched on to other players, Washington proved he was quick enough and strong enough to give anyone problems out on the perimeter. Conversely, with the keys to the TTO, he sprayed the ball around to shooters with precision. His ability to consistently locate and hit moving targets, while himself being pressured, kept his team alive no matter who had the momentum. 11p 6r 5a 5s

Teams Durant, Final, Melo, and Takeover pulled up to to Suitland High School, just a few miles outside of DC, for EYBL's first ever City Series. The session brought together each program's 15-17U teams and it resulted in some high level performances. Here are the guys who turned the tides for their teams: