The Main Event: Notable Performers Who Stood Out

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fall preseason basketball is fully in the thick of things and with that comes weekends packed with different preseason showcases. This past Saturday, the Panthers Basketball Club hosted The Main Event— a one day event held at Lyndhurst Middle School in Lyndhurst, NJ that provided another opportunity to evaluate prospects as they begin to settle into their roles ahead of the high school season, while also offering several intriguing matchups between some of the state's top programs, that featured a handful of prospects from the Panther program. With plenty to take away from Saturday's action, let's take a look at some players who stood out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2504780"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ac5937c8e490"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='2504780' first='Infinite' last='Sincere-AmenRa'] turned in an impressive scoring performance, showcasing the advanced shot making ability and versatile scoring attack that make him such a dangerous perimeter threat. His natural scoring instincts were glaringly evident in this outing, showcasing the different ways he can generate offense from the perimeter— navigating pin downs as a movement shooter with in rhythm footwork and strong balance throughout while maintaining similar efficiency on catch and shoot looks and creating separation off the bounce, with deep range accuracy too. Off the bounce, Sincere-AmenRa displayed strong feel for manipulating screening actions to create scoring opportunities, highlighted by creativity and a unique combination of wiggle, pace, and change of direction to keep defenders off balance— rejecting empty side ball screens to get downhill with quickness,&nbsp;leveraging ram screens to create favorable driving angles and attack the basket, and even utilizing double staggers to generate separation for smooth, open mid range pull ups.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2347952"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ac5937c8e509"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">A versatile scoring threat whose effectiveness grows as he finds more of a rhythm and sees shots fall, [player_tooltip player_id='2347952' first='Jahlil' last='Owusu'] provided significant scoring pop for this Bergen Catholic offense. Owusu did his best work attacking the paint and getting downhill to generate paint touches— attacking closeouts for a mixture of crafty reverse layups and soft touch runners in the lane while also displaying a strong affinity to attack straight line driving angles out of different DHO actions and in the open floor, ultimately pressuring the defense by getting deep in the paint. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2874609"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ac5937c8e55d"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='2874609' first='Jack' last='Toth']'s shooting profile is built around a polished stroke, a quick release, and consistent perimeter touch, giving him the ability to punish defenses whenever he gets into a rhythm.&nbsp;And in this showing he showcased efficiency across multiple different shot types— converting on a number of perimeter looks at a high rate both in catch and shoot situations as a spot up shooter while also shooting it at a similar percentage when taking in rhythm dribbles as an off the dribble shooter. Toth also showed the ability to create some offense off the bounce, identifying favorable matchups to attack and using his driving angles to get downhill and finish over smaller defenders.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2858262"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ac5937c8e5a8"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Excelling in a&nbsp;role that emphasized&nbsp;off ball perimeter&nbsp;shooting while also allowing him to&nbsp;initiate offense as&nbsp;a ball handler, [player_tooltip player_id='2858262' first='Caden' last='Post'] found a nice rhythm from the perimeter and made his biggest impact with his ability to knock down outside shots and be a keen decision maker. Post played with noticeable confidence from three, showing a high level of comfort knocking down shots off the catch as a spot up threat while simultaneously setting the table as a decision maker, initiating different actions with a strong commitment to running offense and keeping possessions organized.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["3536400"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ac5937c8e5ee"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='3536400' first='Braelen' last='Blackmon'] emerged as a reliable scoring option out of the backcourt for this new look St. Joseph Regional group, particularly with his ability to attack the defense from a variety of spots. He settled into a little bit of an offensive rhythm and played with confidence as an attacker— creating opportunities for himself off the bounce to attack closeouts and finish at the basket, using his handle to create separation and get to open space for smooth mid range area pull ups, finishing in transition as a result of defensive stops, and even converting on soft touch runners in isolation. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2786653"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ac5937c8e638"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">One of the bigger revelations on the day's action was Lyndhurst's lead guard [player_tooltip player_id='2786653' first='Filoteo' last='Mosca']. A confident playmaking guard with seemingly sound feel for the game, Mosca displayed a lot of the instincts that make him an intriguing high usage creator— willingly distributing the basketball to his teammates and locating open shooters out on the perimeter, making sharp post entry passes to get the ball inside, hitting cullers and rollers on time and on target while still maintaining his scoring aggression to create offense for himself early in offensive possessions, employing sharp change of pace in transition to turn the corner, get downhill and finish at the rim. All while further impacting the game as an outside shooter, proving capable of converting on open looks navigating various screens as a movement shooter&nbsp;and offering similar efficiency as a spot up shooter off the catch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2414310"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ac5937c8e67b"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='2414310' first='Bridgie' last='McMillan'] stood out early and often as a legitimate two way wing capable of impacting the game with both his motor and activity as a versatile defender and his connective production on the offensive end of the floor, a skillset that is highly coveted in wings of his stature. Offensively, McMillan showed a natural shooting stroke, stepping confidently into open looks with clean footwork and a fluid release and follow through.&nbsp;Defensively is where McMillan was equally if not more impressive— competed with consistent energy, staying in front of perimeter drives and displaying strong ball pressure against opposing ball handlers while also providing plenty of impact in the rebounding department. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->