Grind Session Canada: MD/DC Notebook

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Grind Session held games in Canada and New York City over the weekend as three DMV programs were featured in the lineup. Clinton Grace, Mt. Zion Prep and Gillion Academy all finished their showings with 1-1 records respectively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Below are some key takeaways from the action.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The rise of Mikey Matthews starts now</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The updated 2028 rankings will go live this week and Matthews is due for a bump that'll land him amongst the top few prospects of the class. There's an argument that he's on the heel of Nash Avery for the No. 1 overall spot and after a weekend above the border averaging a double-double of 26.5PPG, 12.5RPG and 4.5 stocks per game (steals + blocks), it only gives more of a reason he's in the discussion to take over as the top guy. Not only did he bring an alpha-type of presence throughout the two games in Canada, Matthews stepped up in crunch time against CIA Bella Vista Prep making several key plays in the last minute that allowed the Warriors to walk away with the double overtime victory. The 6-foot-6 southpaw wing secured double-digit rebounds in both contests, but showed off his explosive athleticism in the form of posterizing dunks and swats at the rim as he recorded four blocks in the tight loss to Ridley College (CAN).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>J'Lon Lyons' dominant season looks inevitable</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>To say that Butler commit J'Lon 'Lonnie' Lyons was in for a big season comes to no surprise at all, but a recent addition to the Eagles' roster could mean for routine double-doubles and possibly even a few triple-double performances before he sets off for Indianapolis. The dynamic playmaker led his Clinton Grace squad up to New York where they pummeled Massanutten in their matchup on Friday evening behind Lyons' 25PTS and 9ASTS. They'd come up short in their game on Saturday afternoon against a good OSL group, but the court vision and ability to lift up those around him was clear. It all starts with high ball screen actions between Lyons and 2027 big man Uzziah Morton. Morton is a punishing screen setter at 6'9"-6'10" and around 290 pounds. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Time and time again, Lyons used a Morton screen a few feet above the three-point line with patience as he turned the corner and read the backline defender to base his decision-making. These actions resulted a Lyons mid range, hitting Morton as he rolled hard to the rim or zipping a pass off the live bounce to the opposite corner shooter. It'll be something we see a lot of this season as other teams will likely throw creative ways to slow it down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Aiden Clark steers the ship for Gillion</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gillion Academy split their games in Canada losing to Canyon Academy (AZ) and picking up a nice win over Ft. Erie (CAN) before heading back to the DMV. Sean Nix was the high scorer in the second game with 24PTS, but it was the play from their southpaw point guard in Aiden Clark who was most impressive to me this weekend. His command of the floor, ability to dissect defensive rotations as well as call his own number to score in isolations were all pivotal points of success both for Clark and his team. He'd finish with a stat line that included 14PPG, 6APG and 3SPG. Majority of the ball handling duties were his responsibility and it's expected being early in the season, but shaping up on his 4TPG rate will need to come down in order for Gillion to take care of some big wins on their grueling schedule. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Clark is quick from the point of attack and puts his defender in a predicament given his ability to blow by for finishes on dishes in the paint, but can also get to his jumper comfortably going right or left before rising up with confidence and balance.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Morton's paint presence has massive ripple effect</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Everything that I wanted to see out of the Morton addition was confirmed this weekend. Not only is his brute size enough to cause chaos for opposing defenses, but it has a massive ripple effect that'll positively impact everyone on the floor. Not only does it free up Lyons to make plays out of high pick-and-rolls, but it allows the shooters on this roster to pick their spots and await skip passes as their defenders sink in the paint and relieve the rim pressure put on from Morton rolling hard. It was great to see how Morton approached the high-floating passes that Lyons delivered as he caught the ball high, kept it high with using his 7-foot-2 wingspan and quickly put the ball in the rim. He cleaned up misses in a similar fashion keeping both arms extending and avoiding a bad habit that the majority of bigs do after corralling the board, which is putting the ball on the ground to reestablish and power dribble before going back up.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>His intensity was infectious and a catalyst that sparked a few Eagles' runs throughout both games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->