Thursday “Dagger” Sheet: Gems from Jan 10-16

Keith Agran January 21, 2021 @ 04:01 PM

It was again only a 2-game weekday excursion last week, but took in a couple of contests laden with gems. [player_tooltip player_id="820272" first="Kanaan" last="Carlyle"], Sophomore, 6-2, SG, Milton It can be at times daunting I imagine playing with Ohio St signee and "Mack-truck in shoes" [player_tooltip player_id="870146" first="Bruce" last="Thornton"] in the same backcourt, but Carlyle’s confidence level and exceptional skill overcome that with ease it seems, against Etowah he was able to get any shot he wanted with a deadly combination of explosiveness off the bounce creating space as well as a fearless and highly effective downhill driving game that a well-schooled visiting Eagles group had no answer for, finished with 25 on the night in the win and his 9-point 3rd qtr helped turn a 3-possession game into a runaway, hasn’t taken his foot off the gas for a second this winter in affirming his spot at the top of our 2023 class rankings. [player_tooltip player_id="957114" first="LT" last="Overton"], Sophomore, 6-5, PF, Milton His 10 points may not have lit up the stat sheet but the big All-American DE off Milton’s football team continues to show the sweet feet and soft touch that made him such a breakout performer as a frosh last year for the Eagles, for as big a body as he’s becoming he hasn’t lost any of the athletic movement that makes him a devastating rebounder and finisher around the basket, just doesn’t give up on any ball and has plenty of hoop acumen to get the job done when things aren’t easy down there, highly deserving of a top 10 spot on our 2023 board. [player_tooltip player_id="1049037" first="Josh" last="Hughes"], Junior, 6-5, C, Etowah The distance Hughes has traveled from early summer workouts in 2020 to last week is a map filled with impressive strides, he took it right at the celebrated Milton frontcourt of Overton and [player_tooltip player_id="810374" first="Kendall" last="Campbell"] and got it done both at the rim and on the glass, has expanded his arsenal of moves has shown the kind of growth in his post-game that clearly is starting to grab the attention of opposing coaches as they collapse defenders down and pay more note, a big summer approaches as he continues to surely gain the eyeballs of next-level programs. [player_tooltip player_id="869586" first="Logan" last="Turner"], Senior, 6-5, SG, Centennial Another night another impressive performance from Turner seemingly drifts through the ATL-Metro hoops landscape like a wraith wreaking havoc on opponents who simply don’t give his game the proper respect, his 19-point first half in a win over River Ridge was as good a half of ball as you’ll see, getting points from beyond the arc, attacking the mid-range, and exploding as he’s apt to do off the fast break, it’s broken record territory to say what a steal he’ll be at the next level with such innate scoring chops and good length to be a versatile defensive presence at multiple positions as well. [player_tooltip player_id="869644" first="KJ" last="Spooney"], Senior, 6-0, PG, Centennial Lay off Spooney at your own risk when playing the Knights for he has shown this year the kind of confident 3-land stroke that can be a game-changer, it’s pick your poison with the 3-headed beast of turner, Spooney and versatile [player_tooltip player_id="806764" first="Kyle" last="Duncan"] (not to mention exciting sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="873090" first="Mansir" last="Williamson"] off the bench), he calmly sank 5 treys against River Ridge and has shown excellent poise at the lead spot, another ATL-Metro under the radar guard who can find his way onto a D3 or NAIA roster and be a solid and certain contributor at both ends.