The Top 5 Standouts from Thursday Night Throw-down

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We had a chance to attend a Thursday night throw-down match-up with Next-level Prep vs life prep. Life Prep is coming in with some momentum ahead of the game to continue that energy. There was no disappointment in this game with tons of highlight plays from players dunking on each other, or rim-protecting with 3 blocked shots in the same possession by the same person, check out who we felt was the headliner for this in-town matchup. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1080193' first='Zion' last='Young'] (Life Prep, Guard)- The newly transferred guard coming off a controversial move that headlined the news, looks to retain focus and finish out his senior season under coach Hart. Young has had multiple 20-point games since coming over and has been the go-to scorer for this Life Prep team so far. The lefty guard is a problem on both ends of the floor with his physicality in the paint when he's looking to finish or how he bumps drivers out of their line to attack. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>D'Angelo Dawkins (Life Prep, Guard)- Goes by the name "D-Lo", he's been a huge presence for this Life Prep team off the ball. With his point guard handling the ball, he's able to focus on scoring the ball which he's done very well next to his teammate Zion. Shooting the ball well this season behind the 3-point line off the catch and off the dribble. He's been doing a good job of finishing at the rim, in particularly in transition.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Julian Herrera (Next Level Prep, Guard)- A guard that plays at his pace and speeds the entire game. Julian doesn't seem to get sped up when he's pressed, and has good footwork to maneuver through tough situations or traps. He has a good knack for the game being able to find his open teammates and put them in a position to score and be themselves which requires him to put himself on the back burner more often than not. Excellent free throw shooter that helped sealed the win again </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aurthor Videira (Life Prep, Forward)- When you talk about the best paint protection in the city you have to mention his name. If he didn't block the shot in the game he for sure contested it making it extremely difficult to score for the opposing team. On the offensive end he was like a bull seeing the red cape, he ran right to the rim looking to finish strong every chance he could. There wasn't much that could stop him before he got in foul trouble and had to sit on the bench. The 6'8" forward already receiving D1 interest will be a problem as he continues to develop on both ends of the floor. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Christian Hodges (Next Level Prep, Forward)- Christian who plays the undersized forward spot for next-level prep has a strong frame that interrupts everything you have going on. With his strong frame, he's tough to move around when trying to box out, he's so smart on his timing with rebounds he can get you in foul trouble just by getting you to go over the back of him. On the offensive end, he loves going to his hook, although it may get blocked he stays with it and gets the second chance points causing frustration for the other team. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->