Rumble In The Rapids: Tate’s Observations 2.0

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first weekend of the grassroots season wrapped up yesterday as hoopers across the state got back on the court. I was at the Rumble In The Rapids in Grand Rapids covering the 17U slate of games. Be sure to check out my <a href="https://prephoops.com/2023/04/rumble-in-the-rapids-tates-observations-1-0/">initial observations from Saturday's games</a>. Also, stay tuned for my tournament MVP list, best shooters list, and best defenders lists to come.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ateny Koul </strong>had a couple of big performances on Sunday, including a 16-point game against REAL 24. Ateny is a lanky guard with a 6'3 frame who uses his size well in several aspects. I thought Ateny disrupted passing lanes and made life hard on REAL when they were trying to feed their post. Offensively, Ateny showed off a smooth crossover step-back combo that allowed him to get separation from his defender.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Clarence Lewis Jr.</strong> was one of the more impressive on-ball defenders I saw over the weekend. He applied constant pressure and forced his fair share of turnovers, leading to easy transition buckets. At the end of Sunday's slate of games, Clarence <a href="https://twitter.com/tatebaker_1/status/1642607976966922240">made one of the best plays of the weekend</a>, intercepting an in-bounds pass and hitting a 10-foot floater on the baseline at the buzzer to give his team a two-point win. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1825080' first='Pryor' last='Reynolds']</strong> turned plenty of heads with his scoring outputs over the weekend. Pryor averaged just under 21 points a game and was one of, if not the most consistent floor general across the 17U pool. Pryor showed a quick first step and an ability to read the defense and get a quality look for his teammates.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Nick Speiser</strong> had one of the more dominant performances I noticed over the weekend. No matter the matchup, Nick's size, and strength allowed him to control the paint and get off-quality high-percentage looks. I thought Nick showed excellent footwork with his back to the basket, and he stepped outside and knocked down several jumpers. Nick's versatility on the offensive end and his ability to guard multiple positions defensively was an essential factor to the Goonies going 4-0 over the weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1171011' first='Corey' last='Charleston']</strong> had a couple of big performances for the Detroit Bulldogs, highlighted by a 20-point performance on Saturday. Corey was deadly from long range and he also showed a willingness to get to the rack via his dribble drive.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Marc Whitfield</strong> had a solid weekend as the lead guard for BNB 25, leading his team to a 3-1 record. I thought Marc did a great job finding his teammates off his dribble drive. His ability to draw in help-side defenders and kick it out to an open man was a key reason for his team's success over the weekend. I was as impressed with Marc's aggressiveness playing off the ball as well. He can get downhill in a hurry and keeps his eyes at the rim when attacking the basket.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Colton Dysinger</strong> put together a great weekend of play, helping REAL Academy to a 3-1 record. Colton put up 12 and 15 points in REAL's two games on Sunday, showing off an ability to create his own shot for himself and others. I thought Colton did a great job facilitating the offense and finding both his post and his shooters out on the wings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1112311' first='Daveon' last='Hall']</strong> was arguably the most dynamic athlete on Sky's The Limit's 17U squad. He made an impressive amount of tough shots and was suffocating defensively. Daveon was aggressive at attacking the basket and did a good job of finding creases in the defense to take advantage of. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jerry Boyd</strong> stood out to me as one of the prospects that showed consistent effort and led with hustle plays. Jerry was active defensively and did a good job of anticipating where his man wanted to go with the ball and often times beat him to his spot. There was one sequence where Jerry attached in transition for a bucket, then stole the in-bounds pass and converted with another layup. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->