Top Performers 16U-Day 2-#PHMidwestGrindSession 

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I had a blast covering my first event on the boy's side, I'll drop OTHER STANDOUTS as well as the All-Tournament team later today as well as tomorrow but here were some of the Top Performers on Sunday from the 16U Division </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Owen Smail-5'9 G (LTD Select Light Blue 2025) Maranatha Academy [2025]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Smail understands how to "put the ball in the basket" in multiple ways. His pull-up jumper, both in the set as well as in transition stood out and he dropped it from mid to long-range while being defended. He used screens nicely and dropped his shot coming off them, he also showed he could "catch and shoot" with accuracy but his first step was nice as he attacked the basket from multiple angles and finished after the lick. He also scored on putbacks and saw the floor </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Carson Gray-6'5 C (Kansas Magic 2025) Sterling [2024]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gray had me smiling for a number of reasons, first of all, I enjoyed seeing him go to work in the paint on both ends. His college-ready frame makes him hard to handle, but nice hands and footwork helped him score around the basket, putbacks included, yes he rebounded on both ends. He also ran the floor, on both ends, and watching him be the recipient of an alley-oop that he finished had me smiling from afar. He did a good job defending inside the paint as well as getting the outlet going</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1624979' first='Ian' last='Crump']-6'1 G (Kansas Magic 2025) Abilene [2025]</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Crump showed "on the ball" defense all weekend and his pressure helped create turnovers. He uses his hands nicely to anticipate and come away with steals yet picking pockets wasn't the only thing defensively as he also used that same anticipation reading the floor to play the passing lane. He attacked the basket numerous times to score, and yes, that includes after-contact but he dropped the jumper with a hand in his face and had a hand in baskets by seeing the floor and getting assists </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CJ Porter (Heart Over Hustle)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Porter is "long and athletic" that played the passing lane as well as anyone I caught over the weekend. He has a nice first step to attack the basket and solid body control on his finishes after contact included. He also saw the floor while attacking the basket, he saw it in the set and his court vision in the open court was also impressive. He did a good job applying defensive pressure, baseline to baseline but he showed he could not only create his shot but elevate and drop it from mid to long-range </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Owen Allman-Wichita Padres Ashton</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Allman mixed it up offensively very well and with abundant ways to score, it kept the defender off balance. He understands how to create his shot under pressure, he has a deceptive first step that enables him to attack the basket strongly, with either hand, and finishes strongly, off balance, and after contact at times. His creativity also helped him to get his shot off and knock it down with a hand in his face but his stop-and-pop jumper in transition was nice, and so was his ability to "catch and shoot" and drop it </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2776583' first='Derek' last='Stokes']- Wolfpack 2025</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stokes was solid on both days yet I was overly impressed with his timing as well as defense on Sunday. He came from nowhere several times to get highlight blocks and that. along with his "on the ball" defense helped change the momentum in one of their games in which they were down. His UPS also enabled him to score over taller players, the FLOATA was nice, and so was his court vision and jumper. Let me also mention his quick hands-on defense to come away with steals, and he played the passing lane </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->