Friday Standouts: NEO Youth Elite Christmas Classic

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The NEO Youth Elite Christmas Classic brought out four competitive games featuring northeast Ohio teams. In this article we'll break down who the top performers were from Friday's action.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2304813"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"A comfortable victory to open the action, Euclid rolled over Gilmour Academy thanks in large part to the play of Duncan. The Junior off guard had a big scoring game with a handful of 3-pointers from the wing and corner. A solid transition athlete, Duncan had a reverse layup on the fast break and a couple drive and scores in the half court as well. A name to watch next season, he could be one of the top scorers in northeast Ohio.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1373988"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Another dominant performance, Maple Heights dominated Elyria by forcing so many turnovers and getting easy buckets. I thought Giles defensively caused a lot of havoc with his toughness and aggressiveness getting his hands on loose balls. As a scorer, Giles scored it in a variety of ways including a couple blow by buckets in isolation and two right hand finishes at the rim. The lefty also knocked down a couple 3's including one after a double crossover move that left the defender in the dust just before the first half horn. Giles is a prospect who should be receiving scholarship interest from Division II and NAIA programs based on his scoring ability and toughness.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["1222354"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Battling injuries both last season and this season against Cleveland Heights, when McCulloch was on the court on Friday he was dominant on both ends. Having probably around six blocks in the game, McCulloch was able to wall up in the paint and had a couple multiple block possessions. On the offensive end, the Falcons didn't need McCulloch to do too much but I liked one pump fake move he used on a slower big to get an open shot. He missed that shot but got the offensive rebound and slammed home the putback. There might not be anyone in Ohio playing better basketball than McCulloch right now as he's making his case for Mr. Basketball.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["1432058"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"The lone competitive game of the day, Brush got a gritty victory over a much-improved Warrensville Heights squad. I thought Dammons was impressive, especially in transition where he can use his explosive athleticism. A couple breakaway dunks and layups on the fast break, when Dammons gets a head of steam he is tough to stop at the rim. The shot of the game was also made by Dammons with a DEEP 3-pointer at the third quarter buzzer to put Brush up by 2, they would never give that lead up in the final frame. Expect scholarship programs to start really inquiring about Dammons starting this spring when the grassroots season gets underway.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["2304806"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"A competitive back and forth game means we'll highlight one prospect from a losing team and I picked Brownlee. I thought as a team Warrensville Heights was impressive considering where their program has been the past two years. A strong senior class led by Brownlee Jr made some clutch shots to keep them in the game. Shooting a smooth ball off the catch, Brownlee can play on or off the ball from the guard position. One 3-pointer Brownlee got knocked over I thought it could've even been a potential four-point play on the shot. At the end of the game, Brownlee hit a circus shot to cut the deficit to three but Brush knocked down a free throw to ice it with only a few seconds left. Small college programs around the region will want to check out Warrensville Heights as they have a couple senior small college prospects including Brownlee.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6586fb78dfe9e"} /-->