22nd Annual Tom Welsh Holiday Classic Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Just after Christmas, Head-Royce High School held the 22nd Annual Tom Welsh Holiday Classic. During some downtime in the holiday season, I found this a fun watch on Hudl and was impressed with some of the talent throughout the tournament. The school in Oakland, California hosted 8 teams over 3 days through the schools holiday breaks. The host team, the Head-Royce Jayhawks, defeated the Lick-Wilmerding Tigers in the championship game by a low score of 39-29. There was a good mix of hot shooting nights and lockdown defensive performances for these teams. Below I break down players who stood out to me and made a big impact of their teams success.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2059749"],"_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":"An unexpected riser for me throughout this tournament was G Finn McDonald from the Lick-Wilmerding Tigers. Every team felt Finn's presence right from the tip. An ascending sophomore had the opposing defense aware from 30 feet from the hoop. All teams throughout the tournament made a conscious effort to try to keep McDonald in front of them and not let him roam free for any open shots. His conditioning led him to break free from defenders off the ball, then put himself into great positions for good drives for himself, or good kick outs and pocket passes to teammates. I expect him to continue to grow even more as a player as he is becoming one of the top underclassmen in the San Francisco area.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1119260"],"_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":"The athletic big man was a pain in every teams side on the way to a tournament championship for his Head-Royce Jayhawks. What stood out to me the most in Pierre-Louis game was his defensive presence and awareness. It is rare to see someone at the high school level really understand defensive positioning like he does. He was able to help off of his defensive assignment to be a rim protecter and stop any passes going past him to his big man opponent. He had multiple steals and blocks in every game he played in throughout this tournament. Marcel will continue to progress with his skills as a player and will look to be a standout in the Bay Area Conference this season.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"Micah Marquez","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"5'10u0022","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"77244","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"St. Helena","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_2_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Although the St. Helena team had some tough losses in this tournament, Micah Marquez was a player who popped off the screen. The crafty guard was the lead orchestrator for his team, moving the ball with good pace and keeping the St. Helena offense from being too stagnant. Marquez has a tight handle, consistently breaking the opposing teams full court pressure and using his downhill speed to be effective in transition. On the other side of the ball, Marquez was able to navigate the defenders screens properly and get back to his defensive assignment with ease. He continued to be light on his feet and be a pest in the passing lanes and constantly force turnover throughout the tournament. The results may not have been in their favor this tournament, but I assume with Micah's leadership, court vision on offense, and defensive playmaking on the perimeter on defense, this St. Helena team will be a tough out in their North Central league games this season.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["1573085"],"_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":"Junior, Micah Nyamuzuke continues to be a rising star in Northern California hoops. Nyamuzuke put his guard skills on display during this tournament, getting to the basket whenever he wants, and using his jump shot as a threat, making the opposing defense tend to overplay. Micah's IQ impressed me over this tournament. He showed he really has a great feel for the game knowing when he should get his shot or look for others. I think Micah is a college caliber guard and I hope he gets some good looks from some D1 schools while his next 2 seasons go along.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_4_player_details_player_name":"Benzell Luckey","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_4_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_4_player_details_height":"5'11u0022","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_4_player_details_position":"77248","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_4_player_details_school":"John Swett High School","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_4_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_4_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_4_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"Benzell seems to have started the season as the John Swett teams best player, improving off of last years play. He was a clear standout in the Tom Welsh Classic. Luckey was clutch throughout the tournament, hitting big shot after big shot. Luckey was not afraid of the moment and wanted to be trusted in those big moments of the game. He was a crucial part of his teams offense, as they looked to him to be a creator while setting his team up for high percentage shots. Although it hasn't been a great start to the season for this team record wise, I expect with Benzell's play, they will continue to improve and win games throughout their season.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-659398ba737f4"} /-->