MLK Classic at De La Salle player of the game
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De La Salle High School in Concord, CA is where 8 games were played. There were two sessions, 4 games played in each session. Each game had a MOP award given to the player that stood out most in the…
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Continue ReadingDe La Salle High School in Concord, CA is where 8 games were played. There were two sessions, 4 games played in each session. Each game had a MOP award given to the player that stood out most in the eyes of media types who were in attendance. These are the prospect chosen.
Andrew Placido
Andrew Placido
Standing 6’1 with a solid body, Placido showed the toughness needed to handle bigger players inside the key. He had hard drives into the paint along the perimeter and baseline, earning a trips to the line, he’ll make his free throws. He worked hard to secure rebounds against bigger players. He was the leading scorer at the half of a low scoring contest to finish with 13pts for the game.
He’s a long versatile guard with a good skill set. He’s a triple threat with the ball in his hands. He’s a ball handler, passer with vision to find open players. He sets the offense often in the half-court. He can go get a bucket when the opportunity present itself. He squares up nicely to knock down jump shots, long, short off the dribble, or catch and shoot.
The high jumping Batson Jr served notice early he was going to be a factor, with a lob dunk early in the game, after that it was more high flying dunks, reverse layups, and other strong moves around the rim for points, in transition, or half-court. We saw him drops 3’s from the corner, drive the baseline, use other angles gliding his way in for finishes at the rim. He had 27pts.
Connor Amundsen
Connor Amundsen
He has a good understanding of what his capabilities are in a game. Whether it’s scoring at a high rate, with a series of moves he uses to get a bucket, including mid, and long range jumpers off the dribble, or settling the team to run the offense in the half-court. He has vision and good passing to find open players around the perimeter, and into the post.
Blair is one of our top prospects in the 2025 class. Standing 6’6 he has guard skills. He handles the ball a lot up top controlling tempo, deciding whether to drive, pass or shoot using his dribble in transition, or half-court. He uses his size, and large hands to control the ball when he gets into the paint. His length, and jump makes it hard to block his shot. He has a paint jumper, good foot work, and other moves he uses when he goes inside. He flirted with a triple, double, 11pts, 10rebs, 6asts.
He’s one of the top prospects in California probably regardless of class. He’s a dominant player with size and abilities to takeover a game at the high school level in most games. He finished with 30pts in a variety of ways one can score points in a game. He’s proven he’s not just a player that goes inside to get a bucket using his strength and going up higher than most. He did that but, also knocked down a 3 from the top, he handled, passed and made good decisions, along with gathering rebounds and blocks.
He’s part of a deep bench on the number one team in NorCal, on any given night one will make a difference. It was Davis who provided a lift after the teams sluggish start, with back to back 3’s. He knocked down 5-3’s to end with 18pts. He’s a quality ball handler, and facilitator that can run a team. His speed and quick hands on the defensive side usually stands out. His ability to hit the open jumper adds to his game.
It was a breakout game for Willenborg, a prospect who has the tools to impact a game. The unsigned 6’3 shooting guard played a good all around game. He was active and aggressively looking to put points on the board. He made several driving moves to get to the basket from different angles, and along the baseline. He rebounded, led the transition break with decisive passing, one he went all the way. 17pts, 6rebs.