Max’s Midweek Sectional Standouts
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Seven prospects who impressed during the first two sectional playoff games I was able to watch this week! Deidrick Taylor MN #84 PG #24 HEIGHT 5'10" POS PG CLASS 2024 View Profile Deidrick Taylor Twitter State: Minnesota School: Thomas Edison…
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Continue ReadingSeven prospects who impressed during the first two sectional playoff games I was able to watch this week!
Deidrick may not have had his best shooting performance, but he did so many other things to help lead Edison past Patrick Henry. He has electric speed on the ball, and used that to get into the lane at will. Once there he had his eyes scanning for a dump-off pass to one of his bigs, leading to plenty of assist opportunities. Even though his shot wasn’t falling, his ability to get into the paint allowed him to earn trips to the free throw line for some easy points. One of those free throws saw him become the all time scoring leader at Edison. Defensively his speed allowed him to deflect or steal a bunch of passes, and those steals led to plenty of 2v1 situations in transition. Finished with 22 points in an exciting win.
Highlights
Francis Endrizzi
Francis Endrizzi
On the receiving end of many of Deidrick’s passes was Francis Endrizzi. At 6’4 he was often the tallest player on the floor, and he showcased good hands to catch in traffic and keep the ball up high as he went up to finish. Took some hits that on a lot of nights would have led to a lot more FT attempts, but in a physical game he did a nice job of staying relentless and battling for his own misses on the glass. That effort kept possessions alive, and also allowed him to finish with 20 points as he was constantly working for good looks in the paint.
Eban hit some big shots in the second half to bring Patrick Henry back from a double-digit deficit. His 22 points helped put his team in position to take the lead with under a minute to play in the game. Although his team came up just short, he showed the type of damage he can do from beyond the arc. Eban is the type of shooter you simply cannot lose track of, because when given the space he will torch you from three. He has a quick release and range extending well beyond the high school line. Showed he can shot fake and drive as well, with nice touch on his floater to finish over taller defenders in the lane.
Davontae White-Sledge
Davontae White-Sledge
The explosive slasher put up 21 points helping Patrick Henry take Edison down to the wire. If there was a gap to the rim, Davontae was going to find it and explode to the basket to finish. Showed some impressive athleticism to elevate off one or two feet at the rim. Used that athleticism as a rebounder and versatile defender as well. Multi-sport star who was a standout quarterback during the football season as well.
Ryan was a huge spark for Farmington, particularly in the first half. He came in off the bench and was making an impact with his three point shooting, always having his hands and feet ready to shoot and get a shot off. Those early makes helped set up a key basket late in the game, as a defender closed out too fast to prevent the shot, and Ryan blew by him along the baseline before finishing at the rim for a clutch bucket. Finished with a team high 24 points in the win for Farmington.
Highlights
Chan Malith Chan Malith 6’4″ | SG Rochester JM | 2024 State MN has limitless confidence and explosive scoring ability to match. Against a Top 10 ranked Farmington team, Chan wasn’t going to go down without a fight. He put together a huge second half to bring his team back from a double-digit deficit and ended up forcing overtime. Farmington tried to defend him with bigger wings, but Chan was just too explosive off the dribble and it allowed him to get to the rim or create separation for a jumper. Really got going in the second half with some deep threes and tough turn-around jumpers off the bounce. Outside of scoring I liked the way he attacked rebounds at their high point, and from there he was able to push the tempo to try to get his team a numbers advantage moving forward. Scored 34 points in his final high school game.
Tyler Beckwith Tyler Beckwith 6’5″ | SF Farmington | 2024 State MN is that do-it-all player for Farmington, and as they play a big starting five, Tyler typically plays one of the guard spots and does a lot of ball handling duties. He’s comfortable handling under some pressure and has good quickness at his size which allowed him to beat defenders off the dribble and get to the rack. He scored 19 points and was doing so efficiently as he was working for open threes or high percentage looks at the rim. Strong rebounder with the ability to high point the ball in traffic and secure it with two hands. Threw down an explosive dunk in overtime that put the game out of reach.