Phenom Challenge: 16U Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2024 Phenom Challenge took place this Saturday and Sunday at the Upward Star Center in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The 16U Age Group had two divisions with [program_tooltip program_id='2078755' first='Upward' last='Stars Upstate'] 16U taking down Upward Stars SE 15U in the Blue and Carolina Celtics defeating [program_tooltip program_id='2379465' first='Crush' last='Elite'] in the Orange. These two brackets featured several "diamonds in the rough" and a couple of youngsters who had huge performances in clutch situations. Check them out below: </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2361714"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":2421068,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"[player_tooltip player_id='2361714' first='Jonathan' last='Perry'] is 1/2 of the [program_tooltip program_id='2078755' first='Upward' last='Stars Upstate'] 16U Backcourt that had a tremendous performance in the Championship Game vs Upward Stars SE. He seemed to get bucket after bucket for the Stars early, going for 16 points in the opening half. Jonathan is a determined driver who is comfortable going to either side and finishing in creative ways. He has a quick first step and is a handful to keep in front. Perry also is a good rebounder and will push the pace when he brings one down.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":2421069,"_player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"Johnston Abrams","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"5'11u0022","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"77246","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"Spartanburg","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"[program_tooltip program_id='2078755' first='Upward' last='Stars Upstate'] 16U","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_1_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"While it was Perry who took over the first half, Abrams had an equally important second half and had several huge plays down the stretch of the Championship Game win vs Upward Stars SE. Johnston put up 19 Points in the game including a massive corner three in the final two minutes. He is often the main ball handler for this [program_tooltip program_id='2078755' first='Upward' last='Stars Upstate'] squad and he did a very good job of taking care of the ball, not getting sped up, and keeping the offense in rhythm.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["2175533"],"_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":"Chase had a solid performance early on Saturday at the Phenom Challenge. He was very active on the offensive end and had several baskets in the paint. Littlefield has both good hands and feet and when he catches it in the low post, he is a consistent scorer. He is solid on the defensive end, too. Chase is capable of banging with opposing bigs but also has a good sense of when to take the bump and draw a charge, which he did twice in the second half.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_player_details_selected_featured_image":2421070,"_player_evaluations_3_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_3_player_details_player_name":"Dillon Mason","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_3_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_3_player_details_height":"6'4u0022","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_3_player_details_position":"77247","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_3_player_details_school":"","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_3_player_details_club_team":"Upward Stars Carolinas 16U","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_3_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_3_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Mason was one of the biggest standouts of the entire tournament. He has the potential to be a very dominant wing, for sure. Dillon frequently took his matchup off the dribble using his handle and quickness. He also can finish above defenders or through contact when he gets to the bucket. Mason can even step outside and hit a perimeter shot, but what was most impressive is his rim protection. Of the two games I watched Upward Stars Carolinas 16U this weekend, he had multiple blocks in both. On Saturday's win over NLE 2026, he had 21 Points and 3 Blocks, while in a loss to Upward Stars SE on Sunday he had 11 Points and 5 Blocks.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["1711395"],"_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":"Bears has been very solid for Pasadena Stars so far this Spring and had another good weekend in Spartanburg. He stepped up his game on the offensive end and was a big reason why his team advanced to the 16U Blue Semifinal. Carter had 10 Points and 7 Rebounds in a Second-Round Matchup with Team Truzzy. He was a handful in the paint of the offensive hand, scoring over his left should at will. Carter has a good foundation and was also effective in the pick-and-roll offense.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_5_player":["1487225"],"_player_evaluations_5_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_5_player_featured_image":2421071,"_player_evaluations_5_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"[player_tooltip player_id='1487225' first='Desmond' last='Harrington'] had a very strong weekend for Upward Stars SE 15U, who were playing up in the 16U Division this weekend. Despite that, Harrington had a size and length advantage over most bigs that he matched up with. Desmond was very aggressive throughout the weekend and excelled in cleaning the glass, scoring around the basket, and protecting his rim. He wasn't asked to score much in the 16U Blue Bracket Championship Game, but he was a beast on the glass pulling down 13 Rebounds.","_player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":6,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6628735d5586c"} /-->