Alex's Notebook: Eye Catcher Standouts Battle of The Brands

Battle of The Brands was one of the premier tournaments in Houston that helped open the grassroots season for this summer. Put on annually by the Gulf Coast Blue Chips and [program_tooltip program_id='2078788' first='Houston' last='Defenders'], several high-level teams were in attendance and there were some key athletes who impressed all weekend long. Despite the long days, spectator numbers were several hundred throughout the weekend. Let's dive into evaluating some of the players who were key for their teams.    [player_tooltip player_id='2399909' first='Will' last='Arriaga'] is one of the main key scorers for Team Dominate during the early part of this grassroots season. In just a few short tournaments, he has continued his momentum from Houston Christian into AAU and is making his mark on Houston basketball. Will blends a good skillset of size, athleticism, and IQ as he can play either the wing or the guard slot. He slashes to the rim and finishes at a high clip whether or not someone is in his way, he can defend at the basket and on the perimeter and just has a super high motor. Will is one of those hidden gems that has leveled his game up at the right time in his varsity career and definitely has a lot of eyes watching him after his play in recent weeks.     Marri was all over the floor for [program_tooltip program_id='2371255' first='AB' last='Elite'] EYBL all weekend as they made a statement at the Battle of the Brands tournament. Part of an explosive starting lineup, Wesley is a good 3 level scorer who can get any kind of bucket whenever he wants to. In the game I watched him play on Saturday, no defender could stay in front of Marri as he got to the hoop and got some key and-ones to fall under the rim. He made sure to make the most out of his opportunities at the charity stripe and was a physical on ball defender who used his frame and IQ to create fastbreak chances for his team to score when he was able to rip the ball from his matchup. This was my second time getting to watch Wesley in his person and his ceiling continues to be sky high going into AAU season.     "Shoot the basketball any chance you get" was the name of the game for Kaden Solis this weekend as he lit up several teams from three-point range in games for CME Elite 17u. Playing the primary ballhandler role created several open looks for Solis on the perimeter to shoot over the defense and get hot from long range. This led to CME going on hot streaks multiple times throughout the weekend with numerous 3-point buckets coming from Kaden. He also knows how to keep teammates involved and is a very good passer off the pick and roll.     [player_tooltip player_id='2460277' first='Diego' last='Landin'] was probably one of the most complete players I was able to watch at the tournament all weekend. He was the player D1 Mexico ran a lot of their plays through and could score the basketball whether under the basket, in the midrange, or on the 3-point line. He does not take possessions off and is a constant hustle player when he is on the court, securing second chance points and rebounds for his squad. With good size playing the guard spot, he is able to always know where his teammates are on the court and his defense is very fundamental as he doesn't bite on pump fakes and stays disciplined.

Battle of The Brands was one of the premier tournaments in Houston that helped open the grassroots season for this summer. Put on annually by the Gulf Coast Blue Chips and Houston Defenders , several high-level teams were in attendance and there were some key athletes who impressed all weekend long. Despite the long days, spectator numbers were several hundred throughout the weekend. Let's dive into evaluating some of the players who were key for their teams.