Swish N Dish: Michigan Standouts
This weekend marked the start of a new AAU season with several tournaments across the country. The place to be was in Mequon, Wisconsin, for NY2LA’s Swish N Dish. This event was loaded with talent – some of the top teams from the EYBL and UAA, as well as some of the best non-shoe teams in the country. REACH Legends, a NY2LA team that is perhaps Michigan’s best non-shoe program, was the lone team representing the mitten at this event. While the 16u was bounced early, the 17u team was the last standing non-shoe team in the platinum bracket. Here’s a look at some of the top individual performers from the weekend.
Lorne Bowman (2020, Reach 17u)
Bowman played a grade up with this squad last year, and will continue that through this season. He was the best player on the team this tournament, especially on Saturday. Bowman led his squad to 3 consecutive victories on Saturday, averaging nearly 20 points per game. He was on fire from three, knocking down an array of shots from beyond the arc. He picked up an offer from Buffalo at the end of the weekend.
Carrington McCaskill (2019, Reach 17u)
McCaskill enjoyed a breakout summer, picking up his first D1 offer in high school summer leagues in June. When he returned to NY2LA events in July, McCaskill played great, earning 7 more offers over the rest of the summer. This weekend, he picked up right where he left off doing what he does best – abusing rims. The high-flyer had around 15 dunks in 5 games for the weekend. In Michigan, he’s known as one of the best offensive rebounders in the state and found success doing so even against circuit teams with big men who had 3-4 inches on McCaskill. He plays with a toughness and a high motor that is hard to contain over the course of an entire game. Because of this, he consistently produces solid games, even if it’s just tough rebounds and a handful of buckets in close – regardless, it still makes an impact.
Jayshawn Moore (2020, Reach 16u)
Moore is a tweener when it comes to his true position – it’s somewhere between a wing and a point guard. This tournament, however, he was relegated to handling all the PG duties as Reach was missing their floor general and arguably their best player in Tyson Acuff. However, Moore played well the whole weekend in this role. He averaged around 12 points and 4-5 assists in the 3 games Reach played this weekend. Also, standing a long 6’4″, Moore was able to average nearly 10 rebounds a game in addition to solid scoring and facilitating numbers.
Colin Golson (2020, Reach 16u)
There are few sophomores who can match Golson’s overwhelming physical size/strength. It’s obvious that he plays football when you watch him play basketball for multiple reasons. He’s more muscular and filled out than most seniors, which allows him to play a physical, bully-ball style of basketball. This weekend, Golson made a living in the paint both scoring and on the glass. He relied on this nice running-hook shot, which seems to be his go-to move, to score with a good percentage of his points. He’s fairly raw yet, but nevertheless makes an impact with his physicality and activity in the paint.
Jalen Thomas (2019, Reach 17u)
Thomas isn’t the type of player to explode for a 30-point game or average 20 points, but he will give you good, consistent minutes of great rebounding and rim protection. The 6’9″ big man was huge for Reach all weekend doing just that – and finishing in close when needed. He had his best game against the best competition – EYBL team Mac Irvin Fire, who had plenty of size. Thomas is Reach’s lone true big man but was able to hold down the paint against Mac Irvin’s several big men. In this game, he not only did his usual of rebounding and blocking shots, he also stepped out and knocked down a couple mid-range jumpers as well.