Week 8 Action: Underrated Performances

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wins and losses are decided by points, but the game is more than that. And still it's easy for the other aspects of the game and non-scorers to go unappreciated. Here are six prospects who put a range of skills on display this past week:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2628287' first='Xylon' last='Aikens'] | 5'11 G 2027 Delcastle </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aikens's play at point guard was impressive when the Cougars hosted Odessa on Friday afternoon. He habitually drew an extra defender then threw the ball over top or fed the post. Rather than set his teammates up off of dribble penetration, he won with split-second decision-making, including on baseline out-of-bounds plays. On top of that, Aikens gave maximum effort as a disruptive on-ball defender. He finished with 8 points, 5 boards, 9 assists, and 4 steals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='3437681' first='Andrew' last='Collins'] | 6'6 C 2026 Delmarva Christian </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Royals' big man threw his weight around versus Red Lion and it turned into a dominant defensive performance. Even while manning up with the Lions' center, Collins helped off of him and kept his hands active to patch any cracks in the team defense. From time-to-time, he showed some flashes of a post game as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2375192' first='Kameron' last='Jackson-Dickson'] | 6'2 G 2026 Dover </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Senators crept into the Eagles' nest left with a win, in no small part due to their floor general. Jackson-Dickson had a flawless fourth quarter to bring them back into the game. As soon as they got a defensive rebound, he orchestrated their transition attack to produce high-percentage baskets. In the halfcourt, he slung the ball around the perimeter with skip passes for wide open threes and made critical free throws down the stretch. Jackson-Dickson captained his team to victory with 6 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, and 3 steals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2551782' first='Pharaoh' last='McNeil'] | 5'11 G 2026 Smyrna </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>New to the starting lineup, McNeil played with his hair on fire against Dover. He maximized his touches by hustling to clean the glass and moving without the ball. In the second quarter, that translated into three layups from running the lane and cutting, but in the third it turned into three treys. His sense of urgency kept him on the floor in crunchtime, allowing him to rack up 15 points (3 threes), 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2613798' first='Sam' last='Taylor'] | 6'1 G 2026 Red Lion Christian </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Down at Delmarva Christian on Saturday, Taylor was lights out for the Lions. It started with his energy on the defensive end, where he made heady plays. That ignited his play on offense. Taylor cashed in one three after another that lit a fire in his team. And he returned the favor with his ball movement that helped others get loose from behind the arc. His sense of urgency from start to finish culminated into a complete floor game – 16 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2770688' first='William' last='Warfield'] | 6'0 G 2026 Odessa </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Other than a movement three he hit, Warfield led the Ducks in scoring versus Delcastle by making his way to the baja. He drove with force and played through contact for multiple and-ones. The two-way guard also battled on defense, using his hands to knock the ball away from opposing players in different situations and turn those into scoring opportunities. As a result, Warfield finished with 20 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->