Week 8 Action: Standout Underclassmen

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We saw an array of upperclassmen shining on the court last week. But there were a few underclassmen too. Here are five who caught my eye: </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2613325' first='Brady' last='Esser'] | 6'1 G 2028 Salesianum </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With most of Howard's attention on Wright, Esser came off the bench and made plays on both ends. The soccer star routinely burst into the lane for layups and pocket passes. The turnovers Esser collected allowed him to put even more pressure on the rim and get others involved. Then he extended his range in the third quarter, spotting up for one three and pulling up for another. He did this all the while playing physical defense at the point of attack. Sallies fell but Esser showed a ton of promise with his 10 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='3036607' first='Jah'leer' last='Haley'] | 6'6 C 2028 Red Lion Christian </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Down at Delmarva Christian, Haley asserted himself on both sides of the ball. Going up against a brick wall for the Royals, he showed off his smooth footwork in the post and repeatedly found angles to score around the basket. His sweet feet extended to the elbow where he drove and played through contact on his way to the cup. Haley absorbed contact as a rim protector too, forcefully challenging players who thought they could get home against him. In the end, he led the Lions with 18 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='3288756' first='Aarian' last='Tucker'] | 6'0 G 2029 Delmarva Christian </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tucker made a living at the basket when the Royals took down Red Lion. He timed up his drives well, because as soon as the lane was clear, he slipped past his defender off the dribble and/or played off the catch to get his paint touches. Tucker didn't shy away from contact either, earning him a plethora of chances at the free throw line. And as he drew more eyes on him, he made sure to kick the ball back out to his guys ready and waiting around the arc. Tucker easily led all scorers with over 20 points on the day, several rebounds and assists, and a couple steals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2867778' first='Turk' last='Wilburn'] | 5'10 G 2029 Odessa </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wilburn didn't get up many shots of his own in the back-and-forth affair with Delcastle, but he pulled the strings to create opportunities for the guys who did. He threw bullet passes into the post, skipped the ball along the baseline to the corner, and zipped the ball around to shooters the perimeter. His two field goal makes came on a mid-range jumper and a steal he took coast-to-coast. And when he finally went to the free throw line in the final moments, Wilburn knocked down both shots to secure the victory and tally 6 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2767455' first='Khaleef' last='Wilson'] | 6'0 G 2029 Archmere </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Auks came up short versus St. Elizabeth, but not without a clean performance from Wilson. He started off with a couple bombs from deep, the first off of a down screen and the second to beat the buzzer at the end of the first quarter. His jumper stopped falling so Wilson generated paint touches by slashing, moving off-ball, and cleaning the glass. Then, when his team desperately needed to cut into the Vikings' lead, he tipped away passes to manufacture fastbreaks. He finished with 18 points, 6 boards, and 4 steals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->