Day Three of Hard Work Live: Sports Enhancement Academy, Stoughton

No champions were crowned today per NCAA tournament restrictions. But the live period cut down on the red tape that limited coaches involvement high school recruitment. In turn, that opened the doors for division one coaches to be on sight for Hard Work Live. So, who exploited the opportunity during day three of the live period?

Gabe Myren - Minnesota Matrix: Myren was the top scorer for Minnesota Matrix in their win over Indiana Dawgz. He’s a bigger guard that can score on all three levels, but he grabbed my attention (and the five or so college coaches behind me) with his quickness and scoring around a few feet of the rim.

Quajon Young - North Florida Hurricanes: Some would point at 5’9 as some inescapable shortcoming -- I see it as an ideal chance for an Isaiah Thomas comparison. He shoots at an efficient clip, especially in transition where he can run rampant around the three-point arc or dribble into his jump shot. In the paint he looked seasoned with his finishes, scoring even while wearing defenders on his back. Height is no issue with Young, as nothing I’ve seen from him leads me to believe that he can’t be special at the next level.

Andrew Morgan - Minnesota Heat Tauer: Layup lines are kinda my thing. The dunks are cool, yes, but watching guys gives me a bare-boned baseline for certain players. This particular game, I asked for a little more on Morgan. What I got, “He’s a bully in the post,” and that’s really the best way to sum up his impact.

Today, Morgan was completely unguardable. He could muscle through a throng of limbs and finish, and he showed his touch with some post hooks. At 6’10 with a legitimate post-up game (which wasn’t common today), there’s a ton of potential left to act on.

Anfernee Nelson - NLU: Nelson flashed his mid-range game in their win over the Illinois Vipers. He freed up space on offense to knock down shots and was strong enough to finish through contact in the post.

Payton Sandfort - Kingdom Hoops Navy: Sandfort engineered a seamless first half in Kingdom Hoops' game with Minnesota Heat. Despite a substantial height drop off from him to Andrew Morgan, he went for eight in the first half. He shot the ball better than any 16U today, and he held his own in the paint, scoring a few buckets off post moves.

Alex Van Kalsbeek - South Dakota Attack: Van Kalsbeek picked up an offer this weekend after a few nice games with South Dakota Attack. He was active in the pick and roll, finding easy points off of post feeds.

Leondre Townsen - Illinois Vipers: Athleticism manifested differently this weekend, but none like Townsen’s. He skyed for rebounds, finishes around the hoop, and one booming slam in transition (it was visibly clear by the faces of college coaches on the baseline that they liked that one too). Though he didn’t convert especially well from outside, his jump shot looked fluid and he shot with noticable confidence.