Part Two of our Recap of the Texas Youth Basketball Circuit presented by Nelson Brand Sports which is supported by Texas Hoops is over the 2020 class. Here are over 20 players who performed at a high level this weekend.
The Bigs
No Surprise I start with the big men. Kameron Waites of Texas Premier, Kavon Moore of Texas Elite Basketball, Kaleb Cheers of Total Package and Donovan Payne of Texas Heat did a good job inside this weekend. Watching Waites play against Hardwork was like watching a sleeping giant wake up. The 6’7 post showed how dominate he can be down low. I have watched Waites okay extensively for the past couple of months and he has shown glimpses of dominance, but that game against Hardwork he just controlled the middle especially in the second half. He has a huge frame and he was muscling players for rebounds, finishing shots with contact, and scoring off jump-hooks. Defensively he was blocking shots, and getting posts out of the block. This is the Waites I have been waiting to see and hopefully games like that makes him realize how good he can be. Moore gets up and down the floor quick and that allows him to score in transition because he outruns the other big men. Defensively he rebounds the ball well and offensively he has decent range on his jumper and can finish inside due to his length. Cheers is a beast on the block. He has great size and he outmuscles his opponents on the block. He had a close 20-20 game on Sunday. He is a dependable option on the block and he scores inside in high volumes. Payne's success came in the paint especially off rebounds. He is a great help-side defender as well and he makes an impact on the floor without having to run a play for him. I have covered him for a while now and would like to see more of an offensive skillset from him but he looked impressive this weekend. He controls the paint for the Heat.
Dynamic Duos
This goes to the duos that got it done for their respective teams. San Antonio Admiral’s Greg Brown and Caleb Golden, Texas Elite’s LJ Cryer and Marcellous Paul, and Hardwork’s Braelon Seals and Micah Peavy. Brown has been written about before and the 6’6 forward was scoring from inside and out. He was handling the ball with heavy on-ball pressure and he shot the ball well from the perimeter. Brown is a top 10 player in the State and a riser in the 2020 class. Golden ran the point and he did a good job setting Brown up on some good looks in the offense and he used his length to generate steals that led to easy buckets for him. Golden has a decent jumper but his height and length allows him to get a good look in the lane when he drives. I have seen Cryer and Paul play so well together. There are good decisions made when Cryer has the ball in his hands and the pass first guard was able to find Paul when he was running the lanes. Cryer has terrific vision and he has a solid jumper that he uses when he is open. Cryer scored 29 points against the Houston Cowboys on Sunday. Paul is a big guard/forward that uses his strength to score inside and he also has a solid jumper off the dribble as well. Paul was very impressive in transition and he scores well off pick and rolls. Seals and Peavy have potential to be one of the top backcourt duos in the State and this weekend you saw glimpses of it but not consistently. Bush was aggressively looking for his shot, which was good, but at times he was forcing shots. He seemed like he was having an off-day shooting but you can tell why he is a top 20 player in his class. Peavy has great size for a guard and once he drives he is tough to stop. One thing I noticed about him Sunday was he did not shoot the ball from the perimeter well. He actually tended to not even shoot the ball when the defenders played off on him. He needs to continually work on his jumper and he needs to have the confidence to shoot it even if he is off. Peavy is a special talent and nonetheless he played good this weekend but that jump shot was one thing I noticed he didn’t want to do.
The Shooters
This goes to the knockdown shooters from this weekend and Blake Smith of Texas Premier, Miles Goodman of Total Package, Kevante Holden of Hardwork and Makei Pope of Basketball Means More (BMM). Smith had to run some of the point for Premier, who was shorthanded at the guard spot this weekend but when he had to play the two-guard he was knocking down shots consistently. The crazy thing about it is he had a cast on his wrist as well. Smith stepped up his game this weekend and his shot looked good. Goodman, I saw two months ago and his form is always consistent. He has terrific range on his jumper and he spreads the floor for his team. Goodman is a top 25 player in his class in my opinion. Once he gets his handles stronger he will be a player to watch. Holden is the spark plug for that Hardwork team. He plays with a lot of energy, he can bring the ball up the court and get the offense set up, but more importantly he can knock down jumpers from the three. Holden is the type of player that can go off for 20 points in a game if the defense allows it. Pope was coming off screens making shots from the perimeter. He doesn’t play with the ball and when the defense over commits when he has the ball he got into the lane and finished with a floater. He made some clutch shots against Hardwork on Sunday and he was efficient all weekend.
The Pure PG
This goes to the players that ran the point position well and got their teammates open looks while being patient and getting their shot when it was time. Logan McLaughlin of 3D Empire and Kolby Ranger of Total Package did exactly that. McLaughlin shot the ball well from three and was going to be in my shooter category but he also fits well in this one as well. He made sure his teammates were in the right spot in the offense and he handled pressure well from opposing guards. He looked to create for others before he got his shot and most shots he took were open or were just good attempts. McLaughlin performances were under the radar this weekend. Ranger did a good job getting the ball to Cheers on the block and he was finding his teammates in transition for open layups. He attacked the paint well and scored off of floaters and runners. His shot looked good and when Total Package needed points they looked for him to make the right decision which says a lot about his game.
The Two-Ways
If you read my last recap, you know that the Two-Way category goes to the players that exceled on both sides of the ball. Texas Premier’s Anthony Scott and Total Package’s Albert Wilson played great on both sides this weekend. Scott is known for his defense as he harasses guards and defends players from the full length of the court. His shot is coming along but he did a good job finishing inside and finding players open for shots. Scott is finding his role on that Texas Premier team and his game is looking very good. Scott did a good job in the press, tipping passes and garnering steals. Offensively he has quick handles and speed that allows him to get whatever shot he wants. Sometimes he is out of control with the ball but he did a good job scoring in different ways on Sunday. He has good size and frame for a 2-guard and in time I would like to see how he develops.
The Shot Creators
Brandon Lawrence of BMM and Julien Smith of Texas Premier did a great job getting their own shots. Not many noticed the impact Lawrence had in the games he played this weekend as he broke his defenders down and got to the lane with ease and he shot the ball well. Lawrence in transition is very hard to contain and he shoots the ball well off the dribble. Lawrence stock was boosted by his performances. Smith, who is a top 10 player for 2020 and one of the top guards in Dallas. Smith scored however way you wanted him too. From three, off the dribble, in the paint, off the catch, Smith averaged over 20 points in four games and one game he scored 20 points in a half. Smith handles are good but they aren’t on an elite level yet but he still handles pressure well. If I had an award for offensive MVP Smith would be in contention for that this weekend.
The Forwards
Some of the top forwards from the first session includes Chris Thompson of Texas Heat, Nathan Dominick of Texas Premier, Devin Grant of Hardwork, Westley Sellers of Texas Elite, Brayden Gerlich of 3D Empire and Hayden Brittingham of Team Can. Thompson did a good job on offense and he showcased his jumper some. I liked the confidence he had to shoot it and I like how aggressive he was getting to the rim. He is more of an inside player, but if he gets his perimeter game better he will be a problem for a lot of defenders. Dominick didn't have his best showing this weekend but he still showed what he does best, which is doing a little bit of everything. He helped Blake and Julien Smith bring the ball up the court, he scored from inside and out and he passes the ball at a high level. He didn't rebound the ball nor played good help side defense but offensively he did a good job getting others and himself good looks. Grant plays with an high IQ for the game. He passes well front he high post, he can be the lead ball handling on transition breaks and he is a strong offensive rebounder. He is sneaky athletic, and by that you look at him and you don't he is as athletic as he is. Grant's game is unique and I like what he brings to the Hardwork Team. Sellers for Texas Elite did a solid job on defense, racking up steals and he is a good help side shot blocker. He can score from the top of the key with one or two dribbles in the lane and he can occasionally hit the kid range jumper if he is open. Sellers game isn't flashy but it is productive. Gerlich is a 3/4 man that can shoot at a high level and score off the dribble well. He plays with a high IQ like Grant and that allows him to make plays for himself and others. Gerlich at the five is a matchup problem because he can space the floor and he can guard posts pretty decently. Brittingham is a athlete that just makes plays. He had to have close to 15 blocks on Sunday and he is force in transition. He can handle the ball in the perimeter well and he finishes inside at a high level. Brittingham plays with a high motor and that showed especially in the press in which he tipped passes and causes a couple of five second counts.
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