GASO Live Period Showcase: Day 1 Recaps & Thoughts

With the eyes of the grassroots basketball world focused on Dallas for the first weekend of the Live Period, stay up to date on the teams making moves and the players forging their names against elite competition at the GASO. Analyst Lyndon Cook has all the top action covered, with Blue Zertuche giving his thoughts on several players making waves with their play in front of college coaches.

Lone Star Elite - Coleman 61 DFW Defenders 17u 58

The Live Period GASO tipped off with these two powers meeting at the main floor of Duncanville High School, with Lone Star Elite edging Defenders to move to 1-0 on the weekend. Senior point guard Laquan Butler turned some heads with his mastery of the point guard position, scoring 18 to lead his team to a win. Josh Davis (Prosper 2019) only had 2 field goals in the game but was aggressive in getting to the line and finished with 17. For Defenders, Niko Bossinakis (Colleyville Heritage 2019) played well in a 14-point game but will regret missing two late chances to tie the game from the three point line. Mitchell Abercrombie and Jayden Williams (Nolan Catholic 2019) both added 10 in the loss.

Houston Defenders 17u Gold 76 KDC International 65

Houston Defenders Gold opened up their weekend with a solid 11-point victory over KDC International, overcoming a 32-point outburst from Keionte Cornelius (Spring 2019) in the process. Defenders has an eye catching prospect in 6-foot-7 Braydon Redd (Cy Falls 2019), who paced them with 18 points in this one. Kenan Mitchell (Shadow Creek 2019) and Keiman Capers (North Shore 2019) both had efficient games on the offensive end, scoring 15 and 12 respectively. KDC will be a team that draws a lot of college interest this weekend thanks to the high level scoring ability of the aforementioned Cornelius. Shannon Shorter complemented Cornelius with 10 of his own, but ultimately KDC couldn't keep up with a talented Defenders group.

Centex Lockdown Elite 56 Cooz Elite 50

Ryan Bormann started his weekend in optimal fashion with a commanding 19-point performance leading Centex Lockdown to a 1-0 record for the showcase. The Lake Travis point guard showed his range and playmaking ability in a Live Period debut that will have coaches coming back for more evaluation over the weekend. High school teammate Bennett Mohn chipped in with 11 as Cooz Elite were outlasted. Cooz Elite got good showings from both PJ Henry and Nick Gazelas (Atascocita 2019), making 3 threes a piece and combining for 28 points, but just couldn't drag themselves back into the lead late on.

Louisiana Select Team Millsap 62 Dallas Mustangs 17u 55

The final game of Friday night ended with out-of-staters Team Millsap coming away with a hard fought win over Dallas Mustangs, taking this one 62-55. Jacoby Decker splashed 5 threes en route to a 31-point night, with 4 of those coming in an electric first half. Rayson Robinson helped out with an important 10 points for Team Millsap, who had to fend off a late charge from Mustangs to hold on to the win. The story for Dallas Mustangs was the balanced scoring spread, with no player getting to double figures but the offense still looking potent. Jakevan Leftridge and Davian Sanders (both Wilmer-Hutchins 2019) scored 9 a piece while Howard Turner added 8 in the loss.

Ryan Bormann had a big game in the opening day of the Great American Shoot-Out Session 1 versus Cooz Elite.

Bormann, a Lake Travis standout suits up for Centex Lockdown and he made the most of his opportunities by hitting 20 points. Listed at 5-foot-11, Bormann has a sweet lefty touch and has enough wiggle to get his defender off balance. Bormann drained threes, hit mid-range jumpers and made the perfect pass as he set up his teammates. Lockdown won the game, 56-50.

DFW Defenders weren’t as fortunate to get the win over Lone Star Elite, but their point guard Jayden Williams showed that he could handle pressure and get the ball to his open teammates. Williams can also do a bit of scoring, making him a threat with the ball in his hands.

Eduardo Andres has come into his own this spring, and is looking polished going into the Live Period. A 6-foot-10 big man with a soft touch, Andres has toughened up while adding a jump hook to his game. What might set the post apart from similar bigs is his vision in the block, with Andres showing he can find cutters with his back to the basket or out of double teams. The class of 2020 prospect showed that can out the ball on the floor and be under control when finishing.

•Laquan Butler of Lone Star Elite-Coleman has done enough in just two Great American Shoot-Outs that it is safe to say that he is division I ready. Butler gets the speed of the game and has shown that he needs to be tightly guarded. He is shifty with a nice stroke off the dribble that extends passed the three-point line.

Butler played for a hardworking, guard heavy high school team in Lancaster, and he was asked to share the ball. His hard working mentality from his playing days at Lancaster has already paid dividends in April. We expect Butler to be playing at the next level.

•Mitchell Abercrombie of DFW Defenders is a bouncy inside player who will score around the basket. Good athlete.

Lone Star Elite stepped out on the floor with sophomore Donte Houston, and the 6-foot-8 forward showed some promise with his length and athleticism. Houston hit a three early but faded on the offensive end. However, he made up for it by rebounding and altering shots.

There is no lack of confidence in Niko Bossinakis' game for DFW Defenders. Bossinakis has a strong ft stroke with range. If you leave him open, he will shoot it. If you guard him closely, the 6-foot-4 shooter will take a step back and drill the three.