GASO: Player Recaps 2

RISE UP

Texas Rise Elite introduced Jacob Van (Lake Ridge 2014) to the basketball community. The 2014 point guard is a steady player with scoring punch. Van has a good feel around the court distributing the ball to open teammates, stroking the three and getting penetration to the basket. Teammate Kenrich Williams (Waco University) is a long, lanky, wing/forward at 6-foot-7 that found his way to the paint and used floaters and a soft perimeter touch that caused defenders problems.

TOUGH STUFF

Triumph Select Black's Keaton Lambiotte (Hillcrest/2013) is built like a defensive back, and takes that approach on the court. He is a strong, tough, blue-collar player that fights every possession. He is always around the ball throwing his body around. He likes to create contact in the lane, and has good body control when he squares his shoulders to the basket. He has a nice lefty touch and finishes in traffic.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK…

Taylor Johnson (Aledo/2014) suited up for the first time with Triumph Select Gold over the weekend. The 6-foot-3 shooting guard had limited minutes off the bench, but still managed to impress with his ball handling skills and his three-point form.

Tanner Leissner (Converse Judson/2014) is a 6-foot-5 four-man that can put the ball on the floor, and play with his back to the basket. He has a nice feel on the perimeter and in the high post area. When Leissner is around the basket, he displayed his toughness, and used it to score.

Jeremy Jones (East Central/2014) immediately passed the eye test, and fans were asking who the long rangy athlete was. Jones is a pure athlete that looks to attack the basket, or pull up for 15 footers. He handled the ball on the perimeter and hit the boards on both ends.

Islander

IBF's versatile guard Ben Mammel (San Antonio Churchill/2014) is a unique player that plays all three guard positions. He is a hard nose player that sacrifices his body on the defensive end of the ball and is willing to take on the bigger, stronger player. On offense, he handles the ball in pressure situations, and scores from 12-15 feet out. When playing the point, he can find the crack in the defense to get the ball to the open man. Mammel does whatever it takes to win, and gets his teammates involved in every play.

ELEVATION

Two high risers of the tournament were Dallas Trojan's Anthony Walker (West Mesquite/2013) and Deron Williams Metro Elite's Emmanuel Porter (Dallas Lincoln/2014). Both players look to hit the gaps of the defense on their way to the basket. Walker and Porter added to the excitement of their games by grabbing boards off the rim and flushing the ball back in. If neither Walker nor Porter were located on the court, you could find them flying to the basket catching alley-oop passes.