Basketball Spotlight Tip Off Classic 8th Grade Top Performers Part 2
Antonio Sellers
The Basketball Spotlight Tip Off Classic 8th Grade Division was loaded top to bottom. Here’s our second look at our top performers.
Basketball Spotlight Tip Off Classic 8th Grade Top Performers Part 2
Antonio Sellers Forward (NY Gauchos) – Sellers is one of those players that you love to watch play. He rarely makes a mistake playing the game the right way using his high basketball IQ and high level skill set making him very tough to stop. Antonio has elite size and strength and must be considered as one of the top players in the country. He can score from all three levels and he knows how to make the players around him better. He can play the point forward or post smaller defenders down in the paint. He had 18 points in their semifinal game against Team Loaded DC and 25 points against Team Rio.
Tyler Hawkins Guard (NY Gauchos) – Hawkins is a strong compact guard that competes at a high level. He had it going in the semifinal game we watched scoring from all over the court and also digging in on the defensive end. It is fun to watch a kid play with such enthusiasm and competitiveness. He can play either guard spot but right now he excels playing off the ball as a primary scorer. He tallied 18 points in the semifinal including three 3 pointers.
Kam Rodriquez Guard (NY Gauchos) – Kam is a scrappy point guard that plays way bigger than he is. He runs his team like a seasoned floor general and straps up on the defensive end. When watching Rodriquez he just brings that sense of calmness that he has everything under control on the court for his team. He has range out to the 3 point line and he very rarely turns the ball over.
Jameel Brown Guard (Team Final) – Sometimes you see a player that you haven’t seen before and after watching him you just say “WOW”. Jameel is a tall PG that is very smooth running the show either facilitating for his teammates or scoring himself. He has range out to the 3 point line but also has the ability to finish at the rim. Brown rebounds his position and he has the ability to take over games. He finished with 13 points in the game we watched.
Jalen Duren Forward (Team Final) – They always say you can’t teach size and with Duren standing at 6’9 he has the skill along with the size. We feel he could be the best big man in the country and a Top 5 national player. With good athleticism playing above the rim Jalen finishes dunks in transition or in the half court. He has a high IQ so he understands how to pass out of the double team and he has a nice stoke from the FT line where he gets to at a high clip. Jalen cleans the glass on both ends of the floor and blocks a lot of shots. He scored 11 points in the game we watched.
Noel Echevarria Guard (Team Magic) – Noel is one of the more intriguing prospects we watched this past weekend. He is a PG with elite size that has a great feel for the game. He understands how to play with pace and changes speeds very well. He showed his ability to takeover over a game bringing his team all the way back from a large deficit almost pulling out the victory losing by one point. He finished with 19 points that game and it might have been the best individual performance of the weekend.
Jayden Pierre Guard (Team Rio National) – Pierre is a high end PG that is one of the better passers in the country. He has long arms and good athleticism for his size. He understands how to take what the defense gives him and you can tell he enjoys getting his teammates involved. He has the ability to knock down open three pointers and has nice elevation on his pull up jump shot.
