by Brian Crownover
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Lenny Young

Scores:

North Catholic 53 La Salle 47
Academy of the New Church 66 Germantown Academy 46  

North Catholic

Lenny Young (2008, 6-1 SG)
This bulky guard played a pretty strong game. Lenny showed he can really score. He has a quick handle and can get into the lane and finish using his size. He also stepped outside and hit a pull up three pointer as well as another pull up jumper. He got out and ran in transition. Lenny is capable of driving in either direction. He made several nice passes during the game. He also had an offensive rebound putback. He led the way for North Catholic with 23 of their 53 points.

Velton Jones (2008, 5-10 160 PG) Committed to Robert Morris
Velton opened with nice drive and finish with contact. He continued to attack and then dished the ball off. He can drive in either direction. Velton had several more drive and dish plays. He also adjusted very well in mid air and converted with the left hand on one play. His attacking style got him to the line a few times. Velton struggled with his jumper, but the rest of his offense was solid. He ended with 8 points.

Woody Redding (2010, 5-9 PG)
This young point guard didn’t have a huge impact in the scoring column, but he did show some other skills. He’s a quick ball handler who attacks straight ahead, moving towards the basket. Woody is unselfish and had several nice drive and dish plays. The stalky lefty hit a pull up jumper for his lone basket. He was rather quiet after a good start.

Xavier Harris (2011, 6-4 PF)
Xavier made some plays around the rim. He showed a decent short hook shot, although he does have a weird release. He can battle on the boards. 

Academy of the New Church

Shannon Givens (2009, 5-10 PG)
Shannon has played very well as of late. He has consistently been able to knock down the three point shot. He loves to pull up and bury three pointers off the dribble. He has a fairly quick release and a smooth stroke. Shannon has also been very aggressive going at the hoop. He scored on a runner and got to the foul line on several occasions. In this game, he did a very good job of driving and then distributing the ball. Shannon’s strong play was one of the keys to ANC blowing this game open in the second half. In addition to his offensive game, Shannon plays aggressive on the defensive end too. He picked up a couple steals in the contest. He finished with 15 points in the victory. 

Larry Loughery (2008, 6-6 SF/PF)
Larry is just productive every time he takes the court. He’s not going to wow you with a ton of plays, but he just works hard and gets results. He’s very aggressive on the interior and will also play on the perimeter some as well as run the break. Larry crashed the offensive boards and scored in that fashion. Rather than bringing the ball down, he’ll often simply tip the ball in. He’s very good at doing that. He scored on the break and was fouled. He also converted a three point play with a beautiful hook shot and foul. Larry did miss the lone three point attempt that we saw. He can knock down free throws. He also mixes it up on the defensive end. Larry will make some coach very happy this spring with his style of play. He led ANC with a game high 20 points and 10 rebounds. 

Sammy Givens (2008, 6-5 SG/SF) Committed to Drexel
After a strong summer, Sammy hasn’t been playing his best basketball in this high school season. In this game, he did a masterful job rebounding the ball and pushing it up court. He has made some very nice passes in this fashion. He’s made some great moves in the lane, but just seems to have had some trouble finishing. He rebounds well because he has excellent hands and always seems to be in good position. He does pull down a lot of one handed rebounds and will have to use both hands more often at the next level. Sammy did roll in a runner on the break and also used a spin move in the post to free himself for a bucket. On the defensive end, he was solid on the occasions when he was matched up with Jeff Holton. He gave Jeff very little space to work with. Sammy did foul out though down the stretch. He did finish with 12 points. 

Warren Gillis (2010, 6-1 SG)
Warren played a solid game off the bench. The young lefty had a nice drive, hoop and foul. He continued to make some different plays. He buried a three pointer, passed off to a teammate after a drive, grabbed an offensive rebound and blocked a shot. Warren is a solid role player on this team and will be worth tracking in the future. 

Germantown Academy

Jeff Holton (2009, 6-7 FF)
Jeff is a good sized forward. He likes to attack off the dribble from the wing and can drive in either direction. He’ll often use spin moves around the basket. He plays hard and will battle for the ball. He can hit the boards. Jeff also passes quite well for a big man too. We’d like to see him show more in the low post than he did during this one. He does have the body to add muscle and that would only make his inside game better. Jeff finished with 9 points in the loss.

Cameron Ayers (2010, 6-4 SF)
Cameron played a solid game in the loss. He is a lanky forward who finishes pretty well. He crashed the boards and had a couple offensive rebound follow ups. He also converted a nice runner on a drive from the perimeter. He can handle the ball some, but didn’t look too comfortable doing so in this one. Cameron also picked up 2 points from the foul line. The young forward does have some talent and he finished with 12 points for GA.

La Salle

CJ Aiken (2010, 6-6 PF)
CJ has some terrific natural skills. He’s very long and athletic. Right now he does most of his damage rebounding and blocking shots. He’s developing some of his offensive game though as was evident in this contest. He had a couple decent drives to the basket. CJ also rolled in a ten foot jumper and had a lay-in off a feed from his teammate. He passed quite well from the high post. He needs to add some weight, but also must learn how to play bigger and more aggressive. Hopefully that would come with some increased size. CJ had a solid 8 points in the loss.

Jaylen Bond (2011, 6-5 SF/PF)
Jaylen looks like a talented young player. He appears to have some explosion and can handle the ball. He came of the bench and hit a bank shot inside as well as a pair of free throws. He pulled down several rebounds on the offensive end. Jaylen is still a bit raw, but has some great natural skills and should only get better with time.