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Young Bucks Lay it Out

Published by Gilbert Muako on May 28, 2009

Young Bucks Lay It Out

It was a joy watching some of the young talent play over the past weekend. Basketball Ontario has always done a good job of putting together their events as it was well organized and ran quite smoothly. The games were played at various high school locations in Mississauga, Ontario. This event featured 72, Under-15 teams in 5 different division levels. CROWN was on sight taking in the division 1 action while fans wholeheartedly enjoyed a lot of exciting basketball. This was especially true in both the bronze and championship games which went into overtime. For the bronze medal game, the Mississauga Monarchs and Oakville Venom competed in a tough, well fought battle which ended with the monarchs winning 71-64. Marcus Hanson had 13 points and Petar Rusic dropped 12 points for Monarchs, while Trevon McNeil finished with a game high 17pts for the Venom. The championship game was a very tight contest with both teams trading buckets back and forth resulting in the lead changing numerous times. By the final minutes of the over-time, fans were on their feet for the exciting game, at which time point-guard Kenrick Lewis took control of the game by draining NBA range 3-balls and penetrating for tough baskets to give YAAACE a 70-63 win over the St. David blues. Kenrick Lewis was utterly unguardable as he exploded for a game-high 30pts and Tevin Findlay added 13pts for YAAACE. On the other side, Henry Tan was virtually unstoppable attacking the basket almost at will as he poured in a team high 24pts and Foward Agunwa Okolie chipped in 18 points for St. David blues.

Here are some standout talents from the event. Keep in mind all these student athletes are all freshman and still have years of high school basketball to play to become special.

Kenrick Lewis slicing through the defence

THE STANDOUTS

Mikyle McIntosh SF-6’6 (2013) / Scarborough blues #1: McIntosh is a versatile forward that can score from anywhere on the floor whether from the post or from taking his man off the dribble with his improving guard game. He often uses a spin move off the defender when attacking the basket and his strong body lets him finish at the rim with contact. He can occasionally knock down the open 3 but has a slow release at the moment. He’s also very good at finding the open man as he has great court vision. McIntosh could develop into a player that can dominate the game at any giving time due to his great body and athletic ability. On the defensive end, he uses his length to alter shots but tends to get lazy on his feet and just waits to get the blocked shot. Overall he has a tremendous upside and will be an extremely special talent in the forthcoming years.

Micqueel Martin-6’2-combo guard (2013) / YAAACE: Martin is a very confident player; so confident, in fact, that he may come across as cocky. He has great range on his outside shot but he is not yet consistent with it. He will also drive and pull-up for the mid-range jumper which he has room to improve in. Martin is physically more mature than his opponents as he has outstanding athleticism and leaping abilities that give him the advantage to finish over the defender in and around the rim. He should keep improving his dribbling skills as development is needed in that area of his game. He is decent, but has the tools to be a much better defender than what he is showing right now. Overall a very impressive talent and a force to be reckoned with in the near future. He’s most definitely one of the top players in his class.

Henry Tan -5’9-PG (2013) / St. David blues: This lefty is quick like a mouse as he pushes the ball in transition and good on the open court. He creates problems for defenders with his penetration and competes hard on both ends of the floor. Tan has a great sense of body control as he makes getting to the basket look effortless; he has perfect timing and knows when to pick up his feet for the layup. He’s the type of point guard you want on your team-makes the right play at the right time and always keeps his composure and is seemingly allergic to turnovers. He can also hit the open three-pointer but needs to work on his pull jumper to become more of threat. Tan could become a really good player if he keeps working hard.

Agunwa Okolie-6’6-PF/SF- (2013) / St. David blues: Okolie has potential written all over him: he’s skinny, long, athletic and runs the floor really well. However he is not yet an offensive threat but he can hit the short jumper and scores his points off rebounds. He throws a block party in the paint due to his length and leaping ability and has good timing on his blocked shots and uses his long arms to make scoring over him extremely difficult. Okalie does a good job of moving his feet when he’s put in the position of defending smaller, quicker players. Okolie should make a point of improving his strength over the years to finish stronger around the basket but he will become a dangerous player as his offensive game grows.

Marcus Hanson-6’1-pg (2013) / Mississauga Monarchs: Marcus Hanson does not waste time; he’s always on the attack either looking to score or slashing and finding the open man. He has good intensions on the offensive when trying to create for teammates but gets himself in trouble with turnovers while doing so. With that being said, he still has good passing ability. Hanson should look into improving his outside shooting as it he doesn’t yet look comfortable taking that shot. It could be said that that is his biggest weakness at the moment. Hanson also needs to tighten up his handles a bit more, but otherwise has a good body at the point guard position and lots of room for growth in his game. He is definitely a player to keep an eye on.

Donnele Munda-6’3-SF(2013) / St. David blues: He stands 6′3 with a wide body so you can easily be fooled by just looking at Munda’s body that he is guard like quick. Similar to Carmelo Anthony, Munda receives the ball just inside the three-point area and squares up his defender to create his shot or open up his view of the floor to provide opprotunities for a teammate. He’s a good passer inside even though sometime he gets out of hand with the whip passes he attempts down low. When in the midrange area, Munda uses a pump-fake, one-dribble pull-up, or a dribble hesitation to get to the rim. Munda needs to abuse his opponents more with his bigger, wider body and can be a better defender with his quickness. He’s gifted with good speed and quickness at his size so it should be interesting to see how his game turns out in the coming year.

Petar Rusic-6’3-SG (2013) / Mississauga Monarchs: With good looking form, shooting from the perimeter is Rusic’s comfort zone. He has great range on his jumper and can be extremely dangerous when he heats up. Rusic doesn’t have great speed nor does he excel in the quickness department. He needs to improve his dribbling skills as well. Rusic looks uncomfortable putting the ball on the ground when teams take away his shot so it is evident he also struggles a bit when pressured. Like the other young talents, Rusic has a great deal of time to improve his weaknesses to become a special player.

Kenrick Lewis-5’8-PG (2013) / YAAACE: Due to his height, Kenrick Lewis plays with the biggest heart on the floor and is very passionate. He’s really jerky with the ball which keeps his defenders off balance and has good speed and quickness. Even though Lewis gives up height to opposing guards, he still finds ways to attack and finish tough baskets. Like he did this weekend, Lewis will hurt you with a rainbow three ball well beyond the arc when his feet are set. He’s a great competitor on both sides of the court and a player to look out for.

Tevin Findlay-6’1-pg (2013) / YAAACE: Findlay is an extremely unselfish player who enjoys seeing others score off his well timed passes whether he is driving to the basket and kicking out or dishing out on the open court. He likes using hesitations when dribbling to create for himself and his teammates. Findlay takes the ball to the mid-range area for a jump shot or he performs a hop step before the floater once inside the arc and in and around the paint. Sometimes he tends to over dribble and gets away with carrying the ball but Findlay will develop into a really good player when he learns to play the point full time.

By: CROWN SPY

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