Saturday Notebook from The Grassroots Finale
Virginia Beach, VA - Bracket play was in full effect and we were able to see a lot of good games with one day to go here on the coast of Virginia. Let's take a look at who stood out on Day four at the beach.
West Coast Flavor
Khalil Singleton has been one of my favorite players on the week here at The Grassroots Finale. The 6-foot-2 guard originally from Portland, Oregon showed he has what it takes to play at the next level. Singleton has that dog in him. He is one of those guys that will talk junk all game long but backs it up. He can get hot from the outside and the mid-range along with having the ability to get to the basket. In the couple of games we watched on Saturday, scoring just comes naturally to Singleton and he loves to compete. He told us that he holds offers from NJIT and Portland. He had a Eastern Washington offer before the coaching change that occurred. He holds a 3.4 GPA. Against Basketball Club of Rhode Island, in a tight game, Singleton scored 19 points and led the team to the win while also finishing with 4 assists and 4 rebounds.
Hello My Name Is
Garner Road 15's have some guys that are going to be in your mentions before too long on twitter. Camren Reyes was outstanding yesterday in the 15-and-under division. No guy at that age division got to the basket the way that Reyes did. The 6-foot-2 guard was s good as I have seen this week at creating ways to attack the rim. The Garner, North Carolina guard is going to be a name to track over the next few years and is with a program that has built it's name on getting guys to the next level.
Them East Carolina Boys
Everyone in North Carolina knows that guards from the eastern part of the state are just built different. We can have a list and I could type all day about the names of guards that have came from that part of the state. Warriors Life Elite has another one in Farmville Central's MJ Williams. The 5-foot-11 guard is a shot-maker. He plays hard all game with a great motor and thrives at wanting the ball and making tough, contested shots. In a game against Team Loaded 804, he made tough shots after tough shot and was leading the comeback late in the game when a small tussle broke out and the referees called the game.
Izeal Mallory was another name for Warriors Life Elite that has had a strong weekend. In their game late Saturday, he scored 22 points on a variety of scores from the perimeter and getting to the basket. Let's not forget about Tyler Whitehurst who has had himself a great week with Warriors Life Elite, he has been a scoring monster all week.
Loaded is Loaded
Ty White has built the Team Loaded VA program into one of the biggest organizations in the Southeast and they have dudes. Lots of them. Team Loaded 757 will tussle with Team Takeover National at 9:40 Sunday morning in the final four of the GBA Grassroots Finale.
AJ Clark is one guy that has stood out of for 757. Clark is an aggressive finisher and is very athletic. At the end of the day, he just out-jumps other guys and gets a lot of rebounds and tough put-backs with contact. He holds offers from Chowan, Georgian Court and Catawba along with interest from American and James Madison University.
2024 guard Josiah Richards was outstanding for Team Loaded 757 in their wins this week. The sophomore is quick, able to get by defenders and is crafty when he gets into the paint. He can knock down some shots from the outside with a quick change of direction and good form on his shot. He is athletic and shifty.
Notes from the MacBook
Team Trezz 16's have a guy that looks the part, 6-foot-8 big man Sayvion Saunders from Elizabeth City, North Carolina. He attends Northeastern High School and has some tools. He has a soft-touch around the rim, length and runs the floor. He is at that point in his development where a lot of things are starting to click and should be a guy, that we will be talking about next season on the 17-and-under division with Rod William's Team Trezz program.
Preston Copeland for Garner Road 15-and-under is a name and a face that looked familiar. He is the younger brother of former Garner Road standout Isaac Copeland who played at Georgetown and Nebraska. The younger Copeland has a lot of the same tools and honestly looks a lot like the same player his brother was at the same time in his career. There could be some legs with this one so keep an ear open for the last name Copeland next season.
Basketball Club of Rhode Island guard Azmar Abdullah is a 6-foot-2 prospect that really stood out for me. Maybe it was my subliminal mindset of seeing a lefty that can shoot the ball at a high-level or something else but this kid can play. He is a smooth scoring guard that understands how to play and can make a lot of shots.
