From Staff Reports
Another day, another batch of players that stood out at the Conrad Foss Memorial.

Zyvann Puckett, LCU Lions 9th Grade: A 6’4 freshman out of Panther Creek in Raleigh, NC, Puckett made the most of his trip to the Sunshine State.  He didn’t score all that much but he left his imprint on the game in so many other ways.  Long and quick, he gets a lot of tips, deflections and steals on the defensive end and many of those turn into points.  Puckett is very quick to the ball coming off the glass and looks to advance the ball the quickest way possible.  Offensively, he’s a “prober” looking to either get the ball to a teammate for a quick score or an opening to drive to the basket.  He made a couple of tuff finishes inside both in transition and on drives.  He was just one of four from beyond the arc and that is something that will take his college potential to another level once that becomes more consistent.

Vernon Lee, Jr., Skills Center Elite HAS 9th Grade.  A 6’1 freshman at Seffner Christian outside of Tampa, Lee was constantly looking to attack the basket off the bounce.  He took some tough shots but he made some too.  Lee seemingly has an extra gear and changes directions quickly with the ball in his hands.  On several occasions, he grabbed the defensive rebound and sped his way up the floor past the defense for scores.  Lee dropped in a couple of deep jumpers but he’ll need to shore that up a bit over the next couple of high school seasons.  Defensively, he has active hands, excellent lateral quickness and can make life miserable for opposing ball-handlers.

Kyler Lamb, Skill Center Elite 11th Grade: A 6’6 junior at Williston, Lamb was more like a lion in a playoff game this morning.  The lefty showed off a reliable stroke from the perimeter and an ability to score off the bounce if overplayed or the closeout was not under control.  Lamb was quite active on the glass at both ends.  He gets the ball back up to the basket quickly after securing the offensive rebound and grabs misses inside and outside of his area on the defensive end.  Lamb runs the floor well on the break and has good length, lateral speed and quickness to cover both the post and perimeter on defense.

Javon Brown, Skill Center Elite 11th Grade: Another 6’6 junior at Williston, Brown is a lot like teammate Lamb but seems to be a bit more polished when it comes to shooting from the perimeter.  He is quick in getting his feet set and shot off from beyond the arc.  Brown also has a quick first step to drive by defenders and finish above the rim on straight-line drives after one or two dribbles.  He excels on the offensive glass and scores many easy points that way.  Brown covers a lot of ground quickly on defense and can be disruptive in the passing lanes.

Bryce Fitzgerald, Mark Ball All-Stars 11th Grade:  The 6’0 sophomore was playing up a level and had no problem.  In fact, he was a problem and the opponent choose to face-guard him and deny him the ball for much of the second half in a playoff game  When Fitzgerald did have the ball, it was very difficult for the defense to stay in front of him.  He continually got to the basket, score through contact in traffic, and showed excellent body control.  Fitzgerald also proved to be a decent distributor of the basketball when the defense shut off his path to the paint.  He missed the only two jumpers that he took but they had good form.  When you can get to the basket and finish like Fitzgerald can, the perimeter shot is usually the last thing to develop.  He is simply a tough matchup for any defender.

Braylon Moore, Skills Center Elite UA 9th Grade: A 6’0 freshman at Lecanto, Moore is a natural scorer.  He makes shots from all three levels, gets to and connects from the free throw line and manufactures shots in a myriad of ways.  Play too close to take away his perimeter shot and he will blow by defenders and score at the basket.  Try to take that away and he will drop in soft threes with consistency.  Moore is also a good athlete and on more than one occasion tried to drop the hammer on bigs that attempted to challenge him at the rim.  He is also a tough defender both on and off the ball.

Brody Church, Skills Center Elite UA 9th Grade: A 6’4 freshman from East Lake in Tarpon Springs, does a little bit of everything and not just basketball as he also play multiple positions in football and runs track.  On the basketball court, he initiates offense, is a physical driver of the basketball and makes open perimeter shots.  Church plays bigger than his size when it comes to rebounding the basketball and has a nose for it coming off the offensive glass.  He anticipates the passing lanes on defense and creates many scoring opportunities that way.  Church plays under control and doesn’t get sped up by defensive pressure or when playing in big moments.

Brady Patterson, Above Academy 11th Grade: A 6’0 junior at Providence in Jacksonville, Patterson is a do-it-all guard that is very effective playing on or off the basketball.  He may not be “beep-beep” speedy or super-athletic, but he is quick enough to get by defenders with the dribble and makes good shot vs pass decisions on the move.  Patterson is quick to move the ball, find open shooters on the perimeters or cutters in the lane for easy scores.  A fearless driver, he seeks contact when heading to the hoop and gets to the line quite a bit.  All that being said, he is most dangerous as a three-point shooter.  His range extends well past the college line and his release is quick.  Defensively he is physically and mentally tough as he often found himself guarding bigger players inside and held his own very well.

Pat Johnson, SWFL Hoops: A 6’8 sophomore, Johnson made a big impact for both the 10th grade and 11th grade SWFL Hoops team, helping both win a championship in their respective divisions.  Athletic and bouncy, Johnson was an ardent protector of the basket all weekend.  If he didn’t outright block shots, drivers were certainly aware of his presence and Johnson changed many of them.  Opponents were usually one shot and done on offense as Johnson gobbles rebounds in and out of his area.  Offensively, he scores on opportunity baskets around the rim such as lobs and putbacks.  Simply put, Johnson was a weapon that no other team had or had an answer for this weekend.