All In Hoopfest: Cincy’s Best
Louisville was the place to be over the weekend as AAU organizations from all over the nation took place in the All In Hoopfest in Louisville. As usual a number of teams from the Greater Cincinnati area made their presence felt in the Bluegrass State. Let’s take a look at Saturday’s Best from the Expo Center:
Best Defensive Performance: Miles McBride-Cincy Lakers 16u/Moeller (c/o ’19)/Dylan Beaugard-Ohio Unity/Wilmington (c/o’18)
This was a very difficult choice as both of these gentlemen put on outstanding defensive displays on Saturday. Both of these young men have excellent lateral quickness with Beaugard using his quick hands to continuously get his hands on the ball. His defense was a key factor in the Unity cruising to a 2-0 day on Saturday.
McBride on the other hand is a physical defender who does not mind putting his body on the line. Miles was the best that I saw on Saturday of consistently beating opposing players to their spots on the court while making them pick up their dribble.
Best Offensive Performance: Kameron Gibson- Club Ohio Pierce 17u/Cincinnati Walnut Hills (c/o ’18)
While Gibson’s teammate and #1 player in Darius Bazley may have been billed as the star of the show, it was Gibson who ended up stealing the show. In Club Ohio’s win over Pro Bound Ohio Warriors it was Gibson who provided a huge scoring punch. Currently the 31st ranked player in Ohio, Gibson consistently knocked down jumper after jumper against a very talented Pro Bound backcourt rather it was off the dribble or a catch and shoot situation. Standing 6’2 with the ability to play with or without the ball, this smooth customer is a name D-II and low-major D-I programs will want to keep on their radars.
Best Passer: Giovanni Santiago- Team One Phenoms 17u/Cincinnati Hughes (c/o’18)
While Santiago may not have shot the ball as well as he wanted, that still did not stop him from setting his self a part on Saturday. The senior to be proved why he considered one of the top PG’S in the state with his ball-handling and play making. Gio did an outstanding job causing havoc in the lane while finding open teammates for good looks. One trait of a good point guard is giving teammates the ball were they are supposed to get it not where they want to get it and this is a trait that Santiago has mastered.
Best Rebounder: Darius Bazley-Club Ohio Pierce 17u/Princeton (c/o ’18)/ Bryce Hunt- OT Elite/Reading (c/o’ 18)
Another best of where there were multiple players that could have taken the mantle, like every other category in this article. Let us first talk about Mr. Bazley aka Ben Odom (mixture of Lamar Odom and Ben Simmons). Bazley dominated the boards all day Saturday using his length, quick second and third jump along with some of the best hands I have seen from a high school player in a long time.
While Bazley used his length to dominate on the boards Hunt used his strength, energy and athleticism to help dominate on the boards for OT Elite. The 6’7 forward is battling for rebounding position in the paint and can use his strength against smaller opponents and his agility and leaping ability against bigger opponents.