Holiday Hoopsgiving Gym 2 Top Performers
Donovan Gregory (Carmel Christian)-
Gregory may have been the most impressive player I saw this weekend. He led his Carmel Christian team to two wins and was dominant. After posting a near triple-double on Friday, Gregory put up 31 points against St. Francis. He is a freak athlete with great length and used these traits to overpower his opponents. He showed some versatility in handling the ball on the perimeter and then going down to the post on smaller defenders. Gregory also mixed in some nice mid-range jumpers; continuing to improve his consistency there will be key.
KJ Buffen (Gainesville)-
Gainesville struggled to score early on against Meadowcreek on Saturday. Buffen took it upon himself to handle the load offensively in the 2nd half of the game. He finished with 31 points and did it all for the Red Elephants. He knocked down 3’s, slashed from the wing, and got to the free throw line at will. Buffen posed matchup problems for Meadowcreek with his size, length, and ability to play on the perimeter. Although Gainesville did not win, Buffen was the main reason the game went down to wire and proved why he will be an excellent player at MTSU.
Nelson Phillips (Warner Robins)-
Phillips, a GSU signee, capped off Saturday night with a come from behind win against Grayson. Although he had 10 points in the first half, he had to sit a significant amount of time with 2 fouls. In the 2nd half, with his team down, Phillips came through in a big way. He made play after play, using his athletic and aggressive style of play to get to the rim whenever he wanted. He finished with 27 points and put together a well-rounded game with solid rebounding and assists numbers, along with making an impact on defense.
Jamir Chaplin (Meadowcreek)-
Meadowcreek was one of my favorite teams to watch at Hoopsgiving, and Chaplin was a big reason why. The Mustangs made a statement with their 2 wins at the event and benefitted from impressive performances by Chaplin in both games. He is an intense defender who takes pride in matching up with the opposition’s best player; he matched up with Duke commit Joey Baker and made him a non-factor. Offensively, Chaplin was active all the time. He flew in for offensive rebounds, got to the rim, and put himself in position for clean outside shots. He couldn’t have asked for a much better weekend.
Blake Preston (Charlotte Christian)-
Preston was an absolute beast against an undersized Pebblebrook team on Friday. Offensively, he displayed great efficiency, scoring 18 points with only one missed field goal. He also grabbed an absurd 19 rebounds and swatted away 7 shots. Preston plays with the energy and motor that you love to see from your big man. This approach created a lot of opportunities for him and he made the most of them. Liberty has a good one coming in Preston.
Trendon Watford (Mountain Brook)-
After a huge game against Norcross on Friday, Watford came to Gym 2 on Saturday and did more of the same. Going head to head with Landers Nolley, Watford took the challenge and willed his team to victory in the 4th quarter. In an extremely physical game, Watford fought through a lot of contact and found ways to be effective. He scored 21 points, secured 13 rebounds, and was an anchor for the Spartans on the defensive side of the ball. Not many guys have the tools that Watford possesses and it is easy to see why he is such a highly regarded prospect.