Arch Elite Showcase: Saturday Standouts
Here is a look at some of the top standouts from Saturday’s action at the Arch Elite Showcase in St. Louis:
Avery Taggert 6’3″ T.E.M. Select 17U: The big bodied 2019 wing player from Eureka had all of his offensive tools working in a victory over Cincinnati Supreme. He got buckets at the rim by either bullying his way to the basket or by finesse spin moves. He knocked down several mid-range jumpers and also dropped off a number of dimes to open teammates. His combination of size, strength and versatile skill set make him difficult to cover.
Braedan Weirich 6’1″ Knights Basketball Academy 17U: The 2019 wing from Moberly has been on an impressive shooting run through the first two days of the tournament. He has excellent range of his shot and he moves well to get himself into the open spaces. When defenders ran at him, he displayed a nice one-dribble knock down jumper from the middle area.
Sekou Gassama 6’10” Gateway Basketball Club 16U: A young 2021 post player from DeSmet who displayed some intriguing skills on both ends. He is definitely a rim protector with that size and excellent length. Anything around the basket, he is challenging. He had a real solid game on offense as well. He had some nice moves around the basket and finished pretty well. I was also impressed with his free throw shooting. He made five of six in the game I watched. Very good for a young big.
Tyrus Reddin 5’8″ Semo Bulls 16U: An athletic young point guard from Cape Girardeau Central who is small in stature, but plays much bigger. He is very quick, but his leaping ability is quite impressive. He is able to elevate and shoot his jumper over much bigger defenders. He also finished at the rim with several nice finger rolls as he had no problem going into the land of the trees. He could also get after it on the defensive end with tenacity.
Brendan Deters 6’1″ Gateway Basketball Club 15U: A nifty young 2021 point guard from Troy who displayed some slick handles and scoring ability around the basket to finish off his drives. He plays with a lot of poise with the ball and he could also knock down an open 3-pointer off the catch. His older brothers were also standout point guards at Troy. Derek Deters was a 3-point bomber while Drew was a pass-first point guard. Brendan takes a little bit from both of his older bros.
Thomas Redmond 6’2″ STL Rising Stars 15U: A young 2021 wing player from DeSmet who had an impressive performance in a narrow loss to Gateway in a morning pool game. He is a very resourceful offensive player who got buckets on some impressive cuts to the basket away from the ball. He was also aggressive on the drive and with buckets through contact in addition to a few perimeter jumpers.