Summer league players to watch: Buckeye Hawks
The Buckeye Hawks basketball team brings back several of their key contributors from a successful 2017-18 season that saw them reach the 4A semifinals, losing a close, overtime game to Salpointe Catholic.
If summer league has shown anything for the Hawks, who finished 24-5 last year, it has shown they should be able to insert themselves right back into the state championship picture again come winter.
Here are four players to keep an eye on for Buckeye:
- Otis Frazier
Frazier really makes the Buckeye offense go, using his athleticism and skill on the ball to get to the basket seemingly at will, finishing well over and around tough defense once he gets there. He has a good floater as well, something relatively unusual for high school kids to have as a go-to skill. On defense, he competes just as hard as he does on the offensive end.
- Tay Boothman
Boothman is a pest, in the most positive way, as an on-ball defender. He is smart in anticipating moves by opposing guards, and uses his strength and quickness to get to the right spots to be disruptive and cause steals. He is a solid ball handler himself, which is utilized when he gets out in transition, where he can make plays by getting to the basket for lay ups or distributing to the other quality teammates on the squad.
- Adam Hamilton
The rising senior uses his height and length efficiently on both ends, and is a particularly effective rebounder. He can be really tough to score on down low when he is putting full effort in on the defensive end, blocking and contesting a lot of shots. It is rare for him to not be the biggest player on the court, and he is at his best when he’s utilizing that size.
- Xavier Hall
Hall is a bit of a utility player for the Hawks, able to do a lot of things well on both ends. Sometimes that means driving to the basket for lay ups, and others it means making his presence felt by shooting from the perimeter. Sometimes he just needs to lock up the other team’s best wing player. Much like the other players, he is quick and smart as a piece in a tough Buckeye team defensive scheme.