Hoops for the Homeless tournament: top defenders
While many Arizona basketball clubs are out of town for national tournaments, the Hoops for the Homeless tournament in Avondale still showcased plenty of local talent.
Here are some of the tournament’s top defenders:
Khyri Marshall: PHX Rebs
Marshall played perhaps the best defense of anybody on the first day of competition. While the Rebs have a lot of defensive talent on the perimeter, teams with big men try to attack in the paint. He held his own exceptionally, making a few blocks and gathering steals that led to transition opportunities on the other end.
Abe Gonzalez: New Wave
Gonzalez played big on a team that has few tall players on the roster. While often undersized guarding big men, he was able to move his feet well and get into the proper positions to make scoring hard. He also benefitted from the fact that few of his opponents spent much time backing him down on the low block.
Kennell Sutton: Phoenix Soldiers
Sutton was one of the few Soldiers players that could do much rim protection for the Soldiers, so he couldn’t be fully effective, but played when he was on the floor. He had a few nice-looking blocks at opportune times against driving guards, using his long arms to get in the way.
Lemaica Westbrook: PHX Rebs
Westbrook loves getting into the chest of opposing guards, playing physically and making it difficult for dribblers to get around him. In team defense, he uses his size and quickness to get around and through screens.
Brandon Laney: Another Level
Laney played well throughout the tournament as a big man, blocking shots and contesting lay ups at the hoop. He also showed some very quick feet, moving around as a good on-ball defender when he switched onto dribblers.