Four Explosive Players from the Kingston New Year’s Classic
Being an “explosive” basketball player means having the strength, flexibility, and aggression to do explosive things on the floor. Whether it be lateral quickness, raw speed, strength in the paint, or an insane vertical, being an explosive athlete is one…
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Continue ReadingBeing an “explosive” basketball player means having the strength, flexibility, and aggression to do explosive things on the floor. Whether it be lateral quickness, raw speed, strength in the paint, or an insane vertical, being an explosive athlete is one of the best benefits a player can give his team. At the 2019 Kingston New Year’s Classic, these were the most explosive players we were able to watch.
Aaron Taylor 2019 Rock Creek forward
The Rock Creek Mustangs have a block party with senior Aaron Taylor on the court. The senior rim defender gets blocks at a high rate and can dominate opposing forwards with his length, bunnies and hoops iQ. Taylor also used his length and aggressive style of play to pull down boards for the Mustangs last weekend. The Mustangs were able to monopolize the fast-break game, and many of those transition points started in Taylor’s hands.
Rylee Holmes 2019 Kingston wing/forward
Rylee Holmes was a dominant factor for the hosting Redskins team. As a senior leader for the ‘Skins, Holmes gave his team a much-needed push in the rebounding, scoring, and defensive game. He is strong, athletic, and has long arms and was able to keep opposing forwards out of contention of rebounds with his vertical. He did a great job of keeping himself in front of players across the floor and also taking the ball to the hoop when he was given the chance.
Darian James 2019 Rock Creek point guard
Cahill’s tenacity, athleticism, and raw acceleration made him one of the most explosive players at the 2019 Kingston New Year’s Classic. He helps his team as a slasher, driver, defender and rebounder. James is one of the most uniquely-talented athletes I have seen in small-school hoops this year. After watching his first-round performance against Latta, I was left wondering, “why do we not hear more about this dude?”. Lateral speed also comes into play for James both as a man-to-man defender and in getting separation to score.
Coby Grimsley 2019 Atoka guard
Coby Grimsely has bounce. The 5-foot-10 guard contends with forwards and centers for rebounds and gets his share of put-backs. At the NYC, his speed and athleticism aided the Wampus Cats in scoring, defense, and transition points. Most importantly, he used that bounce to lay in the game-winning put-back against Talihina in the first round to keep the Wampus Cats alive.