HustleSZNKickoff: Salt Lake Bounce
Salt Lake Bounce was the only team in Utah that attended the first Prep Hoops Circuit event of the year. With this only being their second year they seem to be on the right track. We caught up with Executive…
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Continue ReadingSalt Lake Bounce was the only team in Utah that attended the first Prep Hoops Circuit event of the year. With this only being their second year they seem to be on the right track. We caught up with Executive Director/Coach Hector Marquez and this is what he had to say about this weekend.
Q: How did you feel about your performance?
A: This was our first time playing together in a real game this year and it took us awhile to get use to the tempo and physicality. Our players from 14U- 17U handled adversity well and powered through as they played some talented teams. We hit our goal as a program but after talking with all of our coaches and players we a ll believe that we could’ve done better.
Q: Tell us about your 14U Team that had a great showing and made it to the Championship?
A: The 14U team has some talented players and each player had moments. Zuriel Marquez had a great weekend even though he was playing on an injured foot. He is a fantastic athlete that does everything for us. Jaxon Smith is one of our PG/SG that is improving his decision making. In our first game he had 6 three pointers. Micah Madry is like a Swiss Army knife because he does everything for us. He can shoot the 3-ball and get to the rim and run the point. He’s effective at the high post. I was also really impressed with Junior Higby and Steffon Osterberg as they have been playing well. Unfortunately the team we beat in game 1 beat us in the the game that mattered the most.
Overview
The Salt Lake Bounce 17U team started it’s season playing against the eventual Champion in Los Angeles Elite. Although they were undersized Tyler Roberts held his own as did Jake Howe and Cameron Millican. Jake Howe proved all weekend why he is a legit D2, NAIA prospect with his shooting as he averaged 4 three’s a game. Cameron Millican was outstanding as he ran 1-4 positions and was a problem on the offensive end. He got to the rim, rebounded and shot the ball well. There is some small school talent on the roster that is high academic.
The 16U bracket was LOADED with talent. Bounce faced off against 2 of the best teams in the entire tournament in it’s first two games. 6’0 PG Talon Valdes was fun to watch as he averaged 25 points a game and ended the weekend scoring 37 points. Nobody could stay in-front of him as teams started to face guard him. He’s got a bright future ahead of him as does 6’6 Matt Rohden who played solid all the way around. He found his stroke late but he is a inside outside threat.
15U Bounce was lead by Elijah Tolbert the lanky guard played multiple positions but he is a good player moving forward along with Maoake Tahirori.
Salt Lake Bounce is back at it as they travel to Denver on the Prep Hoops Circuit.