Battle at the Lakes: Effective Passers
Nothing breaks a defense down as effectively as a pass. Crisp and clean ball movement puts the defense at your mercy. It forces them to react to what you are doing, and forces more opportunities for them to make mistakes.…
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Continue ReadingNothing breaks a defense down as effectively as a pass. Crisp and clean ball movement puts the defense at your mercy. It forces them to react to what you are doing, and forces more opportunities for them to make mistakes. There were a number of elite passers at the Battle at the Lakes tournament. Take a look at some of the best passers in St. Louis Park below.
7 effective passers:
Kendall Martin-
Kendall Martin is cutting through defenses with his crisp passing. His ability to move defenders with his eyes has been unmatched! #PrepHoopsBatL pic.twitter.com/ddUkepMm0O
— Jordan Kneen (@JordanKneen) May 11, 2019
You can’t make a list highlighting the best passers and leave Kendall Martin off of it. Martin was the best passer in St. Louis Park all weekend. His ability to manipulate defenders with his eyes allowed him to take advantage of defenses with relative ease. He also had great vision to recognize when the defense had overloaded one side or if players were playing lax defense. The featured clip highlights Martin recognizing the defense overloading his side of the floor. Martin then fires the ball cross-court to the open man which sends the defense scrambling.
Avyn Hayes-
One of the passes of the tournament was thrown by Avyn Hayes. Off the tip, Hayes got the ball and recognized a diving cutter to the hoop. He was able to hit him in stride with a beautiful bounce pass for the open layup. The pass produced a number of “wow” comments from spectators. Throughout the rest of the game in St. Louis Park, he showcased his unique talent to recognize bounce passes that picked apart defenses.
Kaiden Rector-
Checkout this great cross-court pass by the Minnesota Fury to find #33 for the open 3! #PrepHoopsBatL pic.twitter.com/ZbjBsvhOXs
— Jordan Kneen (@JordanKneen) May 11, 2019
No matter what position Kaiden Rector was playing, he was able to unlock defenses by switching the ball effectively. The featured clip highlights one of his cross-court passes that found Noah Karschnik for an open three. His recognition of poor defensive spacing allowed him to find these types of passes and recognize lanes in which he could exploit.
Zach Wenthe-
Zach Wenthe‘s ability to pass out of the post was unrivaled this weekend. Minnesota Fury- Syverson made it a point on every possession to try and get the ball to him because of his skill in hitting open cutters out of a post-up position. He was also quick to recognize doubles and dish the ball back out to the perimeter for an open shot.
Kyle Neibch-
Neibch showing great court vision to find the open man! #PrepHoopsBatL pic.twitter.com/lzDBQprFKj
— Jordan Kneen (@JordanKneen) May 11, 2019
Throughout the Battle at the Lakes, Kyle Neibch was able to recognize when opposing defenses were at their weakest point. This often came when the ball had just been inbounded. His strength and awareness allowed him to throw nice passes to teammates who had gotten up the floor quickly. The featured video highlights this ability. Neibch recognizes that the defense has not gotten back quickly enough and wasn’t set. As a result, he is able to throw a nice pass up the floor to a teammate in a one-on-one opportunity.
Andre Renta-
There aren’t a lot of players that can effectively break the press with a pass like Andre Renta did last weekend. Renta’s ability to remain calm and disciplined with the ball allowed him to make crisp and clean passes to break the press. In fact, he did it so well in a game on consecutive possessions that the opposing team opted to stop pressing.
Dionte Fliss-
Dionte Fliss is showing off a variety of passing angles in order to break the press right now. #PrepHoopsBatL pic.twitter.com/z2oKQuApQ8
— Jordan Kneen (@JordanKneen) May 11, 2019
There were times when Dionte Fliss looked more like a shortstop than a point guard. His ability to throw accurate passes out of a variety of arm slots and angles allowed him to execute passes from almost any position, regardless of what the defense was doing. This talent afforded him more passing lanes than any other player on the floor last weekend. The featured clip shows Fliss throwing a pass up the floor from a near side-arm arm slot. It was extremely impressive, and defenses were at his mercy all weekend.