If I Could Coach a North Louisiana Travel Team…….
The grassroots season is not over yet! While the NCAA Academy will host an assortment of players across they country, organizations like Primetime Sports will be having their National tournaments. As an old travel coach, I would love to have…
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Continue ReadingThe grassroots season is not over yet! While the NCAA Academy will host an assortment of players across they country, organizations like Primetime Sports will be having their National tournaments. As an old travel coach, I would love to have a team to compete next weekend in Primetime nationals. If I had a choice to coach some of north Louisiana’s best, the following players would be the team I would take with me.
The Guards
LaDamien Bradford (6’5″, 2020)
Chanse Robinson (6’0″, 2020) – pictured
Kalep Crane (6’1″, 2020)
Cody Deen (5’9″, 2020)
Daniel Ortiz (6’0″, 2021)
In grassroots basketball, you need good guards who can facilitate and score. These same guards need to also be good defenders and do not allow the other team’s guards to score. In these five, I would have both. Robinson and Crane are best when they are going downhill to the basket. They would put pressure on the defense and cause foul issues for the opposing guards. Deen is the purest shooter out of the bunch. When his jumper is on, it is on. He is also the prototypical point guard and can get ten assists easily. Ortiz is a combination of the three. He can stroke it from three or get in the lane and cause havoc. Bradford is the guard with wing size. He can guard four positions on a high school floor. His best asset is grabbing the rebound and pushing the ball with his guard skills. With these five at my disposal, they would give a defense fits.
The Wings
Nick Traylor (6’4″, 2020)
Delatrion Moton (6’4, 2021)
John Mitchell (6’4″, 2021)
Matt Hayman (6’5″, 2020)
Jakemin Abney (6’3″, 2020) -pictured
This combination of wings are just as dangerous as the guard lineup. Traylor is a wing who plays like post. He is athletic enough to guard wings and strong enough to post them and bigs. Traylor is a bull on the glass. Moton and Mitchell do it all. They can score on three levels, defend four positions, and rebound their tails off. Both of them can be offensive mismatches and cause plenty of trouble in the half court. Hayman is a prototypical wing that flys to the rim. He runs the floor and finishes above the rim witht he best of them. Abney is a jack-of-all-trades. He can defend, shoot, and play lockdown defense. Abney is also not afraid to stick his nose in and mix it up with bigs or stronger players. The versatility of this group would be great to have as a travel team coach.
The Bigs
Thomas Howell (6’7″, 2020)
Kenny Hunter (6’9″, 2020)
Kendal Coleman (6’8″, 2020)
D’Marcus Hall (6’5″, 2020)
With any travel team I have coached, there has been plenty of versatility. These four would be in that same mold. If we are playing five out, Hall and Howell would fit in beautifully. Hall is more of a face up big who can rebound and shoot from deep. Howell has extended his range to the three point line and is athletic enough to defend in open space. When we need a post up player, Coleman can control the paint. He has a range out to 15 feet and attacks the boards like every rebound is his. Hunter is the rim-running big who blocks shots and beats wings down the floor with his speed. With the abilities that these four possess, controlling the paint and playing various styles would be easy.
These players were part of four different organizations in Louisiana and Texas and they are 14 of the top players in north Louisiana. Look for them to be on recruiting short list for players in north Louisiana for the next two years.