Space City Collision: Best of Day 2

Prep Hoops’ Space City Collision kicked off Friday night in Houston, Texas. Around 100 teams comprised of 15U, 16U, and 17U rosters are competing throughout this 3-day event at the MI3 Center, C.E. King High School, and Michael Null Middle School. The action continued on Saturday right where it left off the night before, with a packed schedule of games starting at 8 am going late into the afternoon. Below we review six standout performers from several of the games on Day 2 at the MI3 Center. See more standout players from Space City Collision here: Best of Day 1 | Best of Day 2 | Best of Day 3 #24 Chiang Ring Chiang Ring 6'8" | PF Minneapolis South | 2024 State MN - 2024 - 6’9" - Minnesota Spartans 2024 Ring was an absolute beast in the Spartans’ game against Hardwork Dedication. Nothing came easy for him while being matched up with another top performer on this list, Brandon Enriquez Brandon Enriquez 6'6" | C Shadow Ridge | 2022 State NV , but he made sure to leave his mark on this game and do everything he could to get his team the victory. He moved very well off the ball around the basket and the guards on the team found him time and time again down low with alley oops and timely bounce passes, but he also took control on several occasions and created for himself through solid footwork and post control. He showed his agility with a beautiful spin move out of the post and he displayed immense strength with some convincing dunks through traffic. He was a monster on the boards and got a huge putback dunk early in the first half that got the whole crowd going. On defense, he had his hands full trying to stop the other team’s star big man, Enriquez, but he held his own on several occasions and locked down the paint whenever an opposing guard dared to throw up a shot in his vicinity. He had several demoralizing blocks throughout the game and even came away with a couple steals, getting down low and snatching the ball out of his matchup’s hands. With two more years to develop in high school, Ring is bound to be a dominant force moving forward and will catch a lot of eyes as he approaches college ball. #10 Brandon Enriquez Brandon Enriquez 6'6" | C Shadow Ridge | 2022 State NV - 2022 - 6’7" - Hardwork Dedication 2023 Enriquez was Hardwork Dedication’s only answer to the Minnesota Spartan’s Chiang Ring Chiang Ring 6'8" | PF Minneapolis South | 2024 State MN in the paint. He displayed a little bit of a softer touch than his counterpart but was very effective in his own right on both ends of the court. He showed his ability to stretch the floor, hitting a three-pointer early in the first half, and then operated beautifully out of the post, hitting several hook shots after backing down his man, and making seamless moves on the block. He also showed solid vision while in the post, finding cutting teammates as he had the attention of the opposition’s main shot blocker. His off-ball movement was fantastic, making short and effective cuts all around the paint to give easy looks to his ball handling teammates, and he was extremely active on the offensive boards, getting several putbacks to fall. He was a beast on defense, getting numerous blocks on nearly every single person that tried to shoot over him and he kept his hands up and active the entire game, getting into passing lanes, disrupting any kind of flow of the offense down low, and forcing multiple turnovers. #13 Ikemba Otuonye - 2023 - 6’6" - Texas Takeover Elite 2023 Greg Otuonye was the main guy for Texas Takeover right from the tip, helping them get out to a huge lead over Tarrant Elite. He was doing everything for his team, scoring inside and out, securing rebounds on both ends of the floor, creating for others, and defending anyone he was matched up against effectively. He started out operating from the perimeter, hitting a midrange fadeaway early in the first half and then hitting a three-pointer soon after that. He pushed the pace for his teammates after securing defensive rebounds, tossing up accurate outlet passes, and he stayed active without the ball, as well, making effective cuts all over the court and keeping the defense busy on the weak side. He had the perfect switching ability on defense, with the quickness to stay with guards on the perimeter and the strength to take on opposing bigs down low. He came away with several steals and a block in the first half, and was a complete disruptor in the passing lanes, which were huge parts in helping his team build the massive first half lead. After a while, though, Tarrant Elite started building an impressive comeback in the second half, and things started to slow down for Texas Takeover. Shots weren’t falling and Tarrant’s pressure defense forced Takeover into a lot of mistakes. After some rest, though, Otuonye buckled down and stabilized his team to the win with some forceful plays. He attacked the offensive boards with extreme aggression, knowing the shots weren’t falling the same way they did in the first half, and he started operating his offense in the paint more, helping his team secure the hard-fought victory. #8 Deshaun Russell - 2022 - 5’11" - Tarrant Elite 2023 Russell was the spark that lit the explosive comeback attempt for Tarrant Elite in their game against Texas Takeover Elite 2023 Greg. His defense seemed to stay steady throughout the entire game, getting several steals in both halves and getting his hands on the ball in passing lanes, but his offense immensely struggled along with the rest of his team in the first half. Then something clicked and Russell, along with his teammate, Eli Looney Eli Looney 6'3" | SG Trinity Valley | 2023 TX , led a furious comeback that nearly brought them all the way back into the game. He was dissecting the defense with smooth and seamless ball handling in ways that didn’t seem possible in the first half and hitting shots that were impossible to play any better defense against than Texas Takeover did. It didn’t matter how tight the defense covered him on the perimeter, he was simply in a zone that could not be stopped, and he hit countless three-pointers in the second half. He attacked the basket with determination and got several layups to fall through traffic, including a tough and-1 when they were at their closest in their comeback attempt. Not only was he scoring at will, but he was setting up his teammates beautifully, as well, getting everyone involved and making sure that the comeback was a team effort and not a one-man show. Texas Takeover ended up taking back control of the game before the clock ran out, but Russell and his teammates made a valiant effort to overcome their first half hole and there was plenty to be happy out from this loss. #0 Demetric Kindle - 2023 - 6’4" - Texas Takeover Elite 2023 Regional Kindle was a clear dominant force in his team’s game against 3P Elite. Every time he was on the court, his team went on a run, and every time he went to the bench, they seemed to struggle to generate any kind of offense. Whenever a nice play was generated, Kindle seemed to be at the center of it. He hit at least one three in each half and provided fantastic off-ball movement while his teammates handled the ball, but most of his offense and impact was generated from controlling the ball, attacking the paint in the half court, and finishing off fast breaks. Between his length, agility, and speed, he could not be stopped. He finished through traffic multiple times, getting and-1’s to fall and hitting tough layups taking all sorts of contact. He was relentless attacking the paint and was simply on another level with his finishing ability, capping it all off with a huge breakaway dunk late in the second half. On defense, he was doing it all thanks to his length and solid instincts. He displayed great 1-on-1 defensive abilities, locking up his man and snatching the ball at least twice between the two halves, and he managed to get at least two blocks throughout the game and get into passing lanes to stop the flow of the offense. He was the clear MVP for the game, and without him, we could have witnessed a very different result. #4 Troy Anders - 2023 - 6’1" - Crunch Time 2023 Anders was the reliable and steady offensive weapon for Crunch Time in what was otherwise a scrappy, gritty, and aggressive defensive game. He was extremely smooth with the ball in his hands with the offense seemingly coming natural to him. He was hitting fadeaway midrange jumpers and nailing long range shots from all over the court throughout the entire game, and he was attacking the basket with strength, finishing through contact on layups and pushing the pace finishing on fast breaks. His offensive production could have been enough for top performer honors, but his defense is what won them the game. He had the most active hands on the team, knocking the ball loose from opposing ball handlers and flying into passing lanes nearly every defensive possession. If he was in the game, he was making a play on the ball on the defensive end. He had several steals and several blocks, especially in the 2nd half when things were getting especially chippy. He also boxed out and fought for every team defensive rebound, ensuring that someone on his team, if not him, would secure the defensive possession one way or another.