UAA/EYBL Weekend Standouts
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The UAA and EYBL continued this past weekend with a number of local teams and players taking part. There were plenty of standout performers but here I am focusing on players who have stood out for diversifying their games. Whether…
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Continue ReadingThe UAA and EYBL continued this past weekend with a number of local teams and players taking part. There were plenty of standout performers but here I am focusing on players who have stood out for diversifying their games. Whether it’s shooting off the dribble, taking on new responsibilities for their team, communicating on defense, or adjusting their mental approach, these players have all shown the ability to adjust and improve their game, adding value to the minutes they play. Here are the six players that showed the most growth over the past weekend.
Miles Goodman Miles Goodman 6'10" | PF Southern California Academy | 2024 CA-S 6’10 PF O’Dea ’24 | Seattle Rotary
Areas of Growth: Strong Finishing Mentality, Jumpshot
Goodman has long had the body and length to intrigue scouts but his growth as a player over the spring and summer has been exponential. He looks stronger, quicker, and much more aggressive than the player on display from the last high school season. The most impressive area of growth has to be his finishing mentality around the rim. On the break, Goodman runs hard to fill the lanes or be that trail guy, and he’s looking to punish anyone who tries to challenge him at the rim. The same goes for his opportunities in the half-court. If he’s under the rim or can get to it, he’s looking to finish strong with two hands. It doesn’t always result in dunks yet, but the fact that he’s undeterred by misses inside and continues to attack the rim hard is equally impressive. He will continue to get stronger and when he does, this mentality will result in high percentage shots and lots of trips to the line. Goodman also displayed more confidence in extending his shooting range. Over the weekend he took multiple threes without hesitation and looked pretty good doing so. He’s been adding in more mid-range shots as well and really looks like a player primed to break out even further.
Andreas Engholm Andreas Engholm 6'8" | PF Olympia | 2023 State WA 6’8 PF Olympia ’23 | Team Stuck
Areas of Growth: Defensive Movement/Help
Andreas is a versatile offensive threat that’s shown he can claim position inside and go to a reliable jump hook with either hand. He also has the ability off the pick and pop to nail shots all the way out to the three-point line and pull defenders out of the paint. However, it wasn’t his offensive game that stood out to me this weekend. It was his movement defensively, and his work rate hedging screens, hustling back down low and rotating over to fill the paint and contest shots. Engholm has always stood out to me for his offensive abilities but this weekend he showed his promise as a two-way contributor who can be a key part of outstanding team defense. He brought an extra vigor to hedging hard on screens, forcing guards in the other direction, and then busting it back down to pick up the roll before the passing lane opened up. His defensive rotations from the block and short corners to meet drives before they got to the rim led to multiple blocked shots and made easy layups into tough shots or bail-out passes.
Christian King Christian King 6'8" | SG Seattle Prep | 2023 State WA 6’8 SG Seattle Prep ’23 | Team Stuck
Areas of Growth: Shooting off the Dribble, Ballhandling
His reputation as a shooter is well known but King has been putting in the work to expand his game and work his way towards that combo guard label. He’s already a great option late in the shot clock for his ability to shoot over the defense with his great length and sharpshooting eye. Now King is showing he can be a reliable option when the offense breaks down by breaking his man down off the dribble and creating his own looks. He’s been looking to take on more ball-handling responsibilities and he’s showing he can shoulder the load. This weekend he put together multiple quick moves (crosses, hesitations) and was able to quickly get into his shot once the defender was caught moving back. He’s already a daunting matchup with his size and shooting ability, but with the progress he’s shown handling the rock, he is an even bigger threat to take the ball by defenders or dribble into a quick pull-up for an easy bucket.
Cade Orness Cade Orness 6'5" | PG North Kitsap | 2024 State WA 6’4 CG North Kitsap ’24 | Team Stuck
Areas of Growth: 3-Point Shooting
A big and powerful guard, Orness is a player who excels at getting to the rim and finishing around and through contact. He has excellent explosiveness and body control that allows him to finish at difficult angles and under tight defense. Defenses know this, or soon realize it, and that leaves Orness attempting to finish through multiple defenders. While he is capable of doing so, the addition of a more consistent outside shot makes it more difficult for defenses to key on one aspect of his game. In game one of the weekend at UA Live, Orness went 5-10 from long range and showed although he’s an excellent ball-handler and creator, he can excel within the offense as a spacer too. He forced defenses to guard him tightly even on the weak side of the play, and if they didn’t, with some good ball movement he found himself open and draining threes.
Harry Davies Harry Davies 6'4" | SG North Kitsap | 2024 State WA 6’3 SG North Kitsap ’24 | Team Stuck
Areas of Growth: Playmaking/Ballhandling Responsibilities
Davies pairs with Orness at North Kitsap to form a strong backcourt tandem for the high school season. But as teammates on Team Stuck, Davies has seen more secondary ball-handling responsibilities and took a good amount of minutes running point this past weekend. He showed he can be trusted to bring the ball up and even take some of the load orchestrating the offense, moving the ball, and creating looks. He operated well out of the pick and roll, finding rolling bigs, and putting the ball in spots where they could catch and attack. If he can build on those skills he could be an even more intriguing prospect, adding true positional versatility. His three-point shot also seems to be getting more consistent, though that wasn’t a concern before. Davies is a player to watch who could develop into a strong defensive asset, with playmaking and long-range shooting abilities.
Dylan Skaife Dylan Skaife 6'4" | SG Ferris | 2024 State WA 6’4 SG Ferris ’24 | Hooptown Elite
Areas of Growth: Pull-up/Mid-Range Shot
Maybe Scaife already had the mid-range/pull-up shot in his bag, but a combination of better consistency in his makes and higher confidence because of that, has helped his game become more dynamic this spring/summer. He’s used it at a higher frequency which allows his scoring at the other two levels to flourish as well. He was primarily seen as a three-point shooter in the high school season but with his good length at the guard spot, and strength in his attack, he’s become a weapon scoring at all levels. The consistency from the mid-range has helped Scaife keep defenders on their heels and made them prepare for the pull-up or blow-by at any time. He should continue to develop as a complementary scorer as he works on different types of shots off the dribble and from different spots on the floor. He’s looked great so far with Hooptown Elite, hitting more than a few clutch shots and showing good patience in his offensive attack.