Session 1 of the 2017 NY2LA Basketball Association tipped of Friday as part of the 2017 NY2LA Sports Lone Star Invitational in Texas and the play was overall was hot, fitting for the great state. Teams, both from NY2LA’s Association and those entered in the Open Division, gathered from all over to compete in the event, and several players showed out well on opening night at the 17U level. Djuan Seals for REACH Legends was exciting to watch play, Mitch Listau (WI Swing) combined his talent and effort to put together an outstanding game, Yanders Law’s Monty Johal continues to show he is one of the more gifted scorers around, and many more put together great efforts throughout the short first night. Below, check out who performed at a high level April 21st and some players to keep an eye on throughout the weekend after boosting their stock with their play.

SEE ALSO
2017 NY2LA SPORTS LONE STAR INVITATIONAL DAY 1 RECAP – PART 1
2017 NY2LA SPORTS LONE STAR INVITATIONAL DAY 1 RECAP – PART 2
2017 NY2LA SPORTS LONE STAR INVITATIONAL DAY 1 RECAP – PART 3

ADDITIONAL ITEMS OF INTEREST
2017 NY2LA SPORTS LONE STAR INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE

17U NY2LA BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION STAR WATCH
MUSA JALLOW – 2018 – G/F – TEAM BLAZE SELECT
Jallow showed his athleticism and a strong feel for the game, though his numbers weren’t flashy Friday night. He plays with good strength and control both driving from the perimeter or when catching around the block and he finished a couple plays through some traffic at the rim. He also showed a nice mid-range turnaround jumper. He finished with 11 points and sank 5 free throws in the game as well. Jallow currently has offers from Indiana, Purdue, Butler, Virginia, Stanford, Northwestern, Virginia Tech and Toledo, as well as receiving interest from Oregon.

17U NY2LA BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION TOP PERFORMERS
QUINLAN BENNETT – 2018 – G – KESSEL HEAT BLACK
Bennett was firing away for Kessel, and put the ball in the hoop early and often to help lead his team to a good “W” Friday night. Bennett hit shots from the mid-range area, finished on the break and hit a shot outside as well, altogether racking up 27 points as one of the night’s scoring leaders.

QUINN BLAIR – 2018 – SF – REACH LEGENDS
Blair played huge to cap off the event’s opening night. The 6’6” 2018 prospect made plays on the perimeter, sinking a couple three’s, was aggressive attacking the basket and thus got to the line to hit 4 free throws, rebounded the ball hard, had 2 steals and made some nice plays passing the ball to his teammates on the break a few times. He completed their win with 18 points.

MONTY JOHAL – 2018 – G – YANDERS LAW
Johal is a straight up scorer who can make plays at each level of the half-court. The 6’3” guard was constantly attacking the defense scoring going to the rim, but also showcased a jumper and buried a three in the game as well. Defenders constantly had to be aware of where he was on offense, and thus he opened up his teammates for some buckets as well, having a big impact for his team. He finished with 25 points in a win.

MITCH LISTAU – 2018 – G – WI SWING
Listau was playing out of his mind for Swing in a toughly fought victory over Team Blaze. The crafty and talented guard was able to get to the rack off the dribble sometimes, finished some tough lay-ins in transition and also showed he can pop it from the perimeter with some consistency (3 three’s). Listau’s effort also affected the game, as he helped himself and teammates score often by getting after the offensive glass and making some nice passes as well. He finished with 25 points.

MARLON RUFFIN – 2018 – SG – PLAYGROUND ELITE
Ruffin made plays on the offensive end of the floor throughout the game. He is rounding out his repertoire nicely and knocked down some big shots. Ruffin finished with 19 points after burying a couple outside shots, and then doing the rest of his damage inside the arch.

DJUAN SEAL – 2018 – SG – REACH LEGENDS
Seal was electric from the start for REACH, really setting a tone for the game for his team on the opening possession, hitting a hard jab into a crossover step-back three-pointer with a defender trying to recover. From then on, Seal was on the attack, getting to the rim off the bounce often and making plays at the rim, including a nice dunk on the break. The rising off-guard had 23 points in the game serving as an exciting piece of the 1-2 punch with teammate, Blair.

DANNIE SMITH – 2018 – SG – MAC IRVIN FIRE ELITE
Smith was exceptional overall for Mac Irvin and really helped control the game by burying some really big shots for his team throughout the contest. Big and athletic at 6’6”, Smith utilized his jumper more so today and made it look easy. He comfortably stepped outside the arc and drilled a few treys, and then made some shots inside it as well.  He finished with 18 on the night.

NOAH THOMAS – 2016 – PG – AUSA PLATINUM
Thomas played really well for the team from Australia, really making some nice plays from start to finish. Thomas used his speed to get up and down the floor where he was able to finish a couple plays in transition, shelled out a few assists to teammates by pushing the tempo and finding the open player, and he also sank a nice three-point jumper. He finished the win with 16 points.

JORDAN WALTON – 2018 – PG – YANDERS LAW
Walton benefited a bit from the attention Johal garnered by defenders, but he certainly made the defense pay for that. The 5’11” lead guard does a nice job setting up his teammates, but he proved to be more of a scoring point, as he was sure-fire from three, hitting 4 triples, and also made some other tough shots during the game. Walton completed the game with 20 points, also sinking a pair of free throws.

JT WHEELER – 2018 – SG – IL IRISH ELITE
Wheeler played a really solid game once again for IL Irish, really helping lead their late-game push by just getting after it with high energy on both ends of the court. Offensively, Wheeler made the hustle plays around the rim getting some second-chance opportunities and finishing around the hoop, and then he was really good from the mid-range area with some nice shots, finishing with 18 points, also sinking a three and 5 free throws in the game thanks to some tough, aggressive play.

17U NY2LA BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION STOCK BOOSTERS
JORDAN BELKA – 2018 – PF – MN COMETS SERVATY
Belka a 6’6”- kicked off the day’s game with a solid double-double performance, really affecting his opponents with his effort and his length inside. He was really good early, setting the pace for the game for his team by scoring down low and rebounding everything, also affecting shots with his length defensively. He finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

DONYAE MCCASKILL – 2019 – G – YANDERS LAW
McCaskill played up with the 17’s, but really showed his value to the team with some great energy and aggressive play for Yanders. The 2019 prospect showed nice athleticism and burst to the basket, and was able to absorb contact often when attacking the basket, where he scored 5 free throws and finished with 13 points.

LEGEND STAMPS – 2018 – PF – INLAND ELITE
Stamps played hard throughout the game, and eventually his effort and versatility for a 6’9 power forward paid dividends as the shots started to fall more for him and he made some nice plays getting to the basket. Stamps got a three to fall, showed decent handle for his size and was really active around the glass. He finished with 15 points.

FAITE WILLIAMS – 2018 – PG – RL9 ELITE
Not necessarily flashy with his game, but Williams just seems to have a great feel for the game and gets the job done. The 2018 floor general played with good quickness and a tough first step when looking to attack. He finished some nice lay-ins. His ability to blow by his initial defender and attack the middle got him to the line a couple times as well and he converted 4 free throws into points, scored some buckets from the mid as well and finished with 10 points and a handful of assists to boot.

LUKE VASKE – 2018 – PG – MARTIN BROTHERS
Vaske impacted the game for his team in a variety of ways by both managing the offense to get others involved, as well as put the ball through the nets himself throughout the game. He dished out a few assists in the game, was solid defensively, and knocked down shots with good efficiency, including hitting 2 three’s, finishing with 14 points.