While several young players and prospects put together some gritty and excellent performances at the 2018 NY2LA Sports Invitational, some stood above the rest with their consistent play and/or top-notch outings during the weekend. Some prospects, like Jalen Johnson (Phenom University) and Desi Carton (Quad City Elite) are hardly a surprise that they performed well, but some others made names for themselves by putting forth huge efforts for their teams. Check out my Top 10 Performers from the Invitational below…

PATRICK BALDWIN JR – 2021 – G/F – PHENOM UNIVERSITY
6-9 – SUSSEX-HAMILTON H.S. – MENOMONEE FALLS, WI
Baldwin, a lengthy 6’9” wing, continued his strong play into the past weekend with some monster performances throughout the Invitational. The talented prospect was outstanding when moving around the perimeter and then set the nets afire with his hot three-point shooting. He was overall steady on defense and with his wingspan, created difficulty for the opponent much of the time. Baldwin’s scoring ability really put pressure on opponents when he was in rhythm because it was difficult to find ways to slow him down. He put up some big numbers in several games to help Phenom U into the semi-finals.

DESI “DJ” CARTON – 2019 – PG – QUAD CITY ELITE
6-3 – BETTENDORF H.S. – DAVENPORT, IA
As one of the upper-echelon prospects in his class, Carton surely made another statement with his play in the Invitational, leading his team all the way to the tournament championship. Beyond just highlight-type plays where he stormed down the lane or from the wing on several occasions and finished with emphatic slam dunks, Carton works the point guard position excellently. He controlled the action from start-to-finish for his squad each game and seemed to always make the good decision with the ball or to utilize his instincts to make plays. Quad City’s lead man had the stats and the leadership to put his team on top to finish out the event.

MARCUS DOMASK – 2019 – SG – RAY ALLEN SELECT
6-6 – WAUPUN H.S. – WAUPUN, WI
Domask had his game working at a high level once again over the past weekend at Homestead H.S. (Mequon). The 6’6” Waupun prospect has been crafting his game for awhile and he put those efforts on full display as he made plays in a variety of ways. Domask dialed up the three-ball, did well using shot fakes and jabs to get by his initial defender and then hit jumpers from the mid-range, and he finished lay-ups consistently when driving to the basket. He played a lot stronger this weekend as well, and was able to get himself to the free throw line a number of times with his constant pressure on the defense by playing aggressive and under control.

XAVIER DUSELL – 2020 – G – TEAM HARDEN
6-4 – CHAPPAREL H.S. – SCOTTSDALE, AZ
DuSell made a big name for himself amongst those in attendance with his strong play on both ends of the court. The 6’4” combo guard played very fluid and smooth, at times looking like he was able to glide past defenders. He used his size well against smaller guard defenders to step past and blow by, and then had good control, good patience, when he penetrated in order to either dish off to a teammate or to score it himself. DuSell shot the ball really well from both the outside and into the mid-wing areas, and racked up a number of assists during the weekend.

JULIAN GATEWOOD – 2020 – PG – LITUANICA
6-0 – MONTINI CATHOLIC H.S. – HILLSIDE, IL
Relatively quiet on the recruiting scene coming into the Invitational, Gatewood changed some of that with his tough play during the weekend. The strong and quick guard is a good athlete and made some big plays with those qualities. He handled the ball well and used it to get the defense off balance where he was then able to slash down the lane-lines and attack the rim constantly for scores. When he got the defense to give room, respecting his ability to drive and finish, he then showed off his outside shooting and drained several three-pointers. Some of those three’s were from long-range too, which he shot with confidence and made with consistency. His overall game is still a bit raw, but he will be a player to watch as he continues to smooth out his patience around the basket and ability to pull-up off the bounce.

TRENT HUDGENS – 2020 – PG – TEAM HARDEN
6-0 – MOON VALLEY H.S. – PHOENIX, AZ
While not the biggest guard, Hudgens more than makes up for the size with a terrific blend of speed, quickness, agility, and moxy. Team Harden got a huge lift in a few different games over the weekend from the energetic and confident point guard play from Hudgens, particularly in the final day. Hudgens lit up the scoreboards with his outside shooting earlier in the day, and then in the championship he heard some smack talk and a fire was lit. From that point on, he rallied off 4 three-pointers over a 5 minute span and his defense was on lock, stealing the ball from the opponent twice in a row and then helped force another turnover late to keep his team in the game till the final buzzer.

MARTIN MACENIS – 2019 – SF – ET21 BUCKEYES
6-5 – STAGG H.S. – HICKORY HILLS, IL
Macenis was just a steady, dominant force the Buckeyes squad seemingly the entire Invitational. The 6’5” wing/forward prospect is smooth when slashing from the wing and did it over the weekend by reading the defense really well and finding opportunities to hit backdoor cuts or flash to open space, and when he caught it anywhere within 15 feet, he did an excellent job getting the bucket and finishing the play. Defensively, Macenis was active and solid, making the defense have to force plays and shoot difficult shots away from the hoop. Macenis also knocked down some big jumpers for his team and shared the ball as well.

CAMERON PALESSE – 2021 – G/F – PHENOM UNIVERSITY
6-3 – WAUKESHA WEST H.S. – WAUKESHA, WI
One of the top rising 2021’s in Wisconsin, Cameron took more of an assertive role this past weekend and he put the team on his back at times in a number of solid wins.  He helped his 15U team to the weekend tournament championship with solid consistent play that included scoring at every level, effort, and a filling the box score type approach in impressive fashion.  

ISAIAH RIVERA – 2020 – G/F – QUAD CITY ELITE
6-5 – GENESEO H.S. – GENESEO, IL
Rivera has continued to improve his game and just his takeover mentality, as was evident the past weekend at the Invitational. While he got some good help from teammates, the constant pressure Rivera puts on opponents with his size and athleticism as he attacks the lane draws a lot of attention. He showed great control playing through contact inside and got himself to the free throw line often where he converted at a high rate. Rivera also hit some nice shots away from the hoop and in the mid-range area on a couple nice turn-around jumpers, and played from the wing and in the post to take advantage of matchups.

KALEIM TAYLOR – 2020 – G – KEVON LOONEY ELITE
6-2 – MILWAUKEE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE – MILWAUKEE, WI
Taylor showed a ton of promise with his potential throughout the tournament. When Taylor decided to turn it up on both ends of the floor, he was virtually unstoppable for Kevon Looney Elite. With his combination of strength at the guard position as well as excellent handles, body control on the attack and ability to shoot the ball as well, Taylor was a matchup nightmare for opponents. He kept the tempo up often and really attacked the rim at times of which he then showed his ability to finish with both good touch and some flare when necessary. He virtually willed his team to a big win Saturday behind a huge second half outpouring.