While the youngest group at the event, the 11U teams still came to play. There were plenty of talented guards as well to some quality forwards. The talented IL Flight team came away with the championship.
Noah Garcia – 2028 – F – Mid Pro Academy
Garcia was one of the more impressive forwards at the 11U level. He has very good versatility and got a lot done on the floor on both ends with his skills. Defensively he plays big shutting down the paint and rebounding at a high level but offensively plays well with the ball attacking the basket.
Cole Kelly – 2028 – F – IL Flight
Kelly did so much for his team and was a key reason for their impressive championship run. The forward contributed greatly defending the paint, rebounding everything near him, handling the ball, posting up, knocking down shots from three, and more. Whatever his team needed, Kelly got it done. He also performed well playing up at the 12U level.
Darrius Hawkins – 2028 – G – Meanstreets
A quick guard that stood out the most with his defensive play. He was a force with his constant ball pressure continuously disrupting the offense with his quickness and good hands to get steals in bunches. On the offensive side, Hawkins scored the ball attacking the paint and passed it well.
Kumasi Jones Jr. – 2028 – G – Midwest Thunder
Jones is a quick guard that scored the ball well. He has tight handle and shifty moves to often be beating his man and getting to the basket. At the 11U level, Jones was one of the better scorers but was also an unselfish player passing it out well.
Anthony Moore – 2028 – F/C – Meanstreets
A strong post that was dominant in the paint and a key reason for Meanstreets run all the way to the title game. Moore plays with a good motor and was simply overpowers defenders inside to score right through the defense. As well, he was dominant on the glass especially on the offensive side.
Ezenwa Nwagwu – 2028 – G – Mac Irvin Fire
During the tournament Nwagwu showed a very good playmaking ability. The skilled point guard was often getting into the paint with his quickness and good moves off the dribble. Nwagwu finishes well around the paint as well to showing good vision and passing ability on the move.
Brady Pettigrew – 2028 – G – IL Flight
Pettigrew is a smart point guard who played well on both ends. He’s a good distributor that moves the ball quickly and always knows where to go with it plus makes good on target passes. The point guard has good handle and moves well with the ball. On the other end he is a tough pressure defender that forced multiple turnovers.
Jason Susdorf – 2028 – G – IN Game
A skilled creating point guard that is tough to defend off the dribble. He is quick and moves well with the ball to often be getting into the paint. When he gets into the paint, Susdorf showed a goof ability to finish in traffic as well as pass it on the move. He is an up-tempo player that was just outworking the opposition.