Plenty of talent from across the region was at the NY2LA Sports Invitational the 17U level was no exception to this. Here are the players that stood out the most from this group.
Nacir Beamon – 2024 – PG – Pro Lane Team Herro
Beamon continued his tremendous spring at the NY2LA Sports Invitational. In his opening game of the tournament, he was unstoppable with his ability to attack the basket. He plays extremely well off the dribble with all his moves, maneuvering around defenders with ease to get to the bucket and finish play after play. More than just a scorer however, Beamon also proved to be a very tough on ball defender.
Antwan Burns-Jones – 2023 – G – MTXE Premier
Burns-Jones continues to show more and more this spring playing at a very high level. Not only is he scoring it very well, but he is also running the point and facilitating the ball. He has continued to greatly improve his jumper as he shot it well from the outside as well in the mid-range. Not only that but he was passing it well all tournament creating for his teammates.
Solomon Garrison – 2023 – PG – Chapman Basketball
Garrison truly impressed with his play throughout the weekend. He is a skilled point guard that can both score and distribute the ball very well. Not only is he extremely quick with the ball but also knows how to play. He is at his best playing on the attack where he is incredibly tough to stay in front of. Garrison is a very good decision maker with the ball reading the defense and knowing where to go with it. He also impacted the game with his tough on ball defensive play and perimeter shooting.
Jaden Guyton – 2023 – PG – ABC Young Lions
Guyton had one of the top scoring performances of the tournament going for 25 points in the gold bracket semifinals. He has great quickness and does a nice job changing speeds to be incredibly difficult to stick with. He was constantly getting paint touches and finishing there. He sees the floor well and quickly attacks any gaps in the defense and is a crafty finisher all around the paint.
Marcus Hall – 2023 – F – Wisconsin Swing
The 6’7” continues to play tremendous basketball this spring and shows why he is one of the more sought-after division two prospects in the region. Not only does he have a nice array of moves posting up and facing up but also was very effective playing off the dribble and can hit some outside jumpers. He scored it well all weekend, including a 24-point game.
Nick Janowski – 2024 – PG – Phenom University 2024
While Janowski and his Phenom University 2024 were playing up a level, that did not stop them from their dominant play all weekend on route to the platinum championship. He has plenty of confidence to his game and is one of the more skilled scoring points in the regions 2024 class. He plays extremely well with the ball in his hands with a great ability to create for himself from the outside. The sophomore is extremely difficult to defend as he needs such little room to get his shot off and can score from all three levels. This included a 23-point performance in the title game and 21 in the semifinals.
Milan Momcilovic – 2023 – F – Phenom University 2023
Once again Momcilovic had himself a tremendous weekend, starting it off with a 26-point performance on Friday night. There are few 6’8” forwards at the high school level with his scoring package. Throughout the weekend he was really getting it done with his jumper, spotting up from three and pulling up in the mid-range as well to playing in the post.
Tashun Pender – 2023 – G/F – Movements Hoops
Pender was one of a few players from Movement Hoops to have stellar tournaments for themselves, helping them make it all the way to the platinum title game. He came up huge in the quarterfinals and semifinals games scoring 21 and 16 points respectively. Pender is a very effective slasher with remarkable bounce that continues to show more and more game each week as the rest of his skills continues to grow.
Mikequese Taylor – 2023 – G – Mid Pro Academy East
Taylor had one of the top scoring performances of the tournament with a 26-point game. He maneuvers well with the ball and with great acceleration to the basket and is very tough to stop on the attack. Taylor did a great job finishing strong for his size inside. While he did most of his damage scoring the junior also passed it well on the attack when getting into the paint.
Tyran Thomas – 2023 – SG – 94 Feet Elite
Thomas brought his best game all weekend. He is an incredibly athletic wing guard with bounce and a great second jump. He scored it well in multiple games doing the bulk of it attacking the basket plus some mid-range jumpers. He had multiple dunks over the weekend including a thunderous tip dunk. He has tremendous upside and is poised for a breakout summer.