2018 Eddie Lau Down Syndrome Classic

By David Cordova


Saturday, December 29 was the date for the first annual Eddie Lau Down Syndrome Classic. It consisted of three games hosted by Xaverian High in Manthattan. Here were the New York City teams’ standouts:


Willem Nielsen, 6’0, Shooting Guard, Brooklyn Tech High School, Class of 2020 - Nielsen has good court vision, aware of everything moving on the court and looks to pass into the open floor. He hass plenty of hustle. He has good hands on defense and will get steals.


Samson Baalia, 6’4, Forward, Stuyvesant High School, Class of 2020 - Baalia is a imposing figure who uses his size to intimidate his opponents. Good at backing down the opposition when he has the ball in his hands. He is a good shot blocker and rebounder.


Finn Cleckner, 6’2, Shooting Guard, Brooklyn Tech High School, Class of 2019 - Cleckner loves to score. Great at driving through and making good movements in the lane.  He hits his mid-range jumpers.


Emmanuel Charles, 6’5, Forward, Brooklyn Tech High School, Class of 2020 - Charles has good movement on the floor, using his lomg wingspan and big motor to wreck havoc and block shots on the defensive end. He needs to invest a lot of practice gym time on his offensive skill reps in ordedr to maximize his potential.

 

Tahron Allen, 6’3, Shooting Guard, St. Raymond High School, Class of 2021 - Allen is a physical guard who can play outside and inside. He has the outside shot that will draw college interest, and can successfully basket-drive when defenses are forced to close out on his lomg ball.

 

Jalen Reneau, 5’10, Point Guard, St. Raymond High School, Class of 2019 - Reneau runs the floor efficiently and has good court vision. At all times, he is looking to make good passes. Has a really good outside shot from long range. Sometimes he struggles with turnovers. Has great hands on defense.


Gary Grant, 6’6, Forward, St. Raymond High School, Class of 2020 - Grant has a lot of athleticism, and makes a lot of hustle plays. Shows effort on the boards when rebounding and finds plenty of ways to score on the break.  Can sometimes be forced into turnovers. The further development of his outside shot will drive his impact at the next level.


Malachi Smith, 6’0, Point Guard, St. Raymond High School, Class of 2021 - Smith is a great defender. Offensively, he can slice and dice his way to the hole and is good at absorbing contact when going to the basket. As sophomore, he has room to improve on his issues of forcing his shot and with turning the ball over.



Luis Kortright
, 6’2, Shooting Guard, St. Raymond High School, Class of 2021 - Kortright has that great basketball arm length and use is well. It helps him play tough defense and in attacking the boards. Has a scoring mentality and shows that he can absorb physical contact when going to the hole.


Dior Davis, 5’11, Point Guard, Murry Bergtraum High School, Class of 2021 - A lead guard who likes bringing the ball up against pressure, and also getting to the basket. Davis is very quick and deceptive and can score. He should be able to reduce his turnovers as get matures into an upper classman.

 

Joseph McGrane, 6’2, Shooting Guard, Xavier High School, Class of 2020 - McGrane is a consistent threat from three-point range. Great at spacing out the floor and will destroy a zone defense with his shooting from long range.


Kevin Bartnett, 6’5, Forward, Xavier High School, Class of 2019 - Bartnett has length and plenty of toughness on the court. A good scorer in the paint. Has a knack for posting up players smaller than him and overpowering them in the paint.

 

Devonian Douglas, 6’0, Shooting Guard, Murry Bergtraum High School, Class of 2019 - Douglas is a physical guard who is willing to bully his way into the paint in order to score. Has a solid jump shot.  A consistent free throw shooter.  Defensively, he has good movement and stays with his opponent.


Jack Mullaly, 5’10, Point Guard, Xavier High School, Class of 2019 - Mullaly, despite his diminutive frame, is fearless in the lane. He is a good floor general and very vocal with his teammates on where to be on the floor. Has a good shooting touch from long range.


Blair Thompson, 6’4, Forward, Xavier High School, Class of 2021 - Thompson is a forward who runs the floor well and is very active on the glass when it comes to getting rebounds. He is very consistent when scoring in the paint against high school-sized opponents. He uses his good arm length to frequently alter an opposing players’ shots.


Dylan Glowski, 6’2, Small Forward, Xavier High School, Class of 2019 - Glowski is a hardworking player on the court and can score in bunches.  He gives his teammates a much-needed spark when in the game.

 

Kalifa Diawara, 5’3, Point Guard, Murry Bergtraum High School, Class of 2020 -  This guys shows plenty of little man quickness and loves to get to the basket. If the the defender can’t stay in front of him, he will score. He struggles with turning the ball over and staying with his man on defense.


Brandon Edmund, 5’7, Point Guard, Xavier High School, Class of 2021 - Edmund gives his team plenty of energy and is a spark plug on offense. He finds his way to the basket plenty of times and frequently gets steals on the defensive end. Shows plenty of quickness on both ends of the floor.