USJN: Things I Hated and Players That Impressed

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Spent the weekend at the USJN DC and it was a shadow of the massive event that it once was. It is still however, considered a major event with close to 150 teams on 12 courts. Four days of action gave me a chance to put my eyes on a lot of players which was a good thing, here are some of the things I hated about the event and AAU basketball during the summer. 1) Injuries: Every time I see a girl go down I cringe, icing on the sidelines, the crutches and the follow up MRI appointment just brings me to tears. 2) Fifteen player rosters, players sitting on the bench fake cheering but hoping their teammate get into foul trouble or mess up so they can get a chance to get in the game. Summer rosters should be capped at ten. 3) Coaches that yell at the kids from jump ball to final whistle then have a 30 minute meeting after the game to yell some more. I see a lot of kids get turned off from the sport because coaches are yellers instead of teachers. 4) Roster with names missing or wrong numbers, been through this before. 5) Rising 9th graders still listing their middle school as their school</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Things I liked</strong>, talented players playing the game like it should be played. Here are some players that really impressed me at the USJN DC.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players That Impressed</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":726899,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='727161' first='Charlotte' last='Mullinax']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'6u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"12121","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Riverbend","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"CTAB Elite","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Charlotte is listed at 5'6u0022 but plays at 6'1u0022.  She had a deadly three point shot, a nice midrange touch and excellent court vision.  Her floater is extremely accurate and her defense should be shown as a model for teaching other player how to play defense.  She throws you off as she doesn't look imposing when she steps on the court but seeing her play you have to admire everything that she does on the court.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64beddcd5cd94"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["238891"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":726890,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Sometimes players try to emulate bad shots made by the Steph Curry's of the NBA.  Just because they make it doesn't mean you should try it, unless your name is [player_tooltip player_id='455408' first='Amaya' last='Durrett'].  She pulled of a spin move stepback into a three pointer that was an all net thing of beauty and worthy of a Sports Center Top 10.  She had fluid high level moves that a lot of players will never master in years of practice.  She makes games fun to watch.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":726906,"_player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"Jaylah King","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"2028","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"5'7u0022","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"12124","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"Parkville Middle","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"[program_tooltip program_id='714380' first='Maryland' last='Belles']","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_1_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Jaylah's skill level and IQ are far beyond a player entering the eighth grade.  I would venture to say that she could be a starter on the majority of DMV teams this fall.  She attacks very well on defense and has great anticipation in the passing lanes.  Seeing her play against her peers seems a little unfair as she plays well beyond her years.  She is a really good finisher and a special talent to keep an eye on.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":726888,"_player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"Carl Dexter","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"5'8u0022","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"12122","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"Springbrook","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"Classics 17","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_2_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Carl looked undersized in the post but had some good moves after getting the ball in the paint.  Then things got crazy as her team was down and she ripped off 12 straight points with three steals and two assists in a three minute span.  It seemed as though she could have been holding back as she started going off after leaving the post.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_player_details_selected_featured_image":726892,"_player_evaluations_3_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_3_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='443620' first='Madison' last='Smith']","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_3_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_3_player_details_height":"5'5u0022","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_3_player_details_position":"12121","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_3_player_details_school":"Chesapeake Math u0026amp; Science","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_3_player_details_club_team":"Prymetime Selecct","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_3_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_3_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Madison has a good isolation game with the ability to break down defenders off the dribble.  She has three range to prevent defenders from playing way off of her.  She doesn't need a lot of space to slice the lane as she doesn't avoid contact allowing her multiple trips to the line.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":4,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64beddcd5cfb6"} /-->