The second day of the 2017 GNBA Championships featured a host of big performances and talented individuals on Saturday at Homestead High School in Mequon, Wisc. as several players raised their stock by helping lead their teams into the semifinals of the championships brackets.

TOP PERFORMERS
Jordan Rice — 2021 – PG — Quad City Elite
Rice helped lead Quad City Elite past the Milwaukee Spartans Rebel Elite in convincing fashion in the semifinals of the eighth-grade championship bracket on Saturday. He’s a fearless guard who is crafty with the dribble and can score at all three levels. He is especially effective getting into the paint and scoring over larger defenders with an assortment of runners and floaters.

Bryan Phillips — 2022 — PG — Illinois Irish Elite
Point guard had it all working on Saturday morning first round seventh-grade contest against Yanders Law. He has terrific handles and is creative off the bounce, able to get to the bucket seemingly at will. Had 10 points in the first half against Yanders Law, all of which came in the paint as he attacked off the bounce. 

Quincy Wiseman — 2021 — G/F — Iowa Barnstormers Gold
Helped lead a balanced Iowa Barnstormers Gold attack in an opening round win over Yanders Law on Saturday in the eighth-grade division. He is a smooth wing player with good size and an all-around skill set. Against Yanders Law he took the ball strong to the bucket, rebounded well (he led both teams with nine) and made several outside shots as well, finishing with 15 points.

Zach Howell — 2022 — SG — Yanders Law
Howell continues to elevate his game this spring and on Saturday morning he helped lead Yanders Law past the Illinois Irish in the opening round of the seventh-grade bracket. He is a knock down perimeter shooter who is also strong enough to post up in the paint and get on the defensive boards.

Amar Augillard — 2021 — F — Kessel Heat Black
Augillard is among the most talented players in the GNBA eighth-grade association and he showed why on Saturday. Not only does Augillard possess size and athleticism, but he has an advanced skill set that translates well to future levels of play. He can play in the paint, or on the perimeter, handles the ball well, can shoot well beyond the 3-point arc and even showed off some fancy passing skills on Saturday. He helped lead Kessel Heat Black to the semifinals with a big win over Team Ramey.

Logan O’Brien — 2021 — SG — Ray Allen Select
O’Brien quietly had a terrific performance Saturday morning in the opening round of the eighth-grade tournament against the Illinois Irish Elite. He had six points in the first half, then went for 10 in the second including several short, pull-up jumpers in the paint as RAS advanced with a win.

Luke Haertle — 2022 — G/F — Playground Elite
Strong, physical forward that can handle the ball, shoot, rebound and get all the way to the basket. He went for 13 points in the first half of a quarterfinal game in the seventh-grade championship bracket on Saturday. Haertle knocked down three 3-pointers in the first half of that contest and added two more in the second half and finished with 19 points.

Mac Wrecke — 2023 — F — Ray Allen Select
An active forward, Wrecke had 15 points and seven rebounds in the first half of an early-morning game on Saturday against Playground Elite Bolden to help lead Ray Allen Select to a first-round win in the sixth-grade division. He went on to score 20 points and record a double-double with 12 rebounds.

Reggie Fleurima — 2022 — F — Illinois Speed
A strong, physical inside-outside player that like to attack out of the high post. Fleurima showed a soft shooting touch around the basket as he bulled his way through the Wisconsin Blizzard defense in an early morning first round contest on Saturday. He scored eight points in the second half and finished with 17.

Tino Brown — 2023 — G/F — Playground Elite Bolden
Brown forgot his uniform, but didn’t forget his game. He arrived late for Saturday morning’s game against Ray Allen Select and entered the game at halftime and went for a big second half, scoring 14 points and hauling in 10 rebounds in a hard fought loss. Against the Illinois Irish Elite later in the day, Brown went for 32 points. He has terrific size and athleticism for a sixth-grade, can handle the ball, get to the bucket and finish and has a smooth left handed shot, especially in the mid-range.

STOCK BOOSTERS
Amareon Parker — 2021 — PG — Illinois Irish Elite
One of the better all-around point guards in the GNBA, Parker is an elite athlete with a super-quick first step and the ability to get in the paint and make plays. He scored 13 first-half points Saturday morning in the opening round of play in the eighth-grade bracket against Ray Allen Select and his play largely helped the underdog Irish hang tough throughout the contest. Parker finished with 17 points and led his squad with four rebounds.

Brayden Dailey — 2021 — F — Iowa Barnstormers Gold
Kid had quite a game off the Iowa Barnstormers Gold bench on Saturday in an opening round win over Yanders Law. He is a long, rangy forward that was seemingly always in the right spot at both ends of the floor. Defensively, he challenged shots and even got on the boards a little, and at the offensive end, he ran the floor well, finished in traffic and made several outside jumpers as well. Dailey finished with 14 points, all but two of which came in the second half.

JT Seagraves — 2022 — F/C — Playground Elite
Seagraves is an agile forward that features terrific body control around the bucket and has the ability to make difficult shots look easy. He had 11 points and six rebounds in a runaway win over Yanders Law in the quarterfinals of the seventh-grade championship bracket, providing Playground Elite an athletic presence at both ends of the court.

Tar’Quaveon Smith — 2021 — SG — Illinois Irish Elite
Smith is a knock down shooter from the 3-point line with a super quick release that helps him get the shot up and over bigger defenders. He made four 3-pointers in the first half of a Saturday morning in the opening round of play in the eighth-grade bracket against Ray Allen Select. He finished with five 3-pointers and 15 total points.

Syone Usma — 2021 — G — Kessel Heat Black
Usma put together a strong showing off the Kessel Heat Black bench on Saturday in the opening round of the eighth-grade tournament in a runaway win over UAG3 Grind. He went for 15 points, including 11 points in the first half, and added six rebounds. Usma was one of five players to score between 10 and 15 points for a balanced Kessel Heat attack.

Markus Marshall — 2021 — SG — Team Ramey
A strong, athletic guard with good size, Marshall shoots the ball with confidence from the perimeter. He had three 3-pointers and 13 points in a quarterfinal loss in the eighth-grade championship bracket to Kessel Heat Black. Marshall shows terrific elevation and lift on his perimeter jumper and showed some good range as well, letting it fly several times from well beyond the 3-point arc.

Tommie Williams — 2021 — F — Team Ramey
A versatile forward, Williams is a talented wing player that gets on the boards and can handle the ball. He helped lead Team Ramey to the eighth-grade quarterfinals where they fell to a talented Kessel Heat Black squad. Williams showcased the ability to get to the bucket and an all-around skill set.

Robert Durkin — 2022 — SG — Illinois Speed
Has a consistent outside shooting stroke from the 3-point line but also showed the ability to put it on the floor a little and attack the basket. Had two 3-pointers and 10 points in the second half in a runaway win over the Wisconsin Blizzard defense in an early morning first round contest on Saturday.

Dylan Krause — 2022 — SG — Ray Allen Select
Stuck a pair of free throws with 3.6 seconds remaining to give Ray Allen Select a hard fought 52-50 victory over Made Men Saturday morning. He has good size and the ability to knock down perimeter shots for RAS.

JJ Ware — 2023 — F/C — Net Gain
He didn’t score a lot of points, but Ware is a defensive game changers with his length and agility. He is a long, rangy interior player who did a good job staying on his feet and challenging shots without fouling. His play defensively helped Net Gain bottle up a good Ray Allen team in the semifinals of the sixth-grade bracket. He also did a good job on the boards, hauling in several defensive rebounds.