After all the coverage from 17U level, it is time to take a look at the deep and talented group that shined over the three days at the 16U level of the Grassroots Invitational.

Joseph Arnold – 2028 – PG – D Rice Elite

It was another highly productive tournament for the point guard in which he helped D Rice team to a 4-0 record. He has an elite blend of quickness, handle and moves with the basketball being able to get into the paint and distribute the ball. As well to his highly elusive playmaking point guard play that he has consistently showcased over the past couple of years, Arnold has continued to grow as a scorer over the past couple of tournaments too. This included his shooting as he hit a pair of threes in a single half.

Calvin Barber – 2028 – G – Reach Legends

Barber was one of the most impactful players of the entire tournament with his highly versatile game helping Reach to a couple of dominant wins. He is a skilled and athletic guard who plays with plenty of toughness. While he hit a few threes during the tournament, he excelled playing on attack. He was often getting into the paint playing under control with the ball and finished with his floater, strength playing through defenders, or with good footwork around them. Barber was also effective as a distributor looking to create for others with good decision making. The guard is also an aggressive on ball defender who forced plenty of turnovers. With his bounciness, he also had a couple of highlight reel dunks during the tournament too.

Brady Emerick – 2028 – PG – Indiana Impact Smith

Emerick shined his team’s final game with his play on the attack. The quick and active point guard was consistently getting deep into the paint and creating for himself and teammates. In this game, he scored 8 points just in the second half getting to the basket and was even better as a distributor. Emerick really looks to distribute the basketball and passed it well on the move driving and dumping it off for easy baskets for his teammates. He pushed the ball well in transition looking to create but was also very effective in the half court.

Kale Graff – 2028 – PG – Wisconsin Legends

Graff was a big reason why his Legends team went 4-0 while playing in the top pool. He had some high scoring games which included one with 18 points and in another scored 15 points just in a single half scoring well with his outside shooting as well as getting into the paint. Though he is also a stat stuffer as he rebounds the ball very well as a guard as well to being able to distribute the ball very effectively. Whether it was pushing the ball in transition or in the half court playing on the attack, Graff showed a very good passing ability. He also consistently played with good energy defensively on the ball limiting some talented guards.

Trey Kloock – 2028 – SG – Ohio Premier Chaos

In each of the several games I have seen Kloock play in this grassroots season, the result has been the same with him knocking down plenty of threes. This continued into this tournament seeing him drill seven threes in a single game leading to a 4-point win as part of a 3-1 weekend. Kloock moves extremely well without the ball and can quickly get into his shot off the catch. As well with his great positional size at 6’5” and length, he can get his shot off over any defender. With the consistency of his pure jumper, he is one of the top shooters I have seen this year.

Connor Sellinger – 2028 – PG – 24UP

Sellinger is a 6’2” guard with a well-rounded game and knows how to play helping 24UP to a trio of wins at the tournament. He showed a very good ability to both run the point as well as score it himself. Sellinger is a high IQ point guard who can handle a lot of ball pressure and distributed it very well on the attack. He also scored it well on the attack with multiple and one finishes at the basket in a game. Sellinger also showed his ability to hit the three both off the catch and dribble.

Nick Tempelis – 2028 – SG – Team Herro

With games of the 21 points and 16 points, Tempelis was one of the top scorers at the 16U level in a 3-1 tournament. While the 6’3” guard has continued to show his great shooting ability from the outside he also was scoring it effectively in a variety of ways during this tournament. This included some strong drives to the basket, getting to his spots around the mid-range and paint, and hitting the offensive glass. He impressed with his ability to create space around the paint and finish at. a percentage several feet out from the basket.