College prospect Ben Tweedy among GPS basketball’s best players from round 7 action
An esteemed Toowoomba Grammar coach has heaped praise on a schoolboy taking the GPS basketball competition by storm. All is revealed here, including a fire-breathing Terrace sharp shooter, and a Brisbane Grammar guard with the same first name as arguably the greatest basketball player ever.
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“It’s not just his ability that makes him exceptional but it’s his maturity and game management,” is what Toowoomba Grammar School First V head coach Kabe Cicolini said of The Southport School’s Ben Tweedy after this year’s GPS premiers flexed their muscles in a 99-58 win up the range.
“Tweedy was exceptional,” Cicolini praised of Year 12 student Tweedy, who has been the player to watch in the competition this year.
“He has the ability to understand the games within the game.
“He is such a mature operator for someone his age. You can see he isn’t just improving in his ability to play but his understanding of the game and how quickly he can evolve.
“For a schoolboy he’s well polished and he’s a big reason why they (TSS) are winning the way they are winning.”
Tweedy was elite in that game, which ensured TSS would finish the season back-to-back premiers, with this year the school taking it out outright.
At Gregory Terrace, Hunter Trego was a lights out shooter for the home side in their 88-73 victory over Brisbane Grammar.
The game was cut short due to an injury in the fourth quarter.
For Brisbane Grammar, Queensland representative guard Lebron Brooks, who shares his first name with NBA immortal LeBron James, was at the peak of his powers.
See below who joined Brooks, Trego and Tweedy in the GPS Players of the Week as we edge towards the end of a brilliant season.
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WHO ARE THE HOMEGROWN TALENTS OF GPS BASKETBALL
GPS BASKETBALL ROUND 5 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
ROUND 7 SCORES
GREGORY TERRACE 88 BT BRISBANE GRAMMAR 73
BBC 89 BT IPSWICH GRAMMAR 59
TSS 99 BT TOOWOOMBA GRAMMAR 58
CHURCHIE 96 BT NUDGEE 74
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Mladen Markovic (Nudgee)
Markovic is the definition of a green release.
At the weekend, every shot he attempted in the first half dropped and every single one was a jump shot.
He is a laser.
Tyson Warren (Nudgee)
The athletic Warren glided to the cup on countless occasions and had the skill to finish in contact.
Rylan Carlisle (Nudgee)
Nudgee’s first option was his crafty self carrying the scoring load and handling the ball under pressure.
He is a special talent.
Oskar Olechnowicz (Churchie)
Olechnowicz is one of those players who will notch up 20 points without you realising he is taking over the ball-game.
Against Nudgee, he quickly got to double digits with his soft touch around the rim and then by the end of the contest he had close to 30 points.
He doesn’t get tempted by deep threes and makes a living off two-pointers which is impressive.
Nash Harding (Churchie)
Harding was a pest on defence, making life hard for Nudgee to bring it up the court.
When he was on the court, Churchie were at their best.
Finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, while Jake Miles-Wrency and Connor Davidson ripped down nine rebounds each.
Caleb Cronn (Churchie)
Cronn was a cool customer with his effortless dribbling and slashing drives finding open Churchie shooters.
He was a facilitator but when he wanted to score it was light work.
Kurt Siwek (Churchie)
Siwek dominated in the pain to begin proceedings before Olechnowicz and Co joined the party.
Hunter Trego (Gregory Terrace)
The best performer on the court was Hunter Trego. “He was pretty special,” coach Matthwe Hamilton-Smith concluded.
He was on his way to a 40-bomb but settled for a cool 30-piece when the game was called early.
Spare a thought for his twin brother Phoenix who was sniping from three point land.
Ethan Sun and Paul Papacostas (Gregory Terrace)
Big man Papacostas and trusty guard Ethan Sun came to the fore with buckets Hamilton-Smith had one word to describe.
The word was tough.
Lebron Brooks (Brisbane Grammar)
Brooks was brilliant.
He made tough shots, as he always does, and showed a fierce competitive spirit which fuelled Brisbane Grammar.
Rohan Barlow (Brisbane Grammar)
Rohan Barlow battled like a titan on the glass and made effort plays which inspired his teammates.
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Luka Tripkovic (Ipswich Grammar)
A strong start by Tripkovic caused a ripple effect across the team to see Ipswich Grammar storm out of the gates in a strong first half showing.
Tripkovic was the man of the match.
For BBC, it was a terrific team effort which powered them home to a 30-point-victory.
Ethan Calvert’s intensity on the defensive end and play making offensively set the tone.
Lachlan Scroggie’s senior leadership, defence and facilitating provided key assists and got his teammates firing.
“Our bench really stepped up and provided a scoring punch which helped us with the offensive output needed due to having some of our key players out due to injuries,” praised head coach Mike Ayanbadejo.
Charlie Winks made timely threes and attacked the rim confidently in transition. Ryan Sui was instrumental attacking the basket and facilitating while Andrew Hyun, Cooper Bell and Luke Stafford were rock solid defensively.
Ben Tweedy (TSS)
The best player in the competition was in his bag again with a performance that would have College scouts circling.
Jackson McCabe (TSS)
McCabe was a beast, taking advantage of mismatches like a veteran.
He was effective and TSS fed off that to storm away with it.
Jack Foley (TSS)
Foley had his radar going, hitting six timely threes which put out Toowoomba every time they threatened to come back into the contest.
Rahul Captain (TGS)
Captain didn’t have his most efficient game from the field but he impacted the game in every other area and battled hard against a special TSS side.
James Nugent (TGS)
The bouncy fourth year First V player was superb with his leadership, putting the team on his back with Tawana Ngorima out with an injury.
“Nugent was awesome in his leadership … For him to step up and lead the way was pleasing,” coach Cicolini said.
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