 De’Nyi Thomas IslandStats.com
These are the players from incoming grade levels of 6th grade to 8th grade and as young as 10 years of age. Team Bermuda had a handful of young players featured in the day’s events streamed live on PASPORTSLIVE.COM including – William Tanglao, Jacob Pereira, Joshua Dears, Lucas Young, Darien Williams, Seth Hardtman, Adam McDonald, Josiah Fubler, Kalen Burgess, Spencer Vaucrosson, Flavio Mundy, and Ryan Clements. Leano Ming sat out of the day’s events due to injury.
Events of the day showed Bermuda’s tremendous strength and depth at every age category. Some of Team Bermuda’s key performers included Clements from Saltus who has shot the ball well the whole tournament. In the live game, Clements pulled up for a high arching three pointer which found the basket early in the first half. In the second half of play, he drove down the court in transition, delivering a floater over a defending player to score his second basket. In all Clements ended the game with five points.
Hardtman, a fast guard from Whitney Middle School, played solid throughout the game playing tough defense and being a stabilizing force for his team, leading them to the win.
McDonald was a gem in transition, getting steals on the ball and driving quickly to the basket to setup opportunities for his teammates.
While all of Bermuda’s players made a mark, the day belonged to Mount Saint Agnes, incoming M3 student (8th Grader) De’Nyi Thomas. The 6'1" power forward, was a dominant force in the game.
In the first half of play, Thomas caught the ball at the free throw area and then made a quick move to his left driving to the basket with a strong finish. The commentators remarked, “That was a good left handed move, that looked like a pro.” Later in the first half, he caught a pass in the corner and drove by his defender for another layup. The commentators said that Thomas was “Hard to stop.” Thomas ended the game with a big 14 points and 9 rebounds to help his team.
Thomas was interviewed at half time by the PASPORTSLIVE team and gave a good account of himself and his coaches. He is definitely one to watch in the future for team Bermuda.
Thomas’ team was coached Keyla Hoohuli, alumni scholarship player from Cannisius University, and one of the top five female scorers of all time in Pennsylvania Basketball history. Coach Hoohuli scored over 2,600 career points in high school leading to her scholarship with the Golden Griffons. Coach Hoohuli remarked that Bermuda has some real talent and was interested in seeing the Bermuda Girls who will be attending the team camp at Susquehanna University the following week.
If you would like to learn more about youth basketball programmes in Bermuda, or opportunities to join the national teams, please contact us at info@bbyfbasketball.org.
|
