The Lemon Street Classic has become one of the go-to events before the Holidays around Atlanta. This year's field featured some great teams that provided big performances. Here is the first part of the top performers from the three days of action:
RJ Godfrey, North Gwinnett
The Clemson signee led North Gwinnett to the Red Bracket Championship, winning three straight games. In all of those games, he flirted with triple doubles and did a lot of everything. On the offensive side of the floor, he plays all over the floor, making plays off the dribble and finishing plays that his teammates make for him. On the defensive side, he protected the rim fantastically in all three games and always hit the glass hard. His physicality and versatility made it very difficult for opposing teams to match up with him, and he was the best player across three days of basketball at Lemon Street Classic.
Braden Pierce, River Ridge (Pictured)
The River Ridge senior center continues to show the strides that his game is making. Offensively, he has great footwork and can finish plays well at the rim and in the paint. He also stretched his shooting range out to the three point line, connecting on perimeter jumpers as well. He was also active on the defensive side of the floor and on the glass, controlling the paint and making it difficult for opponents to get anything on the interior.
Zion Fruster, Alexander
Fruster was one of the more eye-opening players for me on the week. The senior has solid size and length on the wing at 6-foot-3 and played with the highest motor of anyone that I saw at Lemon Street. His activity level continuously made things happen and he consistently found himself in spots to be productive. He scored the ball well from all three levels and is a good finisher around the rim. He also has the ability to pressure defensively and guard the ball. College programs will definitely want to know his name.
Aaron Brooks, Cumberland Christian
Brooks was always in attack mode for Cumberland this weekend, looking for his offense and a way to get to the rim, where he can finish at a high level. He made some great things happen off the bounce and also found success on the defensive side of the floor, creating turnovers and getting into the open floor for easy buckets. He capped off the event with a great game, scoring 20 points in a win over Salem.