Five Ways to Score: 2028 Mid-Atlantic Offensive Standouts

<a href="https://preplacrosse.com/national/player-rankings/2028-mid-atlantic-region-rankings/" data-type="link" data-id="https://preplacrosse.com/national/player-rankings/2028-mid-atlantic-region-rankings/">Our 2028 Mid-Atlantic rankings dropped last week,</a> and these five offensive players stood out for very different reasons. The group includes a two-man game technician, a finisher, a burner, a shooter, and a do-it-all midfielder.   Check out the evaluations below to see which player is which:    It did not take long to see what made Paul stand out at Showtime; "fast" was the first note I wrote down. The gear he can kick into is different. Defenders cannot find the right angles to slide to him, let alone stay with him. He does not just have straight-line speed; he has real burst, too. On tape, it almost feels like a taunt: he draws defenders toward him before the dodge, then runs right past them from the start. As a midfielder, it does not really matter where you force him; he is going to get something out of it. Take away the middle, and he is perfectly comfortable sprinting down the alley to finish from low angles or turning the corner to get in front of the cage.   He has also developed a box-like finish to his game. On stepdowns, he uses a low windup and short-arm shot, the type you see from Canadians, that can hold and freeze goalies. In tight, he has developed a nasty leaner, ducking his head before finishing high.     I'm putting Amorim in the elite category when it comes to the two-man game. The only players I've seen in that same category are Canadians. You rarely see a player attack two-man coverages in so many different ways on a highlight tape, let alone a summer highlight tape. It is incredible to watch him shoot through picks to use the picker as a screen on the goalie, feed off fly-by picks, reject picks, and roll back into them. His IQ is off the charts.   His feeding ability is on that same level. He is so good at controlling not only the defender matched up on him, but the off-ball defenders, too. He knows how to lock in a defender in front of him, then lift his hands at the last second and skip a pass through. You can tell he plays with less whip. His quick, compact release hits spots all over the cage with ease. He is more of a stiff mover, but he knows how to play into his game. I hope coaches Alberici and Lewis are planning plenty of two-man action with Amorim, because Army landed a weapon on the first day of recruiting for the academies.     Rende is one of those midfielders you get on campus and then figure out where he fits. He did a little bit of everything this summer—dodging, feeding, scoring, clearing, defending, and even taking face-offs at NHSLS. Whatever the job is, he has the athleticism and competitiveness to beat his matchup. You see that athleticism in the way he dodges. He has bounce in his step, plenty of shake to create separation, and the agility and speed to turn the corner for shots. One of his best offensive skills is his shot-windup-to-feed. It is deadly: he draws defenders in with the threat of his shot, then skips the ball through the defense for an easy dunk on the doorstep. On the defensive side of the ball, he has that light-on-his-feet quality that makes it easy for him to stay with dodgers and close out. From there, he can get into transition and weave through riders with ease.     The chemistry between Black and Landon Amorim on Big 4 HHH was on a different level this summer. It felt like the two could always find each other through a defense and recognize the perfect time to feed through tight windows. Black can both feed and finish, but I would put him more in the finisher category: both in tight and from distance. Around the cage, he finishes with either hand, knows how to move a goalie, and has the hands to one-time it on the backside. From distance, I like the variation in his releases. He knows how to preload his feet and get the ball off from the same level he received it. Black also adds deception by shooting around defenders to screen the goalie and adding in jump shots with both hands, a shot that naturally tends to freeze goalies.     I was so impressed with Dockx's finishing ability throughout the summer. Overall, the way he consistently generates quality looks is impressive. On some possessions, he plays with brute force, using his size to his advantage and getting into defenders. On others, he uses that expected contact against them. It is almost like he is pulling the rug out from underneath a defender, leaving them lunging at air while he beats them to the middle or underneath for a great shot. He loves working from his lefty wing, but he is dangerous behind the cage, too. He can get up the lefty hash with multiple moves or keep it in his left and finish with a backhand up the right hash. Dockx's combination of physicality, agility, and feel around the cage should keep him uncommitted for only so long.

Our 2028 Mid-Atlantic rankings dropped last week, and these five offensive players stood out for very different reasons. The group includes a two-man game technician, a finisher, a burner, a shooter, and a do-it-all midfielder.