Sam Handley, A, Jesuit (Ore.), Penn

A wing and X dodger with an impeccable frame at 6-5, 205-lbs, Handley used his body on dodges to get into triple-threat positions on offense, and you don’t want to be in his shooting path when you see him initiate a step-down. Good with both hands and a very unselfish player, he’s one of the most talked about 2018’s on the West Coast.

Sam Handley ’18, A, Oregon Pride / Jesuit (Ore.)

There’s a lot to appreciate about Handley’s game. Not only does he have a strong 6’3 frame, but he’s particularly two-handed and most impressively, appears to be improving rapidly. The Penn-bound playmaker uses his body well to get to the island and can make things happen in a number of ways. Defenses tried to key in on him but he’s hard to game-plan against and is so good off the re-dodge, so it was pretty difficult to stop him. Definitely someone I’m looking forward to watching between now and the time he hits college.

Sam Handley, Attack, Jesuit (Ore.)/3d Oregon, 2018 - Penn

Handley has developed into one of the premiere players from the West Coast, projecting as possibly one of the very best in the country by the time he graduates. The tall and strong righty attackman shined as one of the most dominant players at the event, not just in the 2018 class. Playing on the left side, he made it clear he can use his off hand nearly as well as his strong hand. He might have come close to the 20-point mark in the play-in games alone. What jumps out is Handley’s ability to handle the ball while using his big, 6-foot-3 frame to back in and peer into the middle of the field. His hands are quick and he carries the stick like it’s small. He can very quickly pull up to pass, and it’s easy for him to get a defender bodied up, and then slip off of him or roll back or inside. He got a few defensemen to become frustrated and start trying to take the ball away, and he just easily made one move – a hitch or a face-dodge inside – to beat them. He is a nightmare matchup given the size and ability to get his hands free and given his second and third moves to get himself to the interior or just above GLE enough to get a shot. He has a powerful, big windup and can put the ball in the corners. He plays smart with the ball, seemingly well aware of when he’s got a chance or not. We saw all of this out of him at the Oceanside event, where we watched him put up at least fives goals and an assist in one game, and then score another three or four in another. On one play, Handley carried at length – to the point his coaches started to offer up some words – but Handley really had no one open; he kept the ball despite being doubled and swarmed by more players and then pumped a pass inside just at the right moment for a one-timer. That same game, he carried topside, backed his defender down from the island spot, turned, hitched to the middle to get space and then threw the goalie off with a 3/4-style release that hit the lower left. He had other impressive individual plays in that game that showed his ability to start and finish plays at a high level, making a strong dodge, then a good second move to get to a high-percentage shot or get his hands free to pass, and then making seemingly putting the ball right in a corner each time or whipping a pass right to a teammate’s stick. Handley’s performance at Oceanside speaks to the huge spring he should have.

Samuel Handley, who came all the way from Portland, Ore., was a great and unselfish feeder. He is also tall enough to see over defenses. He has all the tools to develop into a great attackman, and will improve tremendously on the summer lacrosse circuit and his college career as he becomes more familiar with the level of competition.

Sam Handley, Attack, Jesuit (Ore.)/3d Select Oregon, 2018

Handley was the 3d Select Oregon crew's most productive attackman, serving as the team's quarterback. Able to dodge to his right and to his left and shoot and pass with both, Handley proved to be a tough matchup given his 6-foot-2 height and 175-pound frame, never backing down but instead getting right into his defender and operating with his head up looking for cutters. A lot of offense ran through him and midfielder Nicholas Brisbee (Westview) as 3d Oregon took care of business on the way to the championship. Along the way, I saw Handley assist on two goals in one game as he worked from X, drew slides and looked up to open midfielders. He also had a caused turnover highlighting his awareness on the ride. He demonstrated the ability to shove off his man, backing up to get space and free his hands to shoot. In the finale, Handley scored early on by driving to his right from X, getting up to the island and scoring with a twisting jump shot. Going to his left hand, Handley then shook his defender at X going the opposite way, getting just past GLE to score with a sidearm shot. He assisted on the next goal with a look inside to the crease and accurate placement with the ball. Handley has excellent game sense and high lacrosse IQ, making him a very intriguing attackman from the West Coast. He was relentless at Oceanside in getting involved in a high percentage of 3d Select Oregon's offensive output.

Sam Handley, A, 3d Pacific / Jesuit (Ore.)

Despite the fact that I didn’t see this Oregon product as much as I would have liked, I was pretty blown away whenever I watched what he could do with the ball in his stick.It’s easy to see that he understands the game impeccably, making the right play every time and putting up some pretty goals and assists. Dig his quickness, size and the range on his shot as well – he’s for sure one of the better 2018 prospects out of the West Coast.