Darryn Peterson & Prolific Prep

Darryn Peterson makes a claim for the throne.

Racking up a statline of 33 points (11-17 FG), 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals, Peterson showed out on both ends in a marquee matchup upset of Prolific Prep over Columbus against fellow Top-3 2026 NBA Draft prospect, Cameron Boozer, who tallied 15 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals.

Darryn Peterson flashed the smooth stroke shotmaking that’s made scouts wonder if he’ll have as much of a case for the #1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft as Cameron Boozer or A.J. Dybantsa of Utah Prep.

On the majority of his shots, the net doesn’t even move.

Darryn’s exploring depths of Swish Theory previously unseen.

Against Columbus, DP stayed locked in attack mode, scoring at will on one end and forcing turnovers on the other.

Defensive instincts, active hands, straight up shot contests, well-timed digs, jumping pass steals, blocks leading to 4pt swings, stampede movement decisiveness, burst speed acceleration, tight handle ball control, smooth decelerating body control, playmaking vision when drawing extra defenders into the paint – Peterson proved he’s more than a tough shot swishing sniper.

Darryn baited defenders into the air with mature moves that tricked opponents to leave their feet for easy trips to the pinstripe in the first quarter, ending the period with a wild buzzer-beating pull-up 3pt runner off the backboard to tease the tough shotmaking to come.

Peterson willed his team on the offensive end to stay in it, scoring 16 of the team’s first 18 points.

Showing two-way feel, blocking a shot from behind as the driver gets by him, digging in on the perimeter for a steal to force a turnover and fast break bucket.

Winters Grady dives for the loose ball and finds Peterson, who stays pushing the pace off turnovers, sprinting into the start/stop body control hesi and a turnaround fade over the outstretched Cam Boozer. Slowing it down in the halfcourt the following play, Darryn drills a FLOATA through bump-and-finish contact after initiating Double Drag P&R, forcing Columbus to take a timeout to try to slow his momentum.

Continuing the 2nd quarter run, Peterson continues to show off his defensive instincts going straight up for another block, moving his feet to contain the spin move and force a turnover with his teammate’s help defense, grabbing the loose ball and taking it the other way for another tough middy pull-up in traffic off the clean in-and-out dribble.

21 PTS in the first half for Darryn off the smooth shooting stroke we all came to see: swishing the pull-up triple against the switch, Columbus defense looking half a step slow in rotations, giving Peterson all the room he needs to rise and fire.

Darryn didn’t force it even though he had the hot hand. When Peterson draws the triple(!) team here as Niko slips the screen in P&R, Darryn drives into the paint and quickly finds arguably the best 3pt shooter on the floor with a jump-pass 3pt kickout, Winters Grady for the catch-and-shoot triple.

Darryn Peterson contests a shot, leaks out off the miss, and has the opportunity for a fast break layup; but, instead of forcing a contested shot, possibly hearing Cam Boozer’s footsteps, he again hunts for a better shot for the team with the open corner three for splashy shooter Winters Grady, who smartly ran to the corner in transition.

Peterson continues flashing two-way feel, making plays with active hands and disrupting defensive instincts with another full-extension block and jump-pass steal, pushing the pace downhill to draw fouls and find open teammates on kickouts and lookahead dimes.

Incredible soft touch finishing through traffic on the putback and downhill drive, with impressive speed control, able to accelerate with nitro burst on a whim and stop on a dime to send the defender flying and manipulate movements to get a shot up.

Watch Darryn’s movements, knowing he’s going to reverse into a drive as soon as he catches the ball.

Next play, Niko slips the screen, Peeterson finishes the up-and-under hanging-in-the-air FLOATA through FOUR defenders!

Thought Darryn was done splashing deep jumpers without hitting the rim? Think again. Can’t leave him any space, yet Columbus practically leaves him wide open on this rotation.

Nothing but net. Peterson looks at the rim and sees and ocean. The Hot Hand Theory is in full effect in this one.

Niko Bundalo

Prolific’s Niko Bundalo dominated the glass with 11 points, 14 rebounds, and 1 steal in this high school showdown on FAU’s court, splashing in a corner three, driving downhill, bringing active hands for deflections and a head up for loose balls.

Niko showed good driving ability on the perimeter, able to slink by the strong defender Cayden Boozer with a patient stutter rip, lefty dribble drive into 3 defenders into the paint, and soft touch push shot FLOATA over an extended Cam Boozer.

Niko added in a 4pt swing sequence, forcing a turnover at point of attack, finishing cleanly in transition.

Niko impressed with his handle and footwork as a driver for his size, drawing a smaller matchup switch after popping out in Double Drag and rescreening for his teammate, gliding to the rim for the eurostep drive and putback.

Cameron Boozer & Columbus

Cameron Boozer’s strong athleticism stayed on display, showing off his rebounding instincts by timing up the powerful putback slam through traffic. Boozer has great footwork and body control, able to spin through defenders going downhill.

Jaxon Richardson, son of NBA Legend J-Rich, showed off his play-finishing bounce and athleticism running the floor, throwing down back-to-back alley-oop lobs, and crashing the glass for a putback.

Cam Boozer continues to show incredible playmaking with a grab-and-go mentality, always looking ahead to transition outlets. Boozer initiates these two fast breaks off his rebounds, quickly pushing the ball up, even finding Jaxon himself for the frontcourt lob connection.

Cayden Boozer made winning plays, hitting a clean C&S 3pt jumper on the wing and in the corner, finding shooters with pristine playmaking vision as the traditional point guard, with rebounding instincts finding the offensive board.

Marcellous “Cello” Jackson showed good two-way feel and soft touch in a nice sequence where Cello popped up for a steal on the perimeter, pushed the pace in transition, and decelerated into an AND1 ceiling-scraping FLOATA.

Columbus’ Caleb Gaskins, transfer from Montverde, showed tough shot making skills attacking closeouts, drilling jumpers over Peterson’s contests, stepping in for middy pull-ups off the playmaking from the Boozer twins. Gaskins tallied 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 block.

Baseline views from CCNN:

https://twitter.com/ccnnlive/status/1859042150832574842?s=46

https://twitter.com/ccnnlive/status/1859040722797863360?s=46

https://twitter.com/ccnnlive/status/1859035253299683426?s=46

With over 500 days for these top prospect high school seniors to make their mark before the 2026 NBA Draft, who will wear the crown?

Film via The Grind Session
Stats via Maxpreps

The post Darryn Peterson Makes His Claim for the Throne appeared first on Swish Theory.

As Orlando’s afternoon sunshower came to an end just after 7pm Wednesday night, two AAU squads prepared to face off in a Fall Ball scrimmage: The SFA Rams out of Dover, Florida, visiting the Oak Ridge Elite Pioneers.

For SFA, Landyn Colyer and Traevon Koch shined, along with Oak Ridge’s Jalen Reece, Jamier Jones, and Zay Mosley all standing out with electric play.

Future college basketball players going back and forth trading smooth pull-up jumpers, clean rim finishes, smartly forced turnovers, and highlight breakaway slams before Oak Ridge pulled away in the second half.

Scouting Report

Landyn Colyer

4-Star 6’6″ Wing and self-described Tall Guard Landyn Colyer (#1, SFA) showed off incredible tough shotmaking skills, knockdown 3pt range, cerebral two-way instincts and a positive team-first mentality communicating with his teammates.

Landyn opened up the game splashing a deep-range 3pt jumper off the give-and-go handoff, then followed it up by countering with drives off handoffs into a few fadeaway leaners in the midrange, converting tough shot after tough shot. The soft touch shooting at his size is impressive. Resetting with a gather dribble and spin move under the basket also showed good fundamental footwork and more clean finishing in the paint.

Colyer racked up tons of deflections, usually able to use his frame and length to contest shots and poke the ball away without fouling, leading to many turnovers and missed shots for his opponent, while showing a knack for making multiple heads up plays to save loose balls before falling out of bounds.

Keeping the ball moving, not over-dribbling, looking to score or pass when the next man is open shows good connector skills.

Sprinting to a fallen teammate to pick him up after they drew a foul, putting his arm around teammates to talk about how to improve going forward, dapping up and hyping up teammates who walked by, Landyn clearly cares about his guys and brings a positive influence as a leader.

An anonymous basketball scout raves about Landyn Colyer’s game and team-first mentality: “An elite player who can do it all. Great athlete, very smooth & nice shooting stroke and form. Good vision. Very unselfish and is all about winning as a team.”

Traveon William Koch

6’3″ Combo Guard Traevon William Koch (#0, SFA) in the Class of ’25 looked to score every chance he got, showing nice start-stop body control driving to the rack; clean finishing at the rim on reverses, layups, floaters, AND1s, and an alley-oop slam; tight hesitation handles creating space; and a smooth jumper off the dribble when finding room to pull up.

Koch flashed his hops and timing again when he got up for a big block from behind on a drive, not giving up on the play after his man got to the rim.

Traevon stayed hunting his own shot, and while usually converting, sometimes missed open teammates cutting to the rack. Staying aware of where his teammates are and which spots they’re moving to could help stack up assists and create easy shot opportunities for others when Traevon draws multiple defenders his way, like when he found the open corner 3pt shooter off a jump pass from the midrange, deciding to give up a good shot for a great one.

Traevon showed how much he cared about his team, helping teammates up who had fallen to the ground, and talking to his guys in the huddle about how to improve the next time out.

Jalen Reece

4-Star 6′ Point Guard Jalen Reece (#2, Oak Ridge) in the Class of ’25 of the FL Rebels popped out in this game with incredible two-way feel, making winning plays on both ends, forcing turnovers, converting at the rim in transition, splashing pull-up jumpers, creating advantages for himself and others, while constantly looking to set up teammates for the lob pass alley-oop.

Reece showed nice body control decelerating and finishing at the rim, attacking the rack for the bump-and-finish AND1 through contact, driving strong to the rim with a smooth up-and-under finger roll finish through contact, converting tough shots near the rim falling away from the basket, using quick first step burst and tight ball control to get into the paint anytime he wanted, or stop on a dime for a stepback jumper off the dribble.

Jalen flashed nasty handles, masterful control of his body and the ball, digging deep into his bag to weave through multiple defenders with hesitations, spins, behind the back, any dribble move you can name, while using incredible vision and decision-making awareness to stay looking for teammates for alley-oops and drop off no-look dimes, especially in transition.

Forcing too many turnovers to count, Reece racked up deflections throughout the game, with multiple steals as point-of-attack defender at the top of the key, one leading to a 2-on-1 alley-oop to Zay Mosley, and trapping a defender alongside Jamier Jones for the forced turnover.

Reece drilled jumpers from everywhere: the catch-and-shoot 3ball, the stepback middy pull-up, the contested deep jump shot off the dribble, with a clean finishing package in the paint.

Jamier Jones

4-Star 6’6″ Small Forward Jamier Jones (#1, Oak Ridge) was your explosive high-flyer of the night, folks.

Whether he started with the ball on the perimeter or ran the floor on fast break outlets, it did not matter; Jamier stayed ready to throw it down on somebody’s head. Breakaway slams, speedy quick burst first step, dynamic athleticism led to strong takes to the rack, where Jones was too strong and too twitch-quick for anyone in his path.

Good timing and ball instincts led to rebounds, good post-up positioning and boulder shoulder moves led to backdown buckets, and constant rim-rolling led to dunk after dunk.

Watch out for this wrecking ball of energy if you’re standing in his way; you might just get posterized.

Zay Mosley

6’7″ Forward Zay Mosley (#4, Oak Ridge) crashed the glass with reckless abandon; there was no keeping him away from any rebound he wanted.

Bullyball down low on the boards resulted in possessions where Mosley could rack up multiple offensive rebounds in the same possession until the rock had no choice but to go through the net.

Smart two-way feel using his height and length to contest opponents, keeping his hands straight up without fouling, grab-and-go mentality after forcing the turnover, looking up for the open teammate leaking out on the break, will translate to every level.

Showing strong hop step spinning footwork fundamentals on the block, Mosley could become a powerful play-finisher whose engine never turns off.

Interview with 4-Star 6’6″ Wing Landyn Colyer and SFA Head Coach Jaleel Sanders

Landyn Colyer

Did any current or former players inspire your game?

I have a couple NBA players that I look after: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Devin Booker, Jayson Tatum, people like that I just try to model my game after them.

Are there any certain skills you try to pick up individually from them watching film?

I really like SGA’s pace, so I really try to work on my pace like that; and Devin Booker has a really crisp midrange jump shot, so I try to get my one-dribble pull-ups like him.

What sort of moves do you spend the most time on during practice?

I’d say consistently shooting, being able to catch-and-shoot, shoot one or two dribbles, especially getting to the rack, getting to the basket.

Are there any skills that you’re hoping to develop over the next few years that you might not possess today?

Ball-handling in general, honestly. Being able to be a confident point guard at my size, being a bigger guard (6’6”), is really vital at the next level to be able to play multiple positions

How would you describe your approach, your mindset, preparing for the game? What mentality are you bringing?

Kill mode. Kill everything in front of me. Just dominate. Try to be the best on the court at all times. Compete at everything you do. Try as hard as I can to win the game to help my team.

What interests you outside of basketball?

I’m really big on family. I hang out with my family a lot when I’m outside of basketball, things like that. I also like to take moments by myself and just rest, take the time to myself in my free time. But occasionally I like to hang out with some of my friends, I play a little bit of video games. (His favorite game these days? NBA 2K)

Head Coach Jaleel Sanders

What is your goal as the coach of these young players during a vital time in their development?

Just to make sure they’re getting the best out of these guys. The ultimate goal is to put them through college, give them an experience to prepare them for school and help them grow as young men, not just athletes, we want them to be really good citizens in the community. So those are some of the biggest things for their development, as far as mentally, physically, emotionally getting these guys prepared for that next level of life.

What sort of player development do you like to focus on most during practice?

We focus on all the simple things, simple things help you win, basketball’s a simple game. So we work on fundamentals, so strictly fundamentals: shooting, passing, playing defense, backdoor cuts, also just communicating. Working on communicating, working on defense, is putting our guys in the best position to win the game and actually learn the game of basketball.

What mentality do you see in Landyn, what do you really notice that he brings to the game?

He has this willingness to always want to listen and learn; he always wants to learn; he always wants to get better. He has this drive about him that’s different from a lot of other kids. He wants to play at the highest level that there is, that’s with most kids, but he’s not just talking about it, he’s trying to do it. He’s putting the time in, he’s putting the work in, he’s also big on his development. He’s being a great teammate, talking to guys, letting them know, ‘hey, we need to do this better’’. His communication is good with his guys, his teammates, he’s a pretty good leader.

How would you describe Landyn as a person off the court?

Silly. Goofy. He’s one of those guys who’s always trying to figure out how to uplift guys. Joking around with his teammates. He’s very laid back but also outgoing as well in his own way. So he loves to joke around with his guys, respectfully. He’s uplifting them, joking with them, keeping guys laughing, keeping them on their toes.

The post Meet Landyn Colyer – Scouting SFA vs. Oak Ridge appeared first on Swish Theory.

110 players entered the ESPN Wide World of Sports.

11 walked out champions.

With college coaches, NBA scouts, proud parents, and media members in attendance, this was no opportunity to waste for premier high school talents hoping to take their games to the next level.

I attended and scouted the 2024 NBPA Top-100 as credentialed media representing Swish Theory, taking notes, asking players for quotes, and recording the film in this article.

With too much talent to see everything at once and no public film available other than the championship game, these are the players who stood out by making winning plays and showing the developable skills likeliest to translate to the next level:

Standout Players

Abdul Aziz Olajuwon
Acaden Lewis
Adrien Stevens
Akai Fleming
Alexander Constanza
Alexander Lloyd
Andre Iguodala Jr.
Brayden Burries
Caleb Holt
Calvin Murphy
Cameron Ward
Chris Cenac
Dante Allen
Darius Adams
Davion Hannah
Deron Rippey Jr.
Dorian Hayes
Dwayne Aristode
Elijah Williams
Eric Chatfield
Eric Reibe
Hudson Greer
Jacobe Coleman
Jacob Wilkins
Jaden Toombs
Jalen Montonati
Jamarion Batemon
Jaron McKie
Jason Crowe
Jaylen Cross
Jaylen Petty
Jerry Easter
John Clark
Jordan Smith Jr.
Joshua Lewis
Joshua Lewis
Jovani Ruff
Kaden Magwood
Kareem Stagg
Kayden Mingo
King Grace
Kingston Flemings
Kiyan Anthony
Legend Smiley
London Jemison
Malachi Moreno
Marcus Gillespie
Marcus Jackson
Matthew Able
Matthew Gilhool
Mazi Mosley
Meleek Thomas
Mike Williams
Nyale Robinson
Nykolas Lewis
Oswin Erhunmwunse
Philip Davis Fogle
Qayden Samuels
Sadiq White
Sebastian Wilkins
Sebastian Williams-Adams
Shon Abaev
Tajh Ariza
Tounde Yessoufou
Trent MacLean
Trent Steinour
Tyler Jackson
Winters Grady
Xavion Staton
Zymicah Wilkins

(*note, I was not able to see every play at every moment, with two courts also unavailable to media. This is not a list of the best players from the camp as much as a list of players who made multiple winning plays that I was fortunate enough to see happen)

The Data

Sources: Stats via xsmbasketball.com/top-nbpa-100 and Cerebro Sports
Data Visualizations and Film Breakdowns from @BeyondTheRK

Measuring Overall Two-Way Impact (C-RAM), Defensive Statistical Impact (DSI), and At The Rim Effectiveness (ATR)

Meleek Thomas leads the event in Overall Impact by a mile, posting a +9.3 C-RAM, a full point above the field, while ranking T-10th in Defense with a 90 DSI rating and T-17th at the rim (72 ATR)

Tounde Yessoufou and Malachi Moreno finished T-2nd in Overall Impact with 8.3 C-RAM, rating highly At The Rim (8th and 1st) and Defense (T-19th and T-5th)

Chris Cenac Jr., the tournament’s MVP, rated 5th in ATR, T-13th in Defense, and tied for 6th in Overall Impact alongside Philip Davis Fogle and Jordan Smith Jr. at 7.8 C-RAM.

Fogle made a name for himself at NBPA Top 100. Fogle’s hustle, effort, vision, and energy was noticeable compared to his peers. Fogle finished 2nd in Defensive Statistical Impact via Cerebro Sports.

Jordan Smith Jr. also rated highly defensively (84 DSI, T-20th) and at the rim (76 ATR, 11th)

Jaylen Petty brought a winning team-first playstyle, leading his team to the championship game as an undersized yet explosive point guard, finishing 9th in overall impact with +7.5 C-RAM and rated 23rd in Defense DSI.

Kingston Flemings and Sebastian Williams finished 4th and 5th in Overall Impact (C-RAM) respectively. Sebastian rates T-9th at the rim with 77 ATR & T-17th in Defense with 86 DSI, while Flemings T-33 in Defense with 76 DSI.

Dante Allen brought all-around two-way impact, measuring well across the board, posting the T-10th best overall rating (7.4 C-RAM) and T-5th in Defense. (91 DSI)

King Grace popped out at the camp with his defense, making winning effort play after winning effort play, rating highly in Overall Impact (7.0 C-RAM, T-16th), Defense (83 DSI, 22nd), and At The Rim (74 ATR, T-12th)

Jaden Toombs, Cameron Ward, and Oswin Erhunmwunse rated extremely well in all three of these categories:
Toombs: 84 ATR (T-2nd), 7.4 C-RAM (T-10th), 87 DSI (T-13th)
Ward: 7.4 C-RAM (T-10th), 70 ATR (T-22), 81 DSI (25th)
Erhunmwunse: 7.0 C-RAM (T-16th), 83 ATR (4th), 87 DSI (T-13th)

Specializing on the offensive side of the floor, Kaden Magwood, Darius Adams, Hudson Greer, Acaden Lewis are bunched together bringing similar positive overall impact ranging between 6.5-6.7 C-RAM

Other players rated highly in Overall Impact (6.9+ C-RAM):
Eric Reibe, Brayden Burries, Qayden Samuels, Xzavion Mitchell, Caleb Holt

Other players rated highly on Defense (79+ DSI):
Xavion Staton, Nyale Robinson, Jordan Scott, Derek Dixon, Jamarion Batemon, Bryson Tiller, Xzavion Mitchell, Matthew Able, Jalen Reece, Deron Rippey Jr., Kayden Mingo, Aliou Dioum, Jack McCaffery, Jermaine O’Neal Jr, Davion Hannah, Kareem Stagg, Qayden Samuels, Tajh Ariza

Other players rated highly At The Rim (70+ ATR):
John Clark, Dewayne Brown, Xavion Staton, Eric Reibe, Aliou Dioum, Tee Bartlett, Hudson Greer, Jaylen Harrell, Matt Gilhool, Bryson Tiller, Nykolas Lewis, Sadiq White

Measuring Most Reliable Halfcourt Scoring Creators via Cerebro Sports Pure Scoring Prowess (PSP), Floor General Skills (FGS), and 3PT Effectiveness (3PE)

Meleek Thomas stands out as the most reliable offensive engine scoring creator for good looks for a team, rating 1st in Playmaking (87 FGS); 8th in Scoring (82 PSP); and flashing an outside shot, T-31st in 3PT Effectiveness with 69 3PE.

Jaylen Petty made great reads creating good shots for himself and others consistently, making plays reading defenses forcing turnovers, showing great two-way feel for the game as a natural point guard, ranking highly in every category visualized below: T-2nd in Playmaking FGS, 4th in 3PT Effectiveness, T-18th in Scoring PSP.

Kingston Flemings dominated these offensive shot-creation categories, rating 1st in Scoring (94 PSP) and T-2nd in Playmaking (81 FGS), with a capable outside shot.

Deron Rippey Jr. finished 4th in Playmaking (80 FGS), flashing the outside jumper, off the dribble all-around natural point guard feel, finishing T-36th with 67 3PE and T-39th in PSP.

Acaden Lewis rated highly in all three data points visualized below: T-6th in 3pt Effectiveness (83 3PE); T-11th in Playmaking (70 FGS); T-18th in Scoring (77 PSP)

Kaden Magwood impressed as a tough shotmaking bucket-getter, rating 5th in Scoring (88 PSP), T-17th in 3PT Effectiveness (75 3PE); T-25th in Playmaking (65 FGS)

Brayden Burries brought all-around efficient shot creation for himself and his team, rating highly as a 3pt shooter, passer, and scorer: 74 3PE (T-19th), 75 FGS (7th), 81 PSP (T-10th)

Jordan Smith Jr. continues to rate highly across the board: 74 3PE (T-19th), 68 FGS (20th) , 78 PSP (8th)

Other players rated highly in Playmaking (65+ FGS):
Derek Dixon, Jalen Reece, Courtland Muldrew, Nyale Robinson, Davion Hannah, Jerry Easter, Nykolas Lewis, Davis Fogle, Eric Chatfield, Tyler Jackson, Simon Walker, Jordan Scott, Caleb Holt, Xzavion Mitchell, Dante Allen, Darius Adams, Jaylen Cross, Kayden Mingo, Alex Lloyd

Other players rated highly in Scoring (70+ PSP):
Tounde Yessoufou, Eric Reibe, Sebastian Williams, Qayden Samuels, Malachi Moreno, Cameron Ward, Chris Cenac Jr, King Grace, Kiyan Anthony, Dante Allen, Caleb Holt, Darius Adams, Oswin Erhunmwunse, Jacob Wilkins, Dorian Hayes, Zymicah Wilkins, Hudson Greer, Sadiq White, Eric Chatfield, DeWayne Brown, Aliou Dioum, Tee Bartlett, Jalen Montonati

Other players rated highly in 3PT Shooting (70+ 3PS):
Qayden Samuels, Hakeem Weems, Imahri Wooten, Dorian Jones, Cameron Ward, Dorian Hayes, Jalen Montonati, Jacob Wilkins, Caleb Holt, Treyvon Maddox, Jamarion Batemon, Derek Dixon, London Jemison, Adrien Stevens, Dwayne Aristode, Landon Clark, Jalen Reece, Nyale Robinson, Alex Lloyd, John Clark, Ryder Frost, Winters Grady, Ryan Crotty

High FT% over a large sample can be an indicator of touch for developing future scoring ability. This camp is a small sample of 6gp, but every game is a data point towards the full picture of a longterm prospect.

Leaders in FT% (min. 85% FT%)
Derek Dixon (13/13)
Jaylen Petty (12/12)
King Grace (22/23)
Darius Adams (21/22)
Xzavion Mitchell (32/34)
Jaylen Harrell (14/15)
Mike Williams (20/22)
Chris Cenac (27/30)
Shon Abaev (16/18)
Hudson Greer (15/17)
Nykolas Lewis (14/16)
Jason Crowe (13/15)
Winters Grady (13/15)
Tounde Yessoufou (31/36)
Jalen Montonati (22/26)

The 2024 NBPA Top-100 Scouting Report with Film, Quotes, and Notes

1st Team All-NBPA Top-100 Camp from @BeyondTheRK

Chris Cenac Jr.
Meleek Thomas
Jaylen Petty
Phillip Davis Fogle
Acaden Lewis

Chris Cenac Jr.
6’10” Power Forward
2025

Chris Cenac Jr. won MVP of the 2024 NBPA Top 100 Camp

Cenac was the #NBPATop100‘s most impressive future pro prospect due to his two-way tenacity, active hands, ball instincts, pull-up shooting touch, tight handles, and clear playmaking vision for a 6’10” forward, sharing similarities to super sized super skilled bigs like Chris Bosh.

Incredible Developable Ball Skills: Excellent Playmaking Feel, Good Ball-Handling, Tough Shotmaking at every level
Vertical Gravity, Bouncy Athleticism, Big Leaper, Powerful Dunker
Explosive Downhill Foul-Drawing Force
Flying North-South Speed, Quick Burst
Strong Rim-Dettering Shot-Blocking Instincts, Big Man Paint Protector
Tough middy pull-up shotmaker over contests, spinning Dirk Fade Post-Up counter
Good finisher at the rim through traffic in transition
Elite Playmaking Vision and Passing ability
Point Forward who can run both ends of Pick-and-Roll as cerebral initator and strong play-finisher

Strong putback rebounder, good timing rim-rolling out of Double Drag
Attacks closeout with dribble, pass, and shot
Anticipation for Steals, grab-and-go, soft touch finisher with with go-to underhand dumpoff shuttle pass in transition

Chris Cenac’s camp averages:
20 PTS – 9 REB – 2 STL – 2 BLK
60% FG% (44/74) 90% FT% (27/30)

Meleek Thomas
6’5″ Point Guard
2025

Meleek Thomas was an unguardable walking bucket at #NBPATop100

The most dominant scorer at the camp

Impossible shot-making off the dribble, reminding one of Jamal Crawford, the ultimate walking bucket.
Scoring Versatility, pull-up midrange and 3pt jumpers, Impressive floater and finishing packages at and near the rim
Swishing everything, tough elbow middy fadeaways, pull-up threes, finger roll and floater finishes
Deep range shooting touch 3pt, Pull-Up, and C&S, contested OTD

Flyby vertical bounce athleticism for dunks
Quick first step burst, shifty decelerating body control to create advantages
Driving downhill to the rack unbothered, Jump stop on a dime sends defender flying
Fakes elbow jumper with quick start-stop body control and quick burst into space for up and under reverse,

postup into spinning floater, 
Eurostep reverse finger roll

Crafty tight Handles, great ball control, effective flare with the rock
Uses “Hostage Dribble” to put defender in jail on hip behind him, misses layup but puts back in off rebound

Active Hands Deflections, Anticipation Jumping Passing Lanes Forcing Steals, coast-to-coast slams
Flashes two-way feel understanding the game on the drive and dumpoff pass after forcing turnover

Decisive actions, attacking closeout by moving before receiving the pass
Good feel decision-making, soft touch bounce pass ahead in transition
Nice vision passing dimes, good reads on drive and kicks
Playmaking assist-hunting vision for cutters, kicking to open shooters, 3pt kickouts, lookahead in transition, impressive read and passing touch on the cross court corner kick
Running P&R variations, Initiates Horns, finds Winters Grady on the pop C&S 3


Filling up the box score with 30pt triple double on good scoring efficiency
Setting up good looks for others by drawing in multiple defenders, racking up 20 PTS 12 AST before the fourth
Coachable moment with teammates, talking and nodding in agreement after forcing too much huting shots/assists and missing open man


Did any current or former players inspire your game, or are there any players you try to model your game after? What kind of moves do you try to pick up from these players?


“Not really, I wouldn’t say I take things from NBA players or players that I admire his game. I just see things in the game that every player needs for the game, I work on it ,and I just add everything to my game. I have an incredible imagination so whenever I think of something I just work on it, work on it, and perfect it, and then everything just adds to my game, So I don’t study nobody or have a favorite player that I take things from, I just do things and perfect my game.”



What kind of moves do you spend the most time on during practice?

“The skills I work on the most, I work on a lot of ball screen actions, shooting the ball, I get up so many shots a day. I have a natural feel for the game so the passing comes easy. When I have great players around me it makes the game a lot easier for myself when it comes to passing.”



How would you describe your approach, your mindset, preparing for the game? What mentality are you bringing?

“I’d say like nobody else. I just approach the game like I can do what I want. I can score on you, I can stop you from scoring. I’m leading like there’s nobody else out there. I’m the loudest voice on the court in my opinion. And so with that, that can take you however far you want it to.”





Do you have any developmental goals for yourself that you want to add to your game over the next few years?

“One thing I want to continue to work on that I feel I’m already getting better at is my defense. I know I’m a good leader but just learning to hang off the ball defense”

Averages: 23 PTS – 7 REB – 7 AST – 1.5 STL (3.0 A/TO)

Camp Ranks: 1st AST, 3rd PTS, 7th A/TO, T-8th STL, 15th REB

Meleek dropped a 30pt triple double for good measure, consistently creating good looks for himself and the team, showing great feel for the game, tight handles ball control, drive and kick playmaking chops, and ball denial defense on top of impressive soft touch tough shotmaking off the dribble:

Jaylen Petty
6’0″ Point Guard
2025

Jaylen Petty’s play popped at #NBPATop100 by consistently making winning plays on both ends with incredible two-way feel running offense, anticipating turnovers, splashing C&S threes, flying to and finishing at the rim.

Natural point guard playmaker, timing up lob passes, hitting cutters, finding open man, running P&R plays, looking to set up teammates for their best chance to score
Pickpocket POA Defender Anticipating Steals & Deflections, stripping ball from the man in front of him, jumping passing lanes

Versatile scorer shot-maker off the dribble, knockdown shooter splashing multiple pull-up threes and midrange shots, finishing at the rim through traffic, spacing floor for C&S triples
Insane athleticism, flying up and down the court and exploding to the rim for breakaway slams, tip in boards, chasedown blocks

Next-level feel for the game on both side of the floor, great drive-and-kick vision, impressive understanding of how to run an offense and how to read actions on defense
Individual dominant sequences to build quick leads, often forcing stops and swishing shots to go on one-man runs
In one sequence: hits multiple pull-up threes, drilled a C&S corner three, deflects the ball for a steal, times up a block

(Ranks) 11.0 A/TO (1st) 14.5 PTS (18th) 5.5 AST (3rd) 1.7 STL (T-3rd) 56-43-100 (11th-9th-1st)

Philip Davis Fogle
6’8″ Shooting Guard
2025

Never-ending Motor, grab-and-go pace, good body control movement, running the floor hard, great hustle and energy
Bouncy quick athleticism, flying in for putbacks, getting up for high flying dunks blocks and boards,
Playmaking vision, good reads looking to set up teammates, impressive corner kick skip pass, no-look hook pass over top
Great drive-and-kick feel, looking to create scoring opportunities for others by attacking gaps first himself, constant kickouts
Awareness on both ends, jumping passing lanes for multiple steals and breakaway slams, huge chasedown block
Hitting tough shots, midrange fadeaway, contested pull-up jumper

Few players hustled around the court with the determination of Philip Davis Fogle this week.

Fogle flashed good ball and body control, handling the ball well while maneuvering through the paint with spin moves and counter dribbles, showing off vision as a playmaker looking for teammates near the rim.


Did any current or former players inspire your game, or are there any players you try to model your game after? What kind of moves do you try to pick up from these players?


“I like Devin Booker, his offensive skillset. I like Luka a lot, just his pace. And then Anthony Edwards is fun to watch too.”

How would you describe your approach, your mindset, preparing for the game? What mentality are you bringing?


“At this camp, obviously everyone’s here is really really good and trying to score, so I’m trying to do other things without the ball to try to stand out, trying to get into passing lanes, get steals, putbacks, making the right play.”





Do you have any developmental goals for yourself that you want to add to your game over the next few years?

“The biggest thing right now is just getting stronger, hitting the weight room, that’s the biggest thing.”





Watch him attack downhill, weave through defenses, and keep an eye up to find the open man.

Acaden Lewis
6’3″ Point Guard
2025

Acaden Lewis flashed tight handles and a sweet lefty stepback as a natural table-setter at #NBPATop100

Unique scoring style, super skilled lefty shooter with elite ball control, stop and pop tall shot release, smooth game
Versatile scoring tough shotmaker with a clean shot release, splashing stepback 3pt shots off the dribble, pulling up for middies, finishing at the rim with AND1 bump-and-finishes, lefty FLOATAs, turnaround fadeaways off driving postup mismatch, pull-up fadeaway over contest
Incredible skills and feel for the game, making great reads, nice touch passes, good decision making
Reliable scoring creator who consistently creates good shots for the team, scoring off the dribble and creating looks for others
Quick burst body control, penetrating the paint, drawing in extra defenders for fouls and kickouts, converting AND1s
Tight, effective handle ball control, splitting defense with behind the back dribble, tough dribble moves
Great vision, playmaking chops, lob pass, good feeds, 3pt kickouts, nice feel drive & dumpoff pass to dunker spot


Did any current or former players inspire your game, or are there any players you try to model your game after? What kind of moves do you try to pick up from these players?


“I like Shai a lot right now. Shai and Kyrie. And kinda a little throwback, I was a Brandon Jennings fan. The way he moved was just smooth, and I really liked that, and that was before I really even got into basketball, I just got in a little late. I just like the pace, how smooth he moves. Those are 3 that I model after.”

How would you describe your approach, your mindset, preparing for the game? What mentality are you bringing?

Sometimes I just need to go out, remember it’s a game. Just have fun. Enjoy yourself. This is what you work so hard for with working out. Trust the training. Just go out there and do what you always work on, trust the training, and hoop.”

Brandon Jennings approved this message, sharing Acaden’s quote with a retweet:

Acaden Lewis’ averages through 6 games at #NBPATop100: 14 PPG & 2.0 AST/TO (18 AST/9 TO) shooting 48% 3P% (10/21 3P)

2nd-Team All-NBPA Top 100 Camp from @BeyondTheRK

Kiyan Anthony
Marcus Jackson
Kaden Magwood
Dwayne Aristode
Shon Abaev

Kiyan Anthony
6’4″ Shooting Guard
2025

Kiyan Anthony led all #NBPATop100 players at the camp in Points and Free Throws.

Natural scoring creator, walking bucket point guard, High-Volume P&R Maestro, great shot creator
Bump-and-finish AND1 extraordinaire, hunting contact before tossing up tough shots that somehow go in, great finisher at rim
Tight handle ball control, effective dribbler penetrating the paint weaving through traffic, splitting defenders
Tough shot maker at every level, falling left fadeaway middies, stepback triples off the dribble and pull-up three when defender goes under screen, soft touch finger rolls and floater package
Smooth soft touch shooter who gets the “shooter’s bounce” that bounces off the rim straight up and in because the aim and trajectory is in line
Patient decision-maker, moves at his own pace, gets to any spot on the floor he wants with declerating body control allowing for stop and pop jumpers, hunting contact, drawing in defenders for kickouts
Good playmaking vision and decision-making feel, especially in P&R, making smart corner kick reads
High volume paint-and-spray P&R point guard who draws in defenders for AND1s, soft touch rim finishes, 3pt kickouts

Kiyan consistently created good looks for himself and teammates in P&R, showing an uncanny ability to draw “bump and finish” fouls at will while making tough shots at every level Elite scoring creator

On the first day of the camp, Anthony opened the tournament with a 42-point BANG, as Mike Breen would say.

Marcus Jackson
6’8″ Power Forward
2025

Marcus Jackson’s high-flying hops, downhill athleticism, and rim-running motor popped out at #NBPATop100

High-Flying Vertical Gravity Lob Threat, lives above the rim
Powerful Walking Highlight Dunker, Off-ball Play-Finisher from dunker spot, rim-roller, transition
Downhill North-South Two-Way Force
Great Rim-Protecting Instincts Timing Chasedown Blocks and Closing out for 3PT Block
Endless Rim-Running Motor in Transition
Good Hustle diving for loose ball on floor
Willing Team-first Passer
Tough shot finisher at the rim, fadeaway midrange touch
Possibly the most impressive athlete at the camp
3pt range Shooter


Did any current or former players inspire your game, or are there any players you try to model your game after? What kind of moves do you try to pick up from these players?


“Giannis. He can get to the basket a lot, he’s a dominant player, he gets the rebound a lot, he keeps the team involved, so I’ll say Giannis.”



How would you describe your approach, your mindset, preparing for the game? What mentality are you bringing?

“I’d say just keep my energy high. That’s it. If I keep my energy high, everybody around me gets it, it’s contagious. It just takes energy.”



Marcus brought vertical gravity as a rim-rolling lob threat, showed good ball instincts in rim-protection and rebounding, and flashed clean shooting touch:

Kaden Magwood
6’3″ Shooting Guard
2025

Kaden Magwood flashed vision, burst, and soft touch, making tough shots at every level with crafty ball-handling and good start-stop body control to create space off the dribble.

Tough shotmaking scoring creator, walking bucket, self-creating advantages to get good open looks for himself and others
Clean jump shot mechanics, money shooter, knockdown deep range 3pt shooter on Pull-Up and C&S, fadeaway middy
P&R playmaker, nice pocket pass to roller, dumpoff pass on drive in transition, swishing FLOATAs
Explosive dunk attacking closeout with dribble, athletic fly-by slams
Crafty handles on drives, getting to his spots with good body and ball control


Did any current or former players inspire your game, or are there any players you try to model your game after? What kind of moves do you try to pick up from these players?


“I have two: Kyrie Irving and Damian Lillard. I try to take the finishing from Kyrie and the shooting from Dame, and how they carry themselves on and off the court.”


What kind of moves do you spend the most time on during practice?

“Working on going off two feet when I get to the paint, like turnaround fades, turnaround finishes, turnaround kicking it out”


How would you describe your approach, your mindset, preparing for the game? What mentality are you bringing?

“I’m bringing that dog mentality. I feel like I’m a dog, and it’s just me showing everybody else that I’m him.”




Magwood exploded for 37 PTS in his final #NBPATop100 game, starting 10/10 from the field!

Dwayne Aristode

6’8″ Power Forward
2025

Aristode jumped off the page with stellar two-way impact as a next-level athlete, defender, scorer, and shooter as a big wing with traditional shooting guard skills

Phenomenal athlete, defensive strength and anticipation for deflections
Downhill explosiveness, strong drives to the rack through contact
Impressive decelerating body control, eurostep driving footwork
Tight handle ball control driving into the paint, finishing through contact
Versatile shot profile, clean finger roll and reverse finishes at the rim, north-south scoring, shoots well from downtown



Did any current or former players inspire your game, or are there any players you try to model your game after? What kind of moves do you try to pick up from these players?


“D-Wade. D-Wade’s one of my favorite players. I like watching those players. KD, the way he gets to his shot.”




Do you have any developmental goals for yourself that you want to add to your game over the next few years?

“I have four, two physical. I’d like to improve my core to be able to get to the paint and be able to finish against stronger guys. My hips, I want to improve my hips so I can jump higher and change directions fast. Skill-wise, I like to improve my ball-handling, if I can improve my ball-handling, let the ball be rolling with me , that can be dangerous for sure. My shot creating ability, being able to create space and get to my shots. I think if I improve those things, I’ll be dangerous for sure.



Shon Abaev
6’8″ Small Forward
2025

Elite self-creating tough shotmaker, developable ball skills as an offensive weapon scoring creator
Knockdown perimeter shooter, swishing contested pull-up triples, stepback jumpers, C&S triples, converting 4pt play, tough shot dirk fade middy
Walking bucket who can stop and pop pull-up from any spot on the floor
Soft touch shooter and passer with great playmaking vision, hitting skip pass to opposite corner from the wing
Impressive decision-making feel looking for open shooters when the shot isn’t there, putting effective flare on passes, driving and kicking for 3pt kickouts, hitting the roller in P&R with a nice pass, good touch lookahead pass in transition
Tight handle ball control and decelerating body control, switching hands with impressive dribbling and soft touch finish
Great decelerating body control
Smooth finisher at the rim with a running hook and myriad of finger rolls
Two-way feel, hustling for loose balls, anticipating steals, looking up in transition for outlet passes
Good hustle, saving ball from falling out of bounds by running full sprint under the basket
Vertical downhill athlete with grab-and-go pace going coast-to-coast for high-flying jam


In one game was clearly the most impressive offensive option: scoring, passing, shooting, soft touch, good feel, good decision-making, splashing
 jumper after jumper

3rd-Team All-NBPA Top 100 Camp from @BeyondTheRK

Dante Allen
Tyler Jackson
King Grace
Jamarion Batemon
Tounde Yessoufou

Dante Allen
6’4″ Shooting Guard
2025

High two-way winning impact
Connector team-first feel, good drive and kick running Spain P&R
Clean C&S 3pt shooter
Great off-ball movement, timing up cuts to the rim
Good feel decision-maker, nice read for lookup passes in transition, good finds to open shooters, quick take to the rack
Nice finisher at the rim, tough finger roll AND1 over contests, tough layup conversions
Quick burst to the rack, switching hands AND1 finish
Rated highly in multiple Cerebro metrics: Overall Impact, Defense, Scoring, Playmaking
Strong all-around player on both ends, using brute strength, smarts, and skill in a playstyle similar to Desmond Bane.


Did any current or former players inspire your game, or are there any players you try to model your game after? What kind of moves do you try to pick up from these players?


“I’ve been watching a lot of Ant lately and Jaylen Brown, especially since they’re deep in the playoffs and make a big impact on their team.”


What kind of moves do you spend the most time on during practice?”

“I work a lot on just trying to get downhill, working on different finishes, not just straight layups that may get blocked. And my shooting too, that’s definitely something I want to get better at, and keep improving on that.”



What excites you most about the transfer to Montverde Academy?

“The chance to play against the best high school competition there is to offer.”

Tyler Jackson

6’2″ Point Guard
2025

Tyler “Hype” Jackson is a natural table-setter, showing incredible two-way feel at #NBPATop100

Quick north-south burst
Decelerating body control footwork
Explosive downhill force
Steals jumping passing lanes
Deep range pull-up shooting
Creative finishing at the rim, up and unders, using “wrong” hand, drawing AND1 fouls attacking rack
Clear passing vision, drive and kick stopping on a dime
Masterful crafty handles
Great feel decision maker, good reads making and faking passes
Explosive vertical leaper, pushing pace with speedy acceleration, rebounding in traffic
Swishing off-the-dribble pull-up 3pt shooting and all around the midrange, floaters, elbow jumpers, even beating the buzzer with a 3pt FLOATA

Did any current or former players inspire your game, or are there any players you try to model your game after? What kind of moves do you try to pick up from these players?


“Kyrie, Shai.”



How would you describe your approach, your mindset, preparing for the game? What mentality are you bringing?

“Like Isaiah (Thomas) was telling me, get everybody involved… get all my guys involved, get everybody going so they can be playing through me when it’s time, so they want to be with you and play with you. Kicking the ball out, moving the ball, playing with your guys, getting them involved.”





Do you have any developmental goals for yourself that you want to add to your game over the next few years?

“Just being consistent with my shot. Being quick with my handle, stop losing the ball so much, stop turning the ball over. Just be more consistent.”

King Grace
6’5″ Shooting Guard
2025

Explosive downhill athlete who delivers legit two-way impact, a winning player who wills his team on both ends
Elite defensive instincts, great anticipation timing racking up deflections, steals, blocks; even stopping a 3-on-1
Powerful north-south force attacking the rack for highlight slams and decelerating soft touch finishes
Graceful body control eurostep footwork, good movement skills penetrating the paint
Skilled finisher at the rim who can throw down strong slams and maneuver through traffic
Developable ball-skills between Good handle on drives, 3pt range hitting C&S triples, and soft touch finishing
Rated Top-25 in multiple Cerebro Metric: Overall Impact, Defense, At The Rim, and Scoring

Jamarion Batemon
6’3″ Shooting Guard
2025

Walking bucket scorer, 3pt sniper, good feel scoring creator with tight handle, nice north-south force footwork, clean finisher
Tough shot maker, elbow middy pull-up AND1 with defenders draping all over him

Aggressive driver, graceful downhill decelerating footwork, quick burst quick to the rim, good take on drive into stop and pop jump shot
 and finger rolls
Knockdown 3pt shooter, splashing stepback threes off the dribble, with one sequence making 3 triples in a 4play span with a drive-and-kick good read inbetween
Impressive finisher at the rim with a clean reverse
Good feel reading the defense on a drive and kick
, hook pass to popping 3pt man

Nice handle, good ball control, using behind the back dribble for back-to-back layups
Bouncy hops athleticism for alley-top slam



Tounde Yessoufou
6’6″ Small Forward
2025

Impactful versatile scorer, tough shot maker though sometimes forces too much with tunnel vision
Vertical downhill athleticism, good ups at the rim, north-south force with good finishing touch
Nice post-up skills, spinning fadeaway
Pressure defender, steals inbound pass for breakaway slam
Rated Top-20 in multiple Cerebro metrics: Overall Impact, Defense, At The Rim, and Scoring

4th-team All-NBPA Top 100 Camp from @BeyondTheRK

Malachi Moreno
Jacob Wilkins
Nykolas Lewis
Zymicah Wilkins
Deron Rippey Jr.

Malachi Moreno

7’1″ Center
2025

Powerful two-way big man who can protect the rim, crash the glass, and score down low with ease
Fundamental Post-Up Footwork, Backdown Counter Moves, Soft Touch Near The Rim, Deep Paint Positioning
Rim-Running Motor, Graceful Strides on Catch, Eurostepping Downhill Play-Finisher, Mismatch Dominant
Rim-Protector Defensive Instincts, Anticipating blocks in post and help defense, sometimes overpowered down low
Playmaking Feel on kickouts from paint to shooters
Strong Putback Rebounding Timing
Rated Top-5 in Overall Impact, Defense, At The Rim, and T-7th in Scoring


Did any current or former players inspire your game, or are there any players you try to model your game after? What kind of moves do you try to pick up from these players?


“I would say I like Rudy Gobert, I like his defense a lot. Him being able to use his length, block shots, alter shots, I like that a lot. I’d have to go with Anthony Davis, just for his post work, he’s one of the best post players to touch a basketball, and we both have unibrows, so it’s kinda nice. And then I like Kiyan’s Dad (Carmelo Anthony), I like his faceup game, his middy pull-up. Those are kinda the three players I try to take a piece of their game from and add it for myself.

“

How would you describe your approach, your mindset, preparing for the game? What mentality are you bringing?

“Just to do me and let the game come to me, not try to force anything. Just to keep my teammates involved, anyone can lose confidence at any time, so just to make sure my teammates head is held high, just to make sure we got more points than the other team, that’s really all I care about.”






Do you have any developmental goals for yourself that you want to add to your game over the next few years?

“Just being able to handle the ball and shoot the three, working on my form, and just my ball-handling, so I can really space out the floor when I get to the next level.”


Jacob Wilkins

6’9″ Power Forward
2025

Developable ball-skills, tight handle, outside shooter, good passer
Knockdown shooter off the dribble, Pull-Up 3s and Midrange jumpers, swishing shot after shot through the net
Connector playmaking, transition playmaker with extra pass, look-ahead pass, even behind the back pass on the run, dumpoff pass off drive, sick one-handed pass
Stellar athlete, quick mobility lateral movement, explosive tomahawk slam, breakaway highlight dunks
Great body control skills, eurostep decelerating footwork
Tough shot maker, spinning dirk fade postup counter after creating advantage, pull-up middies, off-the-dribble threes, soft touch finish finger rolls, layups, FLOATA off wrong foot
Good feel decisionmaker, good reads dishing the rock and scoring self-creation shots, sometimes forces too many tough shots
Rated positively as a scorer and shooter via Cerebro


Did any current or former players inspire your game, or are there any players you try to model your game after? What kind of moves do you try to pick up from these players?


“I been watching a lot of T-Mac. He’s 6’10 and a guard, he can make tough shots in the post, from the three, his overall skill-set.”



How would you describe your approach, your mindset, preparing for the game? What mentality are you bringing?

“To show people I can do more than dunk. A lot of people know me for dunking the ball and being athletic. I just want to come into this game showing people that I have a skill-set”





Do you have any developmental goals for yourself that you want to add to your game over the next few years?

“I just want to keep working on my ball-handling, being able to shoot off the bounce, and just getting physically stronger; that’s all I’ve been working on.”

Any advice from dad (Atlanta Hawks Legend, Dominique Wilkins)?

“He just tells me to run, so I try to run down the floor as fast as I can because you get more points by just running down the floor so that’s basically what he tells me.”



Nykolas Lewis
6’1″ Point Guard
2025

Nykolas Lewis showed sound body+ball control accelerating past defenders with explosive first step burst at #NBPATop100, cleanly finishing downhill shots at the rim through contact while creating good looks for the team.

Strong downhill force and vertical athleticism, never-ending energetic motor movement, on constant attack to the rack
Incredible hustle, diving for loose balls on the floor, forcing turnovers with steals on ball and jumping passing lanes
Clean finisher at the rim, nice up-and-under finishes, hunting contact for bump-and-finish AND1s
Impacts winning by making the right play
Great handle weaving through traffic, using ball and body control to get to his spots, nice spinning reverse layups
Good feel making smart reads with nice vision on lookup passes and dumpoff passes

Camp Averages (Ranks)
17 PPG (14th) 9 RPG (9th) 5 APG (4th)

Zymicah Wilkins
6’8″ Center
2025

Brute Strength, Graceful Footwork, Shifty Dancing Bear Athlete
Soft Touch on Midrange Shooting and High-Low Passing
Off-Ball Movement Timing, Vertical Gravity Alley-Oop Lob Threat

Transition Awareness, Team-First Feel

Ball Control, Good Handle for Size
North-South Downhill Foul-Drawing Force
Can pull-up for contested shots from off-the-dribble threes above the arc, on wing, midrange, elbow, and attack closeout with pump and go dribble


Did any current or former players inspire your game, or are there any players you try to model your game after? What kind of moves do you try to pick up from these players?


“Right now, I watch a lot of Naz Reid. I just see how he moves on the court, shoots the ball well, come off the bench give his team great energy, so I’m really just watching him right now. Growing up, I like LeBron, that’s my favorite player.”



How would you describe your approach, your mindset, preparing for the game? What mentality are you bringing?

“I really just listen to music before the game. Eat the right way before games. That’s really it.”




Do you have any developmental goals for yourself that you want to add to your game over the next few years?

“My shooting and my ball-handling. If I get those two things right, then I’ll be good.”



Zymicah Wilkins racked up 29 PTS & 14 REB on 12/22 FG in the #NBPATop100 Championship

Zymicah scored in and around the paint using brute strength, fundamental footwork, and solid handle as a downhill force with good ball instincts on rebounds and defense

Deron Rippey Jr.
6’2″ Point Guard
2026

Deron Rippey Jr. impressed as a reliable scoring creator at #NBPATop100

Two-Way Feel , Pull-Up Shooting Playmaking Vision Halfcourt Execution Reliable Shot Creation

Natural point guard scoring creator, looking to set up teammates and capable of scoring off the dribble
Nice downhill speed body control to burst towards the rack and decelerate to create advantages
Clean finisher at the rim on layups, finger rolls, reverses, runners
Versatile shot profile at the rim, midrange pull-ups, and spacing the floor from deep on and off the ball
Knockdown 3pt shooter splashing both pull-up and C&S threes, catching fire for back-to-back 3pt sequences
Impressive passer, P&R Maestro hitting the roll man after drawing 2 defenders, kicking to shooters for 3pt AST, finding cutters and dunker spot, soft touch look-ahead passes in transition, smartly uses screen and rescreen until space opens up for pull-up
Good feel decision making reads, knowing when to set up others or fake the pass to score
Two-way feel timing up strip steals, from help defense in the post to guarding point-of-attack, brings pressure to force TOs, jumping passing lanes and going coast-to-coast for grab-and-go breakaway slams and initiating fast breaks
Vertical hops completing alley-oops as both a passer and dunker, rebounding putbacks in traffic


Did any current or former players inspire your game, or are there any players you try to model your game after? What kind of moves do you try to pick up from these players?


“Not really, but if I had to choose one, I’d pick Kyrie. All-around great player, deceptive, he can do it all.”



How would you describe your approach, your mindset, preparing for the game? What mentality are you bringing?

“Playing the right way at all times. There’s a lotta dudes that get a little out of control when they don’t touch the rock, or when dudes’ not spinning the ball, but I feel like I just want to play the right way every time because that’s going to stand out to college coaches.”





Deron “Ron Ron” Rippey averaged 13 PPG — 5 APG — 1.5 STL with a 3.6 A/TO ratio over 6 games

Rippey ripped off 5 steals in a single game at #NBPATop100 camp!

Camp Ranks: 5th in Assists (4.8 APG) – 4th in AST/TO (3.6 A/TO) – T-8th in Steals (1.5 STL)

5th-team All-NBPA Top 100 Camp from @BeyondTheRK

Brayden Burries
Mike Williams
Jerry Easter
Tajh Ariza
Winters Grady

Brayden Burries
6’5″ Shooting Guard
2025

Natural scoring creator creating good looks for himself and teammates consistently
Explosive downhill force, hard to contain, coast-to-coast slam, puts back own FTA with dunk, powerful flyby jams
Nice body and ball control with hesitation to ignore screen and draw foul on drive, decelerating footwork on drive for AND1 finish through contact
Nice handles, high crossover, effective dribble moves
Developable feel for the game, good mindset and approach talking with teammates, making good reads for theteam
Clean finisher at the rim, converting layups and tough decelerating FLOATA, soft touch AND1 FLOATA
Good shooter hitting C&S triples
Rated Top-20 in multiple Cerebro Metrics, especially creating good looks: Overall Impact, Scoring, Passing, 3pt Shooting

Mike Williams

6’2″ Point Guard
2025

Natural point guard scoring creator
Walking bucket, tough shotmaker, soft touch finisher at the rim
Clean handles, effective dribble moves, tight ball control
Great feel decisionmaker, soft touch passes on alley-oop lobs
Good POA defense deterring drives, nice footwork
Attacks rack at will using decelerating body control




Jerry Easter
6’5″ Shooting Guard
2025

Impressive two-way feel for the game
Dropping dimes, good passing reads, running P&R
Anticipation timing up deflections for steals
Nice scorer, potential shot-creating scoring creator


Did any current or former players inspire your game, or are there any players you try to model your game after? What kind of moves do you try to pick up from these players?


“I like Kyrie, Kyrie’s always been my favorite player. I just like how he’s a leader on the floor and can do all the little things, he can finish at the rim, he has a lot of tricks, he can just do it all. Other than Kyrie, I’ve been watching a lot of Ant, I just like how he just been bringing that mentality, just been a dog on the floor, talking about how he just a killer going at anybody. I’ve just been trying to get my mentality like his, and go at anybody. I just been liking those two.”



How would you describe your approach, your mindset, preparing for the game? What mentality are you bringing?

“Go out there and got to play to have fun. If you’re not having fun, there’s no point in playing. Just gotta think it’s basketball. Right now, we’re just getting better, trying to prepare ourselves to get to the next level. Right now we got to work on our craft because next year we’ll be seniors and we’re going to be in college real soon, so we just got to prepare for that, and just work on our game for the rest of the time this high school season.”

Tajh Ariza

6’8″ Small Forward
2026

Impressive two-way feel for the game
Great energy from the tip
Strong driver, good finisher at the rim, mean dunks
Tough shotmaker on the middy pull-up
Nice handle with the behind-the-back dribble creating advantage

Winters Grady
6’5″ Shooting Guard
2025

Grady is a legit floor-spacer with shooting gravity to disrupt the defense. Winters uses that gravity to attack closeouts with the pumpfake and drive when the three is contested, or fire up a feathery jumper when left open.

C&S 3pt threat, as a screener in Horns P&R, Grady pops out for C&S triple, sequences hitting back-to-back corner threes
Running Horns as ball handler, attacks rack and converts
 driving finger roll through bump and finish
 contact
Attacks closeouts with dribble and pass when three isn’t there
Good transition footwork and coast-to-coast spinning layup finish
Good connector read 3pt kick out
Solid speed body control for decelerating finishes, strong bump and finish lay-up AND1

Davion Hannah

6’5″ Shooting Guard
2025

Impressive scorer with tight handle ball control, clean dribble moves, powerful athleticism, monster rim-rocker slams, pull-up shooting sniper from downtown, clean pocket pass as P&R playmaker

Trent Steinour

6’10 Power Forward
2025

Nice footwork and soft touch on the eurostep fallaway fading FLOATA
Great off-ball movement instincts to cut, rim-roll, relocate, wait in dunker spot
Strong finisher at the rim with 
powerful mean dunks
Moved better on the second day, more focused energy effort



3pt range with the C&S corner 3

Gets up vertically with good hops for alley oop

Jaden Toombs
6’10” Center
2025

Soft touch finisher at the rim with the tough finger roll
Good feel reading the defense to make a good pass
Rated incredibly well (Top-13) in two-way impact, defense, and at the rim via Cerebro

Eric Reibe
7’0″ Center
2025

Strong Post-Up threat with finesse finishing inside, lot of skills for size,
Sound footwork on drives and post-ups, deep positioning in paint, powerful backdown moves, scoring off high-low action
Rim-deterrent blocking and contesting shots
Strong putback rebound
Nice handle for a center, driving and P&R rim-rolling through traffic

Dorian Hayes
6’4″ Shooting Guard
2025

Tough shot maker, versatile scorer
Good outside shooter, off-the-dribble scoring threat, splashing clean stepback 3pt jumpers, pull-up middies
Vertical hops for AND1 putback
Soft touch FLOATA finisher near the rim
Patient decision-maker
Strong putback in traffic



Oswin Erhunmwunse
6’10” Center
2025

Strong finisher on the block, clean soft finish at the rim, strong rim-roller and AND1 drive through traffic
Powerful vertical hops athleticism for mean tip slam, athletic bounce dunk, powerful tip slam
Strong rim-protecting block meeting dunkeer at the apex

Jalen Montonati
6’7″ Power Forward
2026

Smooth C&S 3pt shooter, hitting c&s corner three, sequences of multiple triples in a row

Nice footwork on the jump stop in the paint
Tough shotmaker with the elbow pullup, middy pull-up fadeaway over contest

Great read with the high low PnR pass leading to AND1 layup

Defensive instincts for deflection
s, sound postup defense

Sadiq White
6’8″ Small Forward
2025

Vertical hops athleticism for tip-slam, give-and-go alley-oop, attacking closeout with drive and jam
Good feel decisionmaking playmaker, good reads for passes, dumpoff pass in paint to cutter, transition passing
Strong driver, nice attacks to the rack, one through contact for bump and finish AND1 finger roll, clean finishes at the rim
Good handle, tight ball control in transiton, on drives, and closeout attacks

Tough bucket-getter, hitting pull-up middy, drilling back-to-back shots, tall shot release




Jaron McKie
6’3″ Shooting Guard
2025

Off-ball 3pt threat knocking down multiple C&S threes, some in a row
Good defensive instinct anticipating the block timing
Team-first connector making smart reads as a passer and relocating 3pt threat

Jason Crowe Jr.
6’3″ Point Guard
2026

Versatile scorer, 3pt shooter, clean driving finisher at the rim
Tough shot maker, finger roll finish at the rim through traffic, pull-up fadeaway middy, pull-up 3, corner 3, splitting defenders for a contested finger roll


Good handle, tight ball control

Cameron Ward
6’8″ Power Forward
2025

Legit two-way impact making winning plays on both ends
Impressive tough shot maker with a stepback jumper
Rated Top-25 in nearly every Cerebro Metric: Overall Impact, Defense, At The Rim, Scoring, 3pt Shooting

Calvin Murphy III
6’1″ Point Guard
2025

Versatile scorer, especially below the arc, with elbow middy pull-ups and a deluxe finishing package between the layups, FLOATA, tough AND1 hook shot, and finger rolls
Attacks downhill with purpose, good decision to keep and score in 2-on-1
Impressive handle, crafty setups on dribble drive and dumpoff passes, effective flare
Stellar playmaking vision, looking to create shots for himself and teammates
Quick trigger jump shot, killer ball control and pull-up jumper combo
Anticipates steals jumping passing lanes

Hudson Greer

6’7″ Small Forward
2025

Good outside shooter with 3pt range hitting the C&S triples in the corner and wing
Attacks closeout with dribble drive and slam when outside shot is contested
Great off-ball relocation movement to create open 3s for himself and space the floor, baseline backdoor cut timing with vertical hops for alley-oop slam and throwing down jams
Crashes boards for rebounds, putback his own miss with a reverse layup

Connector playmaking with nice vision, making the extra touch pass
, hitting a bounce pass leading his teammate to the rack
Tough finisher at the rim, converting AND1 bump-and-finish through contact

Matthew Gilhool
6’11” Center
2025



Two-way feel ball instincts anticipating the steal with grab-and-go pace-pushing handle as a big
Tough shot maker with 3pt range, splashing a few jumpers and hitting the pick-and-pop three and C&S corner three

Showed good post-moves and spinning footwork despite missing the open corner three


Powerful dunker throwing down monster slam


Jaylen Cross
6’4″ Shooting Guard
2025

Good two-way feel, anticipates steals, grab-and-go pushes pace off turnover, drives and kicks with the good decision pass, comes up with loose ball steal, contests shots, converts layups and finding teammates for assists in transition
Tough shot maker, impressive finisher at the rim, vertical hops hanging in the air for an AND1

London Jemison
6’8″ Power Forward
2025

Off-ball 3pt range stretch-four drilling C&S triples, back-to-back swish sequences
Smooth driving footwork and finishing in the paint
Nice handle body and ball control on the crossover decelerating finger roll in transition through traffic

Tough shots in the midrange and at the rim

Andre Iguodala
 Jr.
6’8″ Small Forward
2025

Good defensive feel anticipation, timing up the block on a drive at the rim
3pt range knocking down the C&S triple

Sebastian Wilkins
6’8″ Power Forward
2026

Brings energy right out of the gates
Impressive finisher at the rim

Kareem Stagg
6’8″ Center
2025

Powerful vertical athleticism, throwing down 
strong jams and flying putback slams
Strong downhill force
Good vision passing touch on the alley-oop lob
Outside shooter with 3pt range with the C&S triple and the pull-up middy

Playing football muscling through opponents in the post postup finish





Trent MacLean

6’10” Center
2025

Developable ball skils at 6’10” with the ball control handles, lookahead transition passes, and smooth stroke jump shot
Sound footwork in the post, movement skills, and on defensive rotations
Clean outside shooter on C&S threes
Defensive instincts on the shot contest
Coachable moment on sideline
s learning from mistakes

Nice post moves down low
Good mover off ball


Qayden Samuels
6’6″ Small Forward
2026

Great perimeter shooter, good form, hitting C&S 3s in corner and on the wing, drilling OTD pull-up triples, tough spinning middy
Nice playmaker vision with soft touch pass
Good bounce hanging in the air for a tough falling finish near the rim over contest, a tough nice reverse layup finish
Rated highly in multiple Cerebro metrics: Overall Impact, Defense, Shooting, Scoring

Darius Adams
6’5″ Shooting Guard
2025

Natural point guard feel, hitting lead pass to cutter for layup, finding open shooters and attacking rack


Grab-and-go rebounding pace-pusher
Good vision, nice look-up passing touch, sound passes, smart dumpoff pass for potential 3pt assist in transition
Splashy outside shooter on the pull-up and C&S threes
Good finisher at the rim, scoring in transition
Sound two-man game hitting rim-roll in P&R
Crafty handles on the drive and finish


Sebastian Williams-Adams

6’9″ Power Forward
2025

Sound footwork fundamentals, eurostepping into a decelerating FLOATA in transition
Nice anticipation 
jumping passing lanes to time up steal
Grab and go pace pusher starting fast breaks
Strong driver, attacks closeut with the dribble and extra pass, nice vision on the wraparound pass after cutting through the lane

Nyale Robinson
5’10” Point Guard
2025

Good anticipation, two-way feel with the steal and team-first read pass in transition, pushing pace, looking up for outlets
Clean jump shoot form, good shooter hitting multiple shots with 3pt range on the C&S 3 and pull-up jumpers, hit buzzerbeater deep range threee
Shifty mover with the rock in his hands
Good body control quick burst into decelerating in the paint

Marcus Gillespie


6’5″ Shooting Guard
2025

Nice vision, soft touch passing setting up teammates in shooting pockets, good read feel on the drive and kick, sweet one-handed leading bounce pocket pass through defenders to the roller in P&R
Versatile shot profile, good shooter, nice pull-up jumper, C&S three contested and open in transition, tough middy pull-up

Alexander Constanza
6’5″ Small Forward
2026

Strong play-finisher
Powerful dunker
AND1 finisher through contact
Defensive instincts on display with standout play, deflecting a pass to stop a 4-on-1

Legend Smiley
6’5″ Shooting Guard
2025

Great defensive instincts and on-ball pressure, forcing strip steals at point of attack, anticipating deflections
Tough shot maker, splashing pull-up jumpers with the stepback 3 off the dribble and midrange elbow fadeaway

Mazi Mosley
6’5″ Shooting Guard
2025

Incredible feel, great vision, sweet look-off dish, good read on the drive-and-kick to open man



Impressive quick burst accelerating speed and decelerating body control
Soft touch finishing at the rim, finger rolls and tough driving finish after initating P&R

Good defensive instincts, anticipation, timing up the block
Big 
vertical leaper throwing down powerful slam

C&S 3PT range

Jordan Smith Jr.

6’3 Shooting Guard
2026

Great all-around talent with legit two-way winning impact
Good timing on soft touch alley-oop lob pass
Strong rebounder in traffic
Powerful finisher at the rim AND1 on a tough take to the rack
Rated Top-5 in Overall Impact and Top-20 in *every* Cerebro metric: defense, passing, scoring, shooting, at the rim

Kingston Flemings
6’4″ Point Guard
2025

Natural scoring creator point guard who consistently creates makeable looks for himself and others
Two-way winning impact
Capable outside 3pt shooter
Developable ball skills between the handle, scoring, and passing
Rated Top-5 in Scoring, Passing, Overall Impact, and 33rd in Defensive Impact at the camp via Cerebro

Adrien Stevens
6’4″ Point Guard
2025

Impressive body control footwork
Attacks closeout with dribble
Soft touch shotmaking

Kayden Mingo

6’3″ Point Guard
2025

Killer decelerating body control, sends defender flying on slowdown for finger roll
Nice 3pt and midrange shooter, hits C&S triple
Impressive ball control, weaving through traffic with a little wiggle on the dribble
Good feel running Double Drag P&R, driving into a pull-up jumper

Abdul Aziz Olajuwon
6’6″ Shooting Guard
2026

Splashy C&S 3pt shooting, clean shooting mechanics, good finishes at the rim

Caleb Holt
6’5″ Point Guard
2026

Impressive finisher at the rim, tough shot over contest
Good vision with the no-look dumpoff pass, nice decision-making feel read on the drive and kick corner 3pt assist



Joshua Lewis
6’7″ Shooting Guard
2025

Good vision making team-first reads, the drive and 3pt kickout to open man
Smooth soft touch FLOATA

Eric Chatfield
5’11” Point Guard
2025

Smooth shooting stroke, clean perimeter shooter, highest rated 3PT shooter by Cerebro in the tournament
Splashing pull-up jumpers from deep, C&S threes, elbow middies

Xavion Staton
7’0″ Center
2025

Good feel, vision, decision-making on drive and kicks, especially for a big
Quick burst on the give-and-go cut to the rack for a strong AND1 layup
Smart mover off the ball, cutting, rolling

Jovani Ruff
6’5″ Shooting Guard
2025

Good footwork with the jumpstop in the paint, finishing the drive to the rack
Nice connector extra pass in transition
Strong north-south drive and finesse finisher at the rim with finger rolls, drawing fouls and converting AND1

Alexander Lloyd

6’4″ Shooting Guard
2025

Nice hop step footwork in the paint
3pt range drilling the C&S jumpers
Good driver through traffic and tough shot maker at the rim with the up-and-under referse finish
Solid kickout vision for 3pt ast
Rates highly in playmaking and 3pt efficiency metrics via Cerebro

Matthew Able

6’5″ Small Forward
2025

Tough shotmaking off the dribble with pull-up middy after pull-up middy
Smart hustler defender saving loose balls, contesting shots without fouling
3pt range shooter with the C&S triple
Good vision and soft touch lob pass for alley-oop

Akai Fleming

6’4″ Shooting Guard
2025

Tough shot making perimeter shooter with fadeaway and OTD middies, strong bump-and-finish drive, buzzer-beater pull-up deep-range 3
Nice feel making good reads on the alley-layin pass

Jacobe Coleman

6’3″ Shooting Guard
2025

Good passer finding the big on the rim-roll
Winning hustle plays
Sound 
body control deceleration to stop on a dime for the AND1 layup as defender flies into him



John Clark

6’8″ Power Forward
2025

Explosive strong driver and finesse finisher, converting through traffic
Big man rebounding in traffic, soft touch putback and strong takes to the rack

Elijah Williams
6’6″ Small Forward
2026

Great defensive instincts for deflections and steals
Grab-and-go pace-pusher
Tight body and ball control, stopping on a dime, dropping spin move handles
Vertical athlete throwing down thunderous slam
Off-the-dribble scorer with a pull-up jumper

Honorable mention players who I saw make winning plays like a well-timed block or team-first read pass:

Dorian Jones, Isaiah Denis, Courtland Muldrew, Babatunde Oladotun, Bryce Slay, Jermaine O’Neal Jr., Treeyvon Maddox, Adonis Ratliff, Derek Dixon, Jordan Scott, Terrion Burgess, Nigel Walls, Preston Wade, Simon Walker, Aliou Dioum, Curtis Stinson Jr., Landon Clark, Xzavion Mitchell, Christopher Nwuli, Ryder Frost, Hakeem Weems, Jack McCaffeery, Amare Bynum, Symon Ghai, Shareef Jackson, Jaylen Harrell

The post 2024 NBPA Top-100 Scouting Report: Notes, Film, Quotes, and Data Visualizations on 70 Standout Players appeared first on Swish Theory.

Braylon Mullins: More than a Shooter

There may not be a player in the country who has seen their public perception improve more throughout the grassroots season than 6’5 G/W Braylon Mullins. Playing for Indiana Elite on the 3SSB (Adidas) circuit, Mullins emerged from relative obscurity over the past few weeks, having spent the last high school season playing for Indiana public school Greenfield Central in lieu of a prep school with a nationally recognized brand.

At first glance, Mullins seems to embody the role of a traditional movement shooter. Taking over 8 threes per game, these attempts make up over 60% of Mullins’ shot diet. And with Mullins converting from three at a scorching 44.6% clip, it seems as though he’s simply executing the role of a shooting specialist at a high level. However, examining the tape will show Mullins, in many ways, is the offensive engine of an undefeated Indiana Elite team which currently boasts an average margin of victory of 19.5 points per game!

Mullins’ broader skillset is what separates him from other impressive shooters in his class, but he very well could be the best long distance sniper in the 2025 class as well. As previously mentioned, Mullins has been extremely efficient on a robust volume of 3’s per game, but his mechanics and versatility are especially notable for a young player. Mullins has total comfort shooting off various play-types, from more conventional movement sets like this Rip Stagger Screen-the-screener set ran below…

to off multiple dribbles in transition…

Or in the half-court, like this Hawk action (a UCLA cut followed by a side PNR) where Mullins takes advantage of any cushion provided to him by quickly transitioning into his shot.

As teams became aware of Mullins’ reputation as a shooter, his seemingly limitless range and hair-trigger release forced opponents to ramp up their aggressiveness on close-outs to run him off the line at any costs. This is where Mullins was able to shine, and his finely tuned process off the catch was put on full display.

Compare these two BLOB (Baseline Out of Bounds) plays. In the first clip Indiana Elite runs a Screen-the-Screener set with Mullins setting a cross screen for Malachi Moreno and receiving an exit screen which he makes the corner 3 off of.

In a similar BLOB play where Mullins sees a much more aggressive trailing defender, he confidently attacks the closeout and his clean footwork allows him to get into his floater attempt on balance and score.

Even plays where Mullins isn’t a primary feature of the action, the speed he’s able to process off-ball and the pace he plays with coming off screens allows him to make the most of his gravity as a shooter. Take the play below for example, Mullins skips the ball to an open teammate in the corner and receives a Hammer screen for, presumably, a corner 3 afterwards. However, instead of settling into the corner Mullins recognizes his defender’s back is turned to him and cuts to the basket, making himself available for a pass from his driving teammate. From here makes an interior touch pass to Malachi Moreno. Even with the pass being bobbled, Mullins shows advanced situational awareness for a high-school player here.

These kind of quick decisions are littered throughout Mullins’ tape, and while these reads aren’t necessarily the most advanced, Mullins’ consistent execution (marked by a sterling 1.21 Assist/Turnover ratio) is the hallmark of an elite, complementary, offensive player.

Ultimately, seeing Mullins’ success on the defensive end is where he completely shed the ‘just a shooter’ label in my eyes. Officially, Mullins has only been credited with 6 steals over 13 games on Synergy. However, much like on the offensive end, Mullins’ situational awareness and high activity level allow him to be an impactful player on this end.

In this clip for instance, Upward Stars runs an empty corner PNR where the guard rejecting the screen triggers a backline rotation. Mullins perfectly times his rotation, sinking into the corner as the corner kickout is made, and his off-hand deflection secures the turnover for Indiana Elite. Mullins’ hand speed and accuracy as a defender help compensate for a slighter frame as well. Plays like the clip below, where Mullins is briefly thrown out of position as his assignment curls the pindown screen, but he capitalizes on the ballhandler being slightly late on the pass with another off-hand deflection.

Mullins has strung together numerous impressive two-way performances so far this spring, but the subtleties of his game on both ends make me confident he’ll continue to rise in stature throughout the summer. Rarely are elite shooting talents able to contribute in as many areas of the game as Mullins, and it is these skills which make him a recruiting priority for the nation’s elite college programs.

Dewayne Brown: Modern Classics

There may not be a position across all sports undergoing more of a drastic transformation than the modern big-man. From traditional back to the basket centers, to stretch 5’s, and now bigs in certain instances being expected to initiate offense from the perimeter, the requirements to be considered a ‘modern big’ seem to constantly be a moving target. What makes Florida Rebels center and Tennessee commit Dewayne Brown such a standout prospect, and in my opinion the most underrated big man in the ’25 class, is how capable he is fulfilling all these roles at this stage of his career.

Brown’s bread and butter currently is his low-post game. Being one of the more physically developed bigs in the class (listed at 6’9 and 250 pounds), Brown has a developed sense of how to create space in the post not only with his size but refined footwork. Brown’s clean footwork and patience in the post allow him to consistently create finishing windows which he can capitalize on as an ambidextrous finisher.

A skill Brown may be best in all of EYBL in is establishing post position as early as possible, however for as talented a team as the Florida Rebels are, they can struggle making entry passes to Brown in the post. This dynamic often forces Brown to create post-up opportunities for himself like the play above, where Brown crashes down from the top of the key to setup a catch on the low-block. Despite the denial on the entry forcing Brown into a suboptimal catch point, his up fake on the drive helps him avoid the rotating topside defender and get an easy finish.

For how inconsistent his team is in creating post touches for Brown, the fact he’s currently sitting 6th in total post possessions across EYBL play, 4th in PPP, all while drawing fouls at the highest clip of any player with 40+ post-ups, speaks to his skill as an interior player. Even when Brown is forced to operate outside of the post, in sets more aligned with ‘modern’ big man play like the clip below, he finds ways to finish. Here Brown keeps out of a DHO and navigates the help with a pro-hop to get the finish.

Along with his footwork, Brown’s hands are his greatest weapon. Areas where explosive leaping ability is widely considered a prerequisite to thrive, like offensive rebounding and rim protection, Brown is able to excel in because of his vacuum hands and timing.

Whether he’s defending opposing bigs like Cameron Boozer on the perimeter…

Or finding himself cross-matched onto wings like Sebastian Williams-Adams…

Brown’s hand accuracy and timing enable him to serve as a positive defensive anchor.

As far as his rebounding ability, for my money there’s not a more consistent presence on the offensive glass at this level than Dewayne Brown. I don’t think there’s a play that better encapsulates his strengths as a rebounder along with the previously mentioned interior footwork than the following clip. Brown’s late hands allow him to snatch the board over Cameron Boozer before Boozer is able to properly judge the trajectory of the missed shot. And when the ball finds Brown he Barkley’s on his drive to create a deeper paint touch, and Euro-steps into the finish over Boozer. From beginning to end this play is a wild display of coordination and agility from a player Brown’s size.

What Brown’s game lacks in above the rim finishes and highlight blocks he makes up for with a poise well beyond what’s typically seen from a young big. The diversity of Brown’s skillset is what makes him exceptional and a prime candidate to outperform his ranking at the next level.

Courtland Muldrew: Seizing Opportunity

The 4th and final EYBL Session took place in Kansas City and flew somewhat under the radar as a number of headlining talent opted to attend USA Basketball’s tryouts for the u18 Americup team. For 6’3 Team Thad guard Courtland Muldrew this scheduling conflict represented an opportunity to step into a higher usage role than he’d previously seen, as his teammate 5-star guard Jasper Johnson attended the USAB minicamp. In Johnson’s stead, Muldrew proved to be one of the best advantage creators on the circuit, despite significantly scaling up in usage.

Muldrew routinely generated deep paint touches without a screen, and parlayed these paint touches into finishes or free throw attempts at an outstanding clip. Over the course of 5 games in Kansas City, Muldrew drew 41 free throws attempts, none of which came in late game must-foul situations. Muldrew’s ability to live in the paint was made possible by an ideal set of driving tools, from a lightning quick first step to contact balance reminiscent of an elite runningback, seldom was any point-of-attack defender able to stay in front of Muldrew.

Here you can see Dwayne Aristode, one of the premier perimeter defenders in the country, unable to stay in front of Muldrew as he drives to his left. And perhaps as impressive as Muldrew’s ability to repeatedly create downhill separation from defenders, is his array of finishing footwork. Muldrew is equally capable of driving and finishing with either hand, and here uses goofy-leg (jumping with the same foot as the hand attempting the layup) to disrupt the timing of the help defender.

The catalyst of Muldrew’s rim pressure is his explosive first step, as his handle is more rudimentary than most primary ballhandlers at the moment. However, Muldrew’s able to remain effective inside the arc due to his intersection of touch and an understanding of how to play off 2 feet. Synergy is somewhat limited categorizing shot types (runners and floaters) but in the four games I was able to watch and manually log Muldrew’s shot attempts, he went 3/7 on floaters, a very respectable number for a player with Muldrew’s volume of drives.

This possession is a perfect example of the interplay between the two skills of Muldrew, he drives off the catch and jumpstops to ensure his floater attempt is taken on balance. This penchant for playing off two feet lets Muldrew access a variety of counters on drive, such as the play below where he gains leverage on Dwayne Aristode after rejecting the screen, and uses the momentum from Aristode’s recovery to create space for a midrange stepback.

What’s so compelling about Muldrew’s driving ability is unlike many downhill guards at the high-school level, whose reliance on getting in the paint often comes at the cost of developing as a perimeter scorer, Muldrew has shown reason for optimism on this front. While Muldrew’s only shot 34% from three on 4.6 attempts/game (12 games), he’s been steady from the line coming in at 89% on 65 attempts. Equally encouraging as Muldrew’s touch indicators is how he’s already shown an understanding of how to enhance his drives with the shooting threat he currently possess. Compare the two plays below for example, in the first clip Muldrew takes and makes a three when the defender provides a cushion to account for the driving threat.

In the subsequent play, Team Thad runs Motion Strong for Muldrew, a set typically ran for shooters. The pace Muldrew plays with coming off the staggers gets his defender to bite on the up-fake, and this provides Muldrew the opportunity to attack the front of the rim.

Courtland Muldrew may not be a conventional point-guard at the moment, but possesses a combination of advantage creation and 3 level scoring tools matched by only a few other guards in his class. And in the previous session when Muldrew was given more decision making responsibilities he showed progression over the course of the weekend. Adding more quality reps running ballscreen actions to his resume, like the play below where Muldrew runs a side PNR and holds the tagging defender with his eyes to pry open a cleaner finishing window for the rolling big.

Chris Cenac: Standout Amongst Standouts

Before he’d even put up a shot, 6’10 big man Chris Cenac demanded my attention from the very first game of his I’d decided to turn on. Cenac’s decision to play for the NXTPRO, the newest shoe circuit sponsored by Puma, made his games more difficult to watch so my first encounter with Cenac was when his Young Game Changers (YGC) team was pitted against JL3 in an early season event. JL3 is far from lacking athletes, but Cenac’s length and fluidity at his size was immediately eye-popping.

Take the following sequence for example, Cenac is pulled away from the basket, with his man settled at the top of the key. When a drive from the strongside wing collapses the defense, Cenac helps-the-helper by sinking into the weakside corner, and keeps eyes on the ballhandler so he’s able to steal the kickout pass. A player Cenac’s size being able to make this rotation is abnormal on its own, the fact Cenac is then able to push the break, and has the wherewithal to find a teammate as his drive is walled off is spectacular.

Cenac would continue to impress as a ballhandler in the open court, even flashing as a live dribble passer.

As is often the case with young bigs with burgeoning perimeter skillsets, Cenac’s process on-ball could be questionable at times, but how consistently Cenac was able to get into his jumper proved his handle was functional at his size. Across 4 handtracked games Cenac was a promising 9/21 on jumpshots (42.8%) including going 3/9 (33.3%) from three. As always, free throw shooting factors heavily into any shooting projection for me, and Cenac was a respectable 17/25 (72%) from the line across this sample of games.

The shooting splits along with plays like this, where Cenac comfortably steps into a 1 dribble pull-up three over a respected rim protector in Xavion Stanton…

Or here where Cenac gets to his spot above the free-throw line and hits a pull-up jumper, is indicative of there being more substance than style to Cenac’s shooting projection.

Anytime a player Cenac’s size shows an aptitude for shooting it tends to become their primary draw as a prospect, but this is a case of defensive versatility being as enticing. As previously mentioned Cenac is a rare mover at his size, capable of playing defensive roles besides primary rim protector because he can guard in space. But he also has the length and discipline as a rim protector to use his size without fouling. In the possession below, YGC’s defense is in a scramble situation after JL3 secures an offensive rebound, Hudson Greer drives into open space and makes the dump-off pass, which should lead to an easy finish for the springy 6’9 forward Nigel Walls. Cenac’s fluid enough to flip his hips and explosive enough to elevate with both arms extended to block Wall’s attempt.

Up until this point I’ve kept the scope of my projections limited to how players may contribute at the collegiate level, however the manner in which Chris Cenac made his imprint on games forced me to acknowledge that he may only be a single season contributor in the NCAA.

King Grace: Guarding His Yard

In Under Armour’s first session, Texas Impact 4:13 G/W King Grace won overall MVP, and considering his statline (24 ppg on 43% from 3 and 54% from the field) a natural assumption to make would be it was Grace’s scoring output which landed him on this list. And while I do plan on discussing some of his offensive merits, what caught my eye was Grace’s doggedness as a defender.

King Grace is listed at 6’4 185 pounds, but with outstanding length and strength for the position he proved to be a suffocating Point-of-Attack defender. Grace would use his physicality to disrupt ballhandlers like the play below, where he avoids the screen and immediately crowds Josiah Sanders’ handle to force him into a backcourt violation.

Averaging 1.6 steals/game through the first two sessions, Grace possesses an exceedingly rare trait for a high-school perimeter defender. Grace’s motor, length, and timing saw him dictating certain possessions. Instead of simply capitalizing on the opponent’s errors or sacrificing his positioning to hunt turnovers, Grace forced opponents into mistakes. Like in the following play, Wisconsin Playground run 77 Flare, Grace going under the 1st screen prompts his teammate guarding the 2nd screen to show at the level before recovering back to his original assignment. The ballhandler sees this sequence play out and makes presumably the correct read by passing to his teammate coming off the flarescreen, but Grace diagnoses the play, and intercepts the pass for an easy transition dunk.

Grace thrives playing this cat-and-mouse game with ballhandlers, and maximizes opportunities in different roles. Here you see him mirror his man to prevent the drive, provides gap help on the secondary drive, but keeps his off-hand in the passing lane as he recovers. This clip is a wonderful distillation of how Grace’s physical tools and defensive anticipation manifest to create havoc and in this case generate a turnover.

Grace’s offensive skillset can best be described as low maintenance. While his handle as it currently stands may not be creative enough to consistently initiate offense, Grace was hyper-efficient in primarily Princeton type sets Texas Impact would run for him. A competent spot-up shooter, Grace’s decisiveness in these actions compensated for his lack of shot versatility. Compare the two possessions below for instance, in the first clip Grace runs off a double stagger and when he’s denied the entry, Texas Impact flows into Bilboa, where a double stagger is set and the offensive player in the corner rejects the first screen, triggering Grace to come off the pindown and take the 3.

In the next clip Texas Impact runs a similar concept out of a 5-out alignment called Point Over, where Grace is setting a pindown, but instead of a second screen the big is operating as the trigger man out of a DHO. As Grace comes off the hand-off the opposing big lifts to take away the 3, and Grace simply drives and finds his big on the roll.

Grace’s tape lacks some of the flash of other wings in his class, but the areas he excels in are typically the most conducive to a smooth transition to the next level.

The post Ahmed’s Starting 5 appeared first on Swish Theory.

Jamarion Batemon: Flamethrower

One of the first players on the Adidas 3 Stripe Select (3SSB) to catch my eye was 6’3 Combo Guard and 3 star recruit, Jamarion Batemon, playing for Power 5 out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Batemon, for my money, is one of the preeminent shooters in the 2025 High School class. Over the first two sessions Batemon shot a combined 42/84 from 3 for a scorching 50% and an equally impressive 10 attempts per game. And while watching games, the degree of difficulty and variety of play-types Batemon was being used in was perhaps the most striking aspect of his performance. Batemon’s team, Power 5, used him primarily as an off-ball player in movement sets. One of the most consistent features of their offense was running Batemon off movement using elevator screens and double staggers like the play below. Batemon draws a foul on the make because of the minimal shot prep he requires to get his shot off.

Batemon isn’t limited to shooting off the catch either, as what makes him such an impressive shooter for his age is he’ll seize any amount of cushion provided to get into a 3pt attempt no matter the variables presented by the game situation. Whether it be in ballscreen actions like the play below…

…or in transition…

…Jamarion Batemon is a threat to shoot from deep virtually any time he crosses half-court. This has allowed him to be a focal point of a Power 5 team which has exceeded expectations so far this season. His proficiency as a shooter was no more apparent than in their matchup with, in my opinion, one of the best teams on not only the Adidas Circuit but one of the best AAU teams in the country in Team Loaded Virginia. Batemon put on a masterful shooting display where he finished with 32 total points and went 9/19 from 3, almost unheard of volume for a high school player.

While Batemon’s potency as a shooter is not in doubt there are areas of his game he’ll need to develop to fully exploit this skill at the next level, namely his comfort as a ballhandler. Batemon didn’t see much PNR usage and due to the threat he presents as a shooter typically saw aggressive coverages in ballscreen action which dissuaded him from attempting to create. However, my favorite aspect of high school basketball is the rate some of these players are able to adapt, and Batemon was no exception. His timing and accuracy as a passer in the PNR improved from Session 1 to 2, and while it often didn’t translate in assists, Batemon’s decisiveness helped keep the offense on schedule.

As Batemon gained experience seeing these coverages he began to develop counters and even leveraged the respect he’d garnered as a scorer to get downhill.

Batemon’s passing growth wasn’t limited to on-ball usage, he was also able to parlay the respect his shooting was given to extend advantages for his teammates. Take the play below for instance, Batemon comes off an Exit screen in a SLOB play, and immediately hits the screener when he draws a second defender. The defense is immediately put into rotation and the initial screener finds an open shooter in the right slot. This doesn’t result in an assist, or even a basket, but Power 5 generates a good look and a potential hockey assist for Batemon, predicated on his shooting gravity.

Ultimately Batemon will need to make significant strides as a ballhandler and defender as he rises through the ranks, but the significant short term growth, in tandem with his strong foundation as a shooter, saw Jamarion Batemon as my biggest riser through the first few weeks of the season.

Josiah Sanders: Driving Offense

My second standout is slightly more off the beaten path compared to many of the other prospects who will be discussed, but 6’4 Point Guard Josiah Sanders was one of the most impressive lead guards and offensive engines I was able to watch during Under Armour’s first and only session to date. Sanders is an unheralded recruit hailing from Denver Colorado, and runs with the Utah Mountain Stars at the moment. Sanders was able to average 26.3 PPG, 8.0 RPG, and 7.3 APG in a 4 game sample in session 1, and as the numbers would indicate his impact on the game was comprehensive, and notably unique.

What first caught my attention with Sanders was the poise and craft he displayed as a PNR operator. While Sanders is a left handed player he is functionally ambidextrous, capable of driving in either direction and making quick, accurate, passes with both hands. Compare the two clips below, Sanders is running similar side PNRs and the moment he senses the helpside defenders cheating over, he whips in skip passes to his teammate in the corner.

Sanders’ vision as a passer is definitely noteworthy, but what separates him from other capable ‘game manager’ type passers at his position is the consistent aggression and acumen he possesses attacking the basket. Despite being 16, relatively young for his class, Sanders’ contact balance and pace as a driver allowed him to place pressure on the defense and create windows to play-make for his teammates. Through the 4 games Sanders played he averaged 10 free-throws per game and a 0.49 free-throw-rate. Sanders effectively toggled through different speeds on drives and his unique cadence kept point-of-attack defenders off balance to where he was able to create contact with second level defenders.

Small details so rare in young guards are present in Sanders’ game, and made evident in the clip above. He isn’t able to create separation from his defender initially, retreats to allow the screener to twist the angle of the screen, and when Sanders drives he initiates contact with the defender to improve his driving angle and as a result draws a foul on his off-hand finish for an And-1 opportunity. Sanders’ penchant for accessing the middle of the floor paired with his patience make him a dynamic playmaker at this stage.

The most glaring flaw currently in Sanders’ game, from what I was able to see, was his versatility as a shooter. Essential for ball dominant guards is an ability to shoot off the dribble and from distance. Sanders finished Session 1 only 3/12 from 3, but there is plenty of reason for optimism. First of all, Sanders’ ball dominance allowed for significantly less opportunities to shoot off the catch, and while attempts weren’t going in he looked comfortable and fluid taking pull-up 3s.

And while some may take issue with this kind of qualitative assessment, Sanders was also an efficient 85.7% from the line (24/28). Watching Sanders I don’t believe there’s a greater discrepancy between ability and notoriety for a prospect in the 2025 class, and teams are starting to take notice, as Sanders received his first Power 6 offer from Tennessee almost immediately after the conclusion of Session 1.

Kai Rogers: Checking Boxes

The first frontcourt player in my ‘Starting 5’, Kai Rogers is also the first player on the list I would consider a national recruit. Already boasting numerous Power 6 offers, the 6’9 Center for Under Armour’s Wisconsin Playground Club was exceptional in the first Session, managing to make his presence felt on both ends. Rogers averaged 3.3 blocks and 1.3 steals over the course of 4 games. While he is an impressive athlete with plus length, Rogers isn’t the quickest leaper, instead winning with an advanced sense of timing and rare dexterity for a young big.

Take the play below for instance, Rogers was primarily deployed in as a drop coverage big in ballscreen actions and here he funnels the ballhandler towards the help when he rejects the screen. Once the ballhandler makes the pass to the roller at the free-throw line, the topside tagger is put in conflict when his initial assignment relocates to the top of the key. This conflict pries open a driving lane for the big to drive, but Kai Rogers immediately engulfs the drive and blocks the shot while its still in the big’s hands, and Rogers makes this play on the ball with his off-hand!

Rogers definitely isn’t perfect protecting the paint and his range as a rim protector is somewhat limited by his footspeed, however he is fully capable of making corrective rotations like the play above and deterring potential rim attempts with his ball tracking ability. Perhaps the greatest attribute Rogers possesses as a shot blocker is his ability to avoid foul trouble despite the rim protection burden placed on him as Wisconsin PlayGround’s only big man consistently featured in the rotation. Rogers never fouled out of a game and averaged a mere 3 fouls per game in Session 1.

For all the potential Rogers displayed on the defensive end, he was almost equally effective on the other end of the floor. Rogers’ fluidity in the low-post along with his physicality allowed him to impose his will on opposing big-men. Adept in scoring with both hands, Rogers’ only warts were possessions where he was over-ambitious, which is to be expected of a young post player trying to expand his game en-route to winning games. But while results were inconsistent, there were moments of self creation from Rogers which are incredibly rare to see from frontcourt players his size.

Rogers’ ability to either function as a lob threat or score on the interior with his back to the basket often forced defenses’ hands, leading to a stellar 0.67 free-throw-rate, but his consistent appearances at the line revealed his greatest offensive shortcoming at the moment as Rogers was only 47% from the line on 19 attempts. Poor free throw shooting doesn’t at all take away from Roger’s projection at the next level, in my opinion, and I am fully expecting Rogers to widely be considered one of 2025’s best big men by summer’s end.

Sebastian Williams-Adams: Point-Center

6’7 JL3 Forward Sebastian Williams-Adams was one of the most impactful players in EYBL play through the first two sessions and his play at these events can best be described as all-encompassing. Williams-Adams played one of the most unique roles I saw across all circuits in how amorphous his responsibilities seemed to be. Williams-Adams was typically used as JL3’s primary rim protector, and despite not being the tallest player in JL3’s frontcourt he was able to consistently utilize his exceptional strength and dynamic leaping to alter shots around the rim while simultaneously holding up against heftier post players. Whereas on offense, Williams-Adams had the second highest share of initiating responsibilities after their more traditional PG Christian Jones. Due to his explosive first step, Williams-Adams was able to consistently collapse the defense and find teammates. The sequence below exemplifies the two-way impact Williams-Adams presented. On the defensive end, JL3 has their first line of defense penetrated by the opposing PG when he sees the JL3 big man cheating up at the level and rejects the screen. The PG drives into the paint unencumbered, but Williams-Adams baits him into a layup attempt by slightly feigning a contest, and instead jumps after the guard and emphatically blocks the shot.

In the ensuing possession, Williams-Adams finds the ball in the corner after the initial PNR is stifled, drives the baseline and as he forces the defense into rotation finds Nigel Walls with an interior pass which leads to Walls being fouled on the shot attempt.

Williams-Adams was relentless in applying pressure on the front of the rim, as while EYBL was inconsistent with their statkeeping and free-throw stats aren’t readily available, Williams-Adams was a regular at the line over the course of the first two sessions. Even without a consistent jumper to attract hard closeouts, Williams-Adams was able to generate paint touches in stampede actions.

And when his primary defender sagged off to prevent clear driving opportunities out of stampedes, Williams-Adams had enough handle creativity and acceleration to manufacture space. Like in the play below, Williams-Adams uses a snatch dribble to draw Caleb Wilson out just to explode past him and draw the foul.

Williams-Adams has a ways to go as a shooter and will need to flesh out this part of his game as he’s forced to play more as a conventional wing, but the combination of physical dominance and two-way creation he’s currently able to exercise eases concerns of how he’ll translate to the next level.

Will Riley: Scalable Offensive Star

6’7 Canadian G/W Will Riley is the rare instance of a wing sized player deserving the moniker of ‘point-forward’. Riley’s ability to soak up usage both as a primary ballhandler and a complementary offensive piece was truly a joy to watch. Riley was equally proficient creating out of ballscreen actions as he was finishing plays as a shooter. His proficiency on-ball was a byproduct of his exceptional touch, advanced screen craft, and depth of off-the-dribble counters.

The interplay between some of these skills can be seen in the play below. Riley sees the POA defender cheating towards the screen and Riley uses double cross to get a step driving towards the basket and the use of the cross-body gather prior to throwing the baseline cutter hold the backline defenders attention just long enough to prevent them from making a play on the ball.

Riley saw almost an equal amount of his usage come in more typical off-ball actions for a wing. Such as the play below, UPlay runs a ‘Peja’ action for Riley, where he sets a RIP screen before receiving a handoff intended to get him an open 3 which he hits.

Riley’s sense of how to leverage this shooting ability when he’s used in UPlay’s 5-out concepts separates him from other shooting slanted wings his age however, he recognizes the threat his shooting presents and its ability to dictate terms with the defender. Despite Riley’s lack of physical strength he has extremely impressive stamina, and weaponizes it off-ball by using a series of feints and cuts like th play below. Riley adjusts to his defender overplaying the hand-off and retreats into open space, after the catch the second his defender relaxes Riley re-drives to the basket and hits a floater over the smaller defender. The fact Riley, at 6’7, has a floater thoroughly integrated into his scoring arsenal shows how high his skill level is for the age group.

And when teams have attempted to take away Riley’s windows to score in hand-off actions he has been more than willing to move off the ball.

These nuances in Riley’s game will make him an easy fit next to other talented players at the next level, and as the physical element of his game progresses and he’s able to more consistently draw fouls, Riley may find himself playing the primary role even when stationed next to other high-level offensive players.

The post Starting 5: Early Standouts of the Grassroots Season appeared first on Swish Theory.

Cooper Flagg | 6’8” Wing/Forward | Duke

As the number one ranked player in the class, the 6’8” big wing did anything but disappoint. Flagg dominated on both ends of the floor, using his length to stifle players on the defensive end and his strong intersection of tools to create offense. The intensity was apparent and he truly showcased his malleability as a defender: effectively guarding ball handlers at the point of attack, providing strong help at the nail, and erasing shots at the rim. His combination of real lateral agility at that size, length, and general feel gives him the tools to be a premier defender in the NBA. 

Offensively, he was consistently able to create advantages as the primary ballhandler, keeping his handle alive against pressure and navigating through multiple lines of defense. Flagg does not possess elite burst, but it still enabled him to get a step on his defender on most drives. Scoring mostly at the rim, Flagg exhibited great touch and high-level contact balance to get through defenders and find angles. Flagg ended up shooting two attempts from the perimeter, missing both, but was confident launching these shots. The energy transfer on the shot for the most part is good, taking a dip to generate more energy but he would create some imbalances when the shot was launched due to cocking the ball too far behind his head. This causes his shot to be closer to two motions and requires him to use more energy to launch, mitigating some of the energy created from the dip.

Dylan Harper | 6’5” Guard | Rutgers

Dylan Harper was the star of the show at Jordan Brand, dicing up the defense with his shot creation and size. In fact, the defining moment of the game ended up being the three straight off the dribble 3s he hit in the second half while Cooper Flagg was his primary defender. At first glance, Harper’s advantage creation tools do not seem striking, with a sub-par first step and limited vertical explosion. However, he is extremely adept at creating space off the dribble to hunt his shots on the perimeter, taking step-backs and side-step jumpers with ease: a function of his great lower extremity strength. When his drives get walled off, he’s extremely comfortable creating these shots as a counter to throw backtracking defenders off balance. 

Where his first step lacks, Harper’s fantastic acceleration tools make up for it. Using his shin angles and good ankle flexibility, he showcased some twitch turning corners and exploding out of his second and third steps. This combination of shooting gravity and acceleration tools bodes well for a potential advantage creator that uses ball screens. It should also help his scalability when using him off-ball to attack off the catch or operate off of actions that can get him downhill like Zoom, Wide-Pin, and Double Stagger actions. He did not get much post-up usage in the game but I would not be surprised if Harper can effectively score off of guard post-ups with his size and frame at higher levels.

Boogie Fland | 6’2” Guard | Arkansas

While smaller in stature, that did not take away from a player who looked like the best advantage creator in the game. Boogie Fland was consistently creating 2-on-1 situations from a standstill throughout the game, using his exceptional first step to slice the first line of defense and attack gaps with speed. He mostly acted upon these advantage situations with quick kick-out passes to the perimeter, but when he had a lane to the rim he was able to find finishing angles with his flexibility.

Boogie ended up taking three 3s in the game and did not make any of them, but I would attribute this to shot variance as his shot mechanics looked fairly fluid. He has a 1.5-motion jumper but releases effectively at a high enough set point to create shot windows. There is a slight knee valgus which can be hammered out with increased lower half strength and balance, but a product of that is that he is generating most of the energy from his shot with his upper body mechanics.

Defensively, Boogie tended to gamble quite a bit rotationally which made him struggle on-ball but his feel and active hands showed up as a guy that can create havoc off-ball through steals. With his straight-line speed, that should also open up his ability to lead transition offense at higher levels, just like he did at Jordan Brand.

Liam McNeeley | 6’7” Wing | UConn

Calling McNeeley an extraordinary shooter might be underselling his ability to bend defenses with his shot. The Jordan Brand Classic was no exception, where he shot 50% from beyond the arc on 10 3-point attempts. He displayed a wide range of shot versatility, shooting off movement, off the catch, and off the dribble. He was also able to weaponize his touch in the intermediary, causing defenders to guard him extremely tightly. There was a drive that stood out to me, where he took a defender off the dribble after a hard closeout and got fouled on the rim attempt. It stood out to me because he struggled to decelerate in traffic. If this is a real issue with his movement skills, it remains to be seen as I would need to take a closer look over a larger sample of his drives to see if this is a consistent issue. Regardless, this is more of a concern if you are projecting real handling usage for McNeeley at the NBA level and less of an emphasis for someone who will use driving off the catch as a counter. 

As a connector, he was maintaining advantages and processing decisions that were one pass away quickly. On the other side of the ball, McNeeley was able to slide his feet and flip his hips well against wings. With improvement in technique, I can definitely envision him containing drives against bigger players at the NBA level.

Isaiah Evans | 6’6” Wing | Duke

Isaiah Evans struggled in certain aspects of the game but you could piece together the type of creator he could end up being at the NBA level with polish and physical development. A dynamic shooting wing, Evans exhibited his feathery touch at all three levels of the court, with the most prominent areas being from the midrange and perimeter. What stood out to me was that although Evans has a slighter frame and weighs a reported 185 pounds (ESPN), he was able to take and make most of his shots when physicality was applied.

Strength will be an important facet of his athleticism to monitor as most of his wins in scoring situations came from space-creation moves and shooting gravity. Although he is a fluid handler, his lack of power and burst on drives forced him into a shot diet of difficult pull-up jumpers. The other issue is his space creation moves like step-backs did not often create enough space, and defenders could stay within his shot window, which is what I would attribute to most of the misses in the game. Strength also affected him on the defensive end as he would get caught across screens while navigating. However, when there was no screen to deter him, Evans showcased his potential on that end with how he operated against ball handlers using his length.

Honorable Mentions

• VJ Edgecombe: Edgecombe struggled to shoot in this game but his ability to break down defense with his burst was on full display. Even without his shot, he was able to affect the game with promising point-of-attack defense and by grabbing rebounds.

• Drake Powell: He had some great moments as a play finisher, making kick-out passes and even operating out of the dunker using his vertical athleticism

• Asa Newell: With Newell, you could see his ability to play finish at the rim and from the perimeter effectively. He was able to flaunt his instincts as a rim protector and take away shots at the rim.

• Kon Knueppel: At 6’5”, Knueppel showed off his proficiency from range. He has a wider shot base that provided more stability on the shot, but outside of this he maintained advantages as a connector and provided real intensity on the defensive end.

• Derik Queen: While he is an undersized big, Queen exhibited strong rebounding, finishing at the rim, and his ability to pass out of post-ups and the short roll. His wide crossover on drives was compact and created space efficiently.

• Jalil Bethea: Great upper extremity flexibility and burst that helped him knife through defenses at 6’4”. He even showcased some manipulative passing in transition.

It will be fascinating to see how these players continue to impact their new teams, post high school, but one thing was clear: the talent pool in this incoming class is stacked amongst a wide array of archetypes and positions. The 2025 NBA Draft is shaping up to be one of the stronger classes in modern draft history, and the Jordan Brand Classic was emblematic of that very notion. 

The post Jordan Brand Classic 2024: The Standouts appeared first on Swish Theory.

Scouting Report on Top Florida and California High School Prospects in 2024 Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament and Hoophall Classic Title Game featuring film breakdowns from NBA and data visualizations using Cerebro Sports’ analytics.

How often do two #1 draft prospects face off in the same game?

Now ask yourself what the chances are of the #1 rated prospects in three separate classes playing in the same game, let alone doing so twice in one season.

The number one senior, Cooper Flagg (2024); the number one junior, AJ Dybantsa (2025); and the number one sophomore, Tyran Stokes (2026) all sit atop their respective big boards, projected to be the top NBA Draft picks in the near future.

Their teams, Montverde and Prolific Prep, matched up twice this season: the 2024 MAIT Championship and the Hoophall Classic, the first time in the history of hoops that ESPN aired a game featuring #1 prospects from 3 different draft classes.

(graphic via ESPN)

The Teams

Montverde Academy
Prolific Prep
Oak Ridge
Brewster Academy
Calvary Christian
DME Academy
Riviera Prep
The Rock School
Imani Christian

The Players

Cooper Flagg, AJ Dybantsa, Tyran Stokes
Asa Newell, Liam McNeeley, Shon Abaev
Jordan Tillery, Elijah Crawford, Rob Wright
Tyler Johnson, Ryan Jones Jr., Dante Allen
Derik Queen, Alden Sherrell, Moustapha Thiam
Dwayne Aristode, Winters Grady, Cameron Simpson
Mikey Lewis, Curtis Givens, Nojas Indrusaitis, Zoom Diallo

The Numbers

Let’s look at Cerebro Sports’ data to compare different impact metrics kept track by Cerebro to evaluate the stats from the Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament’s standout players.

To find the best players from the tournament overall, let’s compare overall impact (C-RAM) and defensive statistical impact (DSI) to show the most impactful two-way players who impact winning the most from the handful of games in the 2024 Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament.

The visualization below graphs the most active defenders on the x-axis compared to overall winning impact on the y-axis, revealing how much of the defense component makes up each player’s overall two-way impact in these games.

Cooper Flagg (12.9), AJ Dybantsa (10.7) and Tyran Stokes (10.7) finished 1st and T-2nd respectively in Cerebro Sports C-RAM metric, rating off the charts as the most impactful players overall from the Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament.

Cooper Flagg jumps off the page, dominating his games on both ends in winning affairs while filling up the box score, averaging 4 blocks and 1.7 steals in the 3-game tourney. Stokes trailed only Flagg in defensive statistical impact.

Liam McNeeley bringing defensive impact with his sniper off ball shooting and scoring versatility gives him exciting ceiling of two-way impact at the highest level.


All of the MAIT’s Top-10 most impactful players by Cerebro’s C-RAM played for Montverde or Prolific, except for three:

4th Ryan Jones Jr., The Rock School
6th Tyler Johnson, Oak Ridge
9th Dante Allen, Riviera Prep

Asa Newell, Liam McNeeley, Tyler Johnson, Dwayne Airstode and Derik Queen stand out for their overall impact, with the next range of positive impact comparitively features Aiden Sherrell, Elijah Crawford, Mason Fuentes, Curtis Givens, Winters Grady, Cameron Simpson, Joseph Hartman, Shone Abaev, Cameron Simpson, Jordan Tillery, Rob Wright, Nojus Indrusaitis, Mikey Lewis, and Zoom Diallo.

Curtis Givens, Montverde’s sixth man, ranks 2nd overall in the tournament in defensive statistical impact, much higher than one might expect given the talent in the field. Flagg, Givens, Stokes, Sherrell, McNeeley, Gaskins were the most active defenders from the tournament.

The goal of the data visualization below is to show the best offensive producers of the tournament to help predict the best Future Scoring Creators, the most efficient and most consistent offensive options for creating good shots for themselves and others.

To do so, let’s compare players’ pure scoring prowess (PSP) and floor general skills (FGS) to find high feel good decision-makers who can score effectively and create consistently. Scoring (PSP) is on the vertical y-axis, and Playmaking (FGS) is on the horizontal x-axis. Each player is marked by a circle with 3pt efficiency shown by the size and color of the circles; the bigger and brighter, the better.

Which prospects can be relied on the most as offensive engines for team-first shot creation?

AJ Dybantsa stands out for his scoring load and efficiency with the ability to set up others. Derik Queen and Ryan Jones Jr rated off the charts in scoring in these three games too.

Cooper Flagg, Liam McNeeley, Tyran Stokes, Tyler Johnson, Shon Abaev, Dante Allen, Asa Newell, Elijah Crawford, and the Fuentes brothers rate well in both playmaking and scoring, some of the more reliable shot creators from the tournament.

Dwayne Aristode, Winters Grady, Cameron Simpson rated in the Top-15 as scorers, mostly doing their damage from deep, each rating Top-3 in 3pt efficiency respectively.

Rob Wright, Curtis Givens, Jordan Tillery rate similarly positive in scoring, showing a range of good to great playmaking skills.

In the Hoopshall Classic tournament, Cooper Flagg ranked 5th in overall C-RAM, though most teams only played 1 game to Flagg’s 3. (Cameron Boozer ranked 3rd with 2 games played)

The Top-6 most impactful Hoopshall Classic players by Cerebro’s C-RAM with 2+ games played and 10+ minutes per game, with notable prospects like Cameron Boozer, Jase Richardson, Darius Acuff from the The Sunshine Classic, the last tournament held at Montverde.

Flagg racked up 12 blocks and 6 steals to only 5 fouls throughout the Hoopshall Classic, rating good to great in scoring, shooting, passing, finishing, and defense by Cerebro.

Click the YouTube LINK above for a Video Scouting Report on the Top-5 players who shined brightest in the Prolific – Montverde Matchup: (Cooper Flagg, AJ Dybantsa, Tyran Stokes, Asa Newell, Liam McNeeley)

The Film

Cooper Flagg
6’9″ Forward/Wing
Montverde Academy

• Star-stopping shot-swishing superstar
• Versatile, lengthy, active big wing defender
• Elite motor, never gives up on a play, never runs out of gas, plays hard through the final whistle
• Phenomenal rebounder using height, length, anticipation, timing
• Great vision, looks for open shooters on drives
• Well-rounded threat to score on and off the ball
• Tough shotmaker from every spot on the floor, rim-attacking dunks, 3pt range
• Cerebral ball instincts, especially off ball cuts, putbacks, rebounds, help defense blocks
• Attacks closeouts against rotating defenses to create rim shots for himself, open kickouts to teammates, fouls drawn in traffic

Players with the wingspan, height, footwork, and athleticism to guard anyone on the floor and swat any shot in sight with the timing, ball instincts, and awareness to pull it off posses a rare combination of skills eluding to a potential rim-deterring defensive anchor.

While no player is perfect, Cooper Flagg does nearly everything well on the hardwood. With a motor that doesn’t turn off, Flagg is able to fill any role, guard any player, attack the rim, shoot from deep, beat you with the pass, operate either end of a pick-and-roll, and even get hot in a post-up or pull-up style from midrange, at the rim, and from deep.

When artificially intelligent robots eventually replace human beings as basketball players, those robots will model their game after Cooper Flagg’s archetype.

With similarities to Aaron Gordon, Shawn Marion, Andrei Kirlenko, and any do-it-all stat-stuffing tall forward who brings versatility to defense and scoring before him, Cooper Flagg is The Ultimate Swish Army Knife.

Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero awards Cooper Flagg Gatorade Player of the Year (Photo Credit: WABI/Joe Greer)

Cooper filled the box score in a victory over Oak Ridge during the MOAT, posting a statline of 22 PTS (50 FG%) – 14 REB – 6 BLK – 2 STL – 3 AST/3 TO (1 foul)

Scooping a sweet pickpocket steal guarding point-of-attack, drawing a hard foul attacking the rim off the turnover, blocking a shot from behind before throwing down a monster putback one-handed slam, making a smartly timed deflection to force a turnover before a methodical fundamental footwork driving rim-finish, timing up a buzzer-beating putback showing anticipation and motor crashing the glass for rebounds, even drilling an impossible pindown pull-up turnaround jumper off the handoff for good measure, while protecting the rim racking up blocks every time you look up.

Fake handoff in-and-out dribble stepback pull-up three all in one motion. Block a shot, grab the board, push the pace, fake the kickout, eurostep through traffic, throw down the slam; death by a thousand cuts leaves opponents begging for mercy.

The Maine Event featured 2 Flagg Plants and 4 Blocks in the Hoophall Classic championship matchup…

…in the first half.

Elite modern defenders who aren’t quite traditional big men like Bam Adebayo, Jonathan Isaac, Jaren Jackson Jr., or even the all-time great Kevin Garnett himself show how Flagg’s ideal role can be maximized at the highest level, unleashing a do-it-all ball-hawking big on teams that haven’t maximized their floor spacing.

While only listed as 6’9″, The Boys Basketball Gatorade Florida Player of the Year brings nonstop energy and laser focus, quite literally every possession. Arguably the most impressive indicators of future success for Flagg’s upside is his motor. Cooper continues to contest shots, crash the boards, attack the paint, and protect the rim; all game long, no plays off.

Allowing Cooper Flagg to freeroam defensively is a recipe for disaster for opposing teams. When Flagg is matched up with a non-shooter, free to read and react as his team’s free safety, mayhem ensues; no shot is safe.

In one sequence against Prolific, Cooper fights through a screen at POA, and though too late for the shot contest, he sees the board bounce his way, leaps in to tip the board in traffic with one hand, and fights multiple opponents for the loose ball.

Then Coop brings the ball up the court looking up for a teammate to push to, gets the ball back and immediately attacks the closeout with a pumpfake low-swing dribble drive, creating open looks for others by drawing in extra eyes into the paint and no-look kicking out to the open man, creates a would-be hockey assist corner three for his team, rebounds the missed shot with another one hand tip to himself reaching over the opponent without fouling, and cleans up the play with a one-legged Dirk Fade for good measure.

Lockdown on-ball perimeter defense on top prospect AJ Dybantsa, with Flagg flipping hips getting tall/thin fighting over screens, poking at the ball stopping dribble drives, deflecting ball right out of his hands for the steal, and finding teammate Derik Queen for the fast break rim-roll reverse.

This sequence highlights Flagg’s anticipation, timing, and grab-and-go style, swatting Dybantsa’s drive with the help of McNeeley going straight up to contest in semi-transition, with Cooper scooping up the boarding and pushing the pace. Every player can improve something; this play ends with a lowlight, showing how with more game rep experience and ball control dribble drills could be beneficial for feeling out defenses with decision-making, as he challenges 3 defenders with all his teammates open behind him for trailer kickouts; Flagg gets blocked and called for a travel, losing possession.

High low back and forth between Flagg and Newell leads to a wild contested FLOATA for Flagg through contact, bending over and around the defense

Back-to-back backdoor baseline cutting slam dunks against DME’s 2-3 zone with the help of a back screen from a teammate in the paint. Flagg’s timing, hops, and cutting impact on display.

AJ Dybantsa
6’8″ Wing/Forward
Prolific Prep

• NBA GMs dream big wing star scorer with high two-way feel, winning impact, and nightly tough shot making highlights
• Elite All-Star Upside and Immediate Impact Two-Way Starter as Versatile Scoring Big Wing
• Soft touch finishing at the rim and midrange tough shots
• Deep range and shooting confidence on in-rhythm Pull-Up triples
• Potential primary scoring option at NBA level as consistent scorer on and off ball
• Good ball control, sometimes a loose dribble but burst and wingspan allow him to recover and sometimes use the looseness to create a movement advantage to throw off the defense
• Nice vision, good decision-maker, looks for teammates on kickouts when drawing defenders into paint
• Exciting player for fans as tough shot-making scorer at every level with a smooth shot release, bouncy breakaway dunks

AJ Dybantsa’s ceiling similarities ideally look something like a Paul George archetype, the modern generation’s favorite 6’8″ archetype like Tracy McGrady was for kids growing up in the early 2000s, in their incredible all-around ball skills and natural athletic two-way feel, the ability to create their own shot from any spot on the floor, keep dribble alive without losing it, and rise up with a nearly unblockable shot release for a splashy jumper from on or off the ball, with those ball instincts playing out on the other end when jumping passing lanes, blocking shots from behind, reading plays before they happen.

Brandon Miller may be the most similar type of exciting slim 6’8″ versatile big wing scoring prospect in the league today.

These high-potential wings could have a range of outcomes like Jeff Green, Harrison Barnes, Andrew Wiggins, RJ Barrett, to Tobias Harris as tall, lengthy, skilled wings who can put the rock through the net and make it look easy and natural doing it; players viewed as potential all-stars at some point in their development yet brought day one impact as starting-level forwards who can score semi-consistently in the 15-18-21 PPG range as reliable two-way starters in the right lineups dependent on the opportunity and roles.

Dybantsa dropped 22 PPG through 3 tournament games in Montverde shooting 25/37 FG and 6/12 3P. While his passing numbers were only an 11 AST / 11 TO ratio, AJ made good reads looking for shooters when his shot wasn’t available after breaking down the defense and drawing extra defenders into the paint.

Flashes elite shooting touch.

First the FLOATA drawing a big man on the switch, then picked up by a big in transition, calls his own number, drops the hesitation moves and half-spin fakeout footwork for driving contested shots, converting both runners to end the first quarter in Prolific vs. Montverde

Savvy ball and body control to break the full-court press with a give-and-go; drawing a switching big to half court, accelerating swiftly past him; spin, gather, decelerate to split a swiping help defender; stop on a dime for the touch FLOATA.

The first time these two teams met in the Hoopshall Classic, AJ Dybantsa led his team in scoring with 21 PTS – 5 REB – 4 AST

This is a pro move early in the game by AJ Dybantsa showing his advantage creation, body control, and soft finishing touch.

Draws big man on switch in PnR -> Hesi -> in-and-out dribble -> stop on a dime -> lofts up a FLOATA -> Swish

In this pick-and-roll, Dybantsa flashed his feel for the game when he’s trapped by the wide wingspans of Flagg and Queen before hitting the roller with a b-e-a-utiful touch lob pass over the top of the blitzing defenders for a rim-rolling rim-rocking slam!

Crossover hesi drive through contact AND1 against Cooper Flagg?

AJD gains momentum after Zoom breaks down the defense attacking the paint with a drive and kick, opening a gap for AJ to attack the closeout, crossover reset to force Flagg to open his hips and start backpedaling, gifting Dybantsa a half-step advantage, all the room he needs to attack the rack, stop on a time, create contact and still finish the shot falling to the floor.

The release on this shot is so high even NBA defenders would have trouble blocking it.

AJ Dybanza being able to rise up for contested middy pull-ups will make him hard to guard as a pro; tall tough shot-makers who can get to their spot and consistently hit their shot over contesting hands are hard to guard at every level.

Dybantsa dropped 21 PTS in the the Hoophall Classic Title Game, rising to the occasion as the game went on: drilling two threes, dishing out a 3pt assist kickout, and drving coast-to-coast for the one-man grab-and-go fast break FLOATA

Earlier in the tournament, AJ Dybantsa dropped 18 PTS – 9 REB -0 1 STL on 8/11 FG and 2/3 3P for Napa California’s Prolific Prep in an overtime victory against Dante Allen out of Miami, FL’s Riviera Prep.

Dybantsa flashed the full custom edition matte yellow lambo grand theft auto potential star package against Riviera Prep, showing off start-stop body control, decelerating drives, hesi handles, soft touch, wide vision, strong north-south athleticism, and deep range shooting.

AJ Dybantsa was a one-man human highlight reel: a mean drive-by dunk, a powerful tip slam, a nasty drop-off bounce pass, a corner C&S three off the in-and-out dribble kickout from Zoom Diallo, a clean decision driving through the paint for the corner kick, a nicely timed board off a miss, multiple cross-court passes into shooter pockets, sound closeouts and contests.

Prolific Prep’s Dybantsa and Stokes kept their foot on the gas in the semi finals against Brewster.

AJ is a real hooper, a monster on the hardwood, converting 10/11 FG and 2/3 3P on his way to 30 PTS – 1 STL – 1 BLK and 5 AST / 2 TO in the W. Flashes scoring versatility, next-level athleticism, shooting touch and grab-and-go body control.

Hitting contested middy pull-ups, finishing the post-up face-up stutter-rip reset driving spinning finger roll, driving and gliding right by any defender in isolation and handoff sets into decelerating finger-rolls, all while relocating with off-ball movement for plays like the zipper screen catch-and-shoot triple and timing up the backdoor cut for an easy one at the rim.

Consistently shows two-way feel, timing, effective use of length advantage and defensive awareness for deflections, steals, stops, with 4PT swings off turnovers ofrten created.

In this game against Brewster, AJD scoops up the loose ball recovery and throws down a tip slam off the turnover; then he sees a pass coming, jumps the passing lane for an anticipatory steal and breakaway highlight slam, then patiently protects the rim blocking a reverse, then flips hips at point of attack defense and fights through a screen to force the guard into a travel, then grabs and goes off a rebound with a flashy highlight behind-the-back dribble and alley-oop lob to Tyran Strokes.

Tyran Stokes
6’8″ Forward
Prolific Prep

• Natural Athlete who flies around the court, a north-south force who gets up vertically
• Impressive body control on change of pace; can accelerate, decelerate, explode at right times to create advantages and shots for himself and others
• Good timing anticipation and ball instincts jumping passing lanes
• Foul-drawing and bump-and-finish through contact for soft touch finishing and eurostep footwork on drives
• Deep range shooting capability

Betting on 6’6″+ players with noticeable athletic advantages amongst their peers, who can already utilize deceleration body control with ball instincts, contact-drawing ability, and clean shooting touch are all good bets for future development.

Against Riviera: 14 PTS – 15 REB – 5/2 AST/TO – 4 STL – 5 BLK; thats 15 boards and 9 stocks for THE POINT GUARD!

Tyran Stokes dropped 22 PTS & 5 REB on 64% FG% in the contest against Brewster, with an impressive sequence swatting a shot strongly, grabbing the loose ball, and running the floor for a coast-to-coast fast break flush, showing off the touch and timing tossing up alley lobs and throwing down oop slams.

Here against Montverde, Stokes draws a foul and a goaltend after the MEAN right to left hesi crossover, driving through contact, before following that up with another driving bucket at the rim, driving and jumping around the floor in a herky-jerky style similar to Markelle Fultz in terms of his start-stop body control, crossover handle, and lift at his size.

Sneaky athleticism shown here as Prolific runs double drag, Tyran Stokes slips the screen and pops out into the corner, where the ball finds him as he shows off the first step burst to beat his man into the paint, decelerating and exploding for the poster slam, hanging in the air while gliding through two defenders.

Stokes drills C&S threes off the strong flare screen and kickouts from AJD, one in the clutch to take the lead with under two minutes to go in the MAIT championship.

Drawing lumbering bigs into switches creates advantages for this change of pace wing.

Earlier in the Prolific-Montverde game, Tyran Stokes draws a foul by hesi-driving into big man D.Queen after first being trapped and drawing the switch.

Later in the game, Stokes draws DQ on a switch again, this time using his speed, ball and body control to crossover and accelerate into a spin move, slowing down with decelerating footowork for a finesse finger roll finish at the rim, shown below:

Tyran makes a good read one play breaking up PnR lob for a steal, but then tosses up the bad pass turnover on a fast break.

After a good team defense possession with AJD cutting off baseline drives and stunting at shooters, finished off by Aiden Sherrell protecting the rim with the help-side block, Tyran Stokes explodes like a firework show through a cloud of defenders, taking off for the breakaway highlight jam, showing off his first step burst, decelerating body control, and downhill force.

Tyran Stokes starts with no momentum here; yet he still makes a play from behind, as Stokes accelerates, times up, and catches Cooper Flagg for a chasedown (double-block) after Asa Newell got a block of his own the possession prior.

Asa Newell
6’10” Forward
Montverde Academy

• NBA size, height, length, strength, effort, footwork, two-way feel
• Outstanding motor, energetic rotating relocating rim-running rim-protector play-finisher
• Brings defensive tenacity, swarming opponents with active hands, lengthy feel, and quick feet from wing to wing
• Great fundamental postup footwork, dropsteps sealing defender behind with counters
• Can hit open catch-and-shoot three, make extra swing pass
• All-around winning player with high floor as athletic north-south plus-defender rotation player with post-up dribble pass shoot skills and a high ceiling as a two-way starter if he scores effectively at the NBA level.

Asa Newell plays with so much energy its like he’s dropping a spirit bomb on the court.

He’s everywhere defensively, contesting everyone, and always beats everyone down the floor for rim-runs in transition.

Newell outworks his opponents by moving with purpose off the ball; rotating, contesting, blocking shots, rim-running, making extra passes, cutting to the rim.

Should be a future pro rotation player for his defense and play-finishing alone, attacking both ends like a Brandon Clarke.

Rated 3rd in At the Rim efficiency via Cerebro Sports’s ATR metric.

The Asa Newell Sequence

Switches onto Dybantsa in P&R, deters multiple driving lanes, contests stepback pull-up three, runs floor to beat the other team to the paint to secure leverage positioning, drop step slam from the dunker spot to force a timeout.

Against Oak Ridge, Asa Newell made it a mission to gain position for the patented postup drop step spin baby hook early and often, finishing with 12 PTS (5/7 FG) – 8 REB – 1 STL – 2 AST/2 TO and a double-block with Cooper Flagg, a common occurrence for the pair of pterodactyls holding down the frontcourt.

In Montverde’s *87 POINT* win over Imani Christian (127-40), Newell made an immediate impact on both ends to the tune of 15 PTS (7/11 FG) – 8 REB – 3 AST – 1 BLK. Asa beat his man down the floor to park in the paint and secure post-up drop-step positioning near the rim, beats opponents to the ball by crashing the boards for misses, going back up strong with his go-to baby hook fling.

Montverde Teammates Rob Wright and Curtis Givens showed vision and scoring ability with heads up plays, making good reads, and hitting relocating C&S threes. Cooper Flagg swished in some C&S threes, adding a look off dime and back-to-back blocks, because that’s what he does. McNeeley led Montverde in scoring with 18 PTS and 3 3PM and a nice dunk. Imani Christian’s backcourt of RJ Sledge and Tristen Brown showed off clean finishing at the rim with crafty finesse and footwork.

Master of the postup backdown block dropstep baby hook shot down; a go-to move that works, with counters to boot.

Look at this ball awareness by Newell, timing up an offensive rebound during a free throw with a defensive end swim move to pull the chair out from behind the man boxing him out, deflecting the board to himself, and immediately turning and looking for the other rebounder, Liam McNeeley, on a relocation corner three that resembles one of the all-time moments in hoop history, Chris Bosh kicking out to Ray Allen to keep the Heatles alive against the Spurs in the 2013 NBA Finals.

Liam McNeeley
6’8″ Guard
Montverde Academy

• Legitimate floor spacer, knockdown 3pt shooter, especially C&S and movement threes running off screens, forever relocating for the catch-and-shoot dagger from deep
• Versatile scorer with diverse shot profile on and off the ball
• Soft shooting touch at the rim and from beyond the arc
• Attacks closeout with force, looking to score, slam, finish strong
• Pesky defender who’s feel for the game helps break on slow handles and passing lanes for steals (made slightly easier knowing Flagg Newell and Queen are behind you to clean things up)

Good scorer, good decision-maker, good passer, good finisher at the rim, great anticipation defender, great 3pt shooter; that’s one prettyyy, pretty, pretty good rotation player at any level, if not a high-volume scorer 3pt sniper at the highest one.

Able to create good looks for himself as an on-ball scorer, or with the help of a strong handoff as an off-ball threat running around screens, stretching the floor where defenses need to know where he is at all times, Liam McNeeley shares scoring versatility and off-ball shooting gravity of snipers like Malik Monk or Tyler Herro.

Can’t be left open, should be trapped/iced with the ball in his hands to deny the shot and force a dribble or pass-to contain shooting threat. McNeeley will counter with a quick decision to drive hard at rim for the dunk or clean finger roll finish.

McNeeley balled out in the Hoophall Classic Title Game, leading all scorers with 22 PTS on 4 3PM; Liam impressed with his shot versatility, a diverse diet of dunks and threes.

With refined footwork, timing, awareness, McNeeley created his own scoring opportunities primarily by staying in motion off the ball, running through Elevator Screens for a turnaround C&S 3pt jumper, stopping on a dime after jumping a passing lane for a steal to decelerate into the pull-up jumper, even countering the three by attacking closeouts with finishing-at-the-rim packages and hammering home slams at the rim, while making the extra swing pass when needed, seen in the video below:

Often leads team in scoring next to potential pros in Cooper Flagg, Derik Queen, Asa Newell, Rob Wright, Curtis Givens.

As Hoophall MVP, Liam McNeeley won one plaque, one picture with Ice Cube, and one OFFICIAL Hoophall MVP bathrobe.

(Photo Credit: Lonnie Webb)

Liam McNeeley’s soft shooting touch isn’t just found from beyond the arc, here using the rip-through re-screen off the handoff give-and-go to evade AJ Dybantsa’s length on the perimeter, force a switch on the drive, and still swish in the FLOATA through bump and finish contact, even switching hands from left dribble to righty push shot in the air. Skills galore

After their teammate is blocked, Flagg wastes no time grabbing the loose ball and no-look kicking out to Liam McNeeley for a C&S three, one of his favorite targets on drive-and-kicks, clearly trusting the knockdown shooter at every opportunity.

Elijah Crawford
6’2″ Point Guard
Brewster Academy

• Natural point guard mentality looking to push pace at every opportunity and find teammates for open looks
• Two-way feel, frenetic energy, active hands forcing deflections
• Anticipation jumping passing lanes, timing up rebounds
• Impressive start-stop body control on decelerating drives
• Strong, big, explosive, especially for his height and position
• Tight handle, great vision, clean passing chops
• Tough pull-up shotmaker at midrange and 3pt level
• Developing skills like finishing at the rim, decision-making to slow down the game, and consistency would raise ceiling

In the Semifinal against Prolific, Elijah Crawford came to play, leaving it all on the floor with 30 PTS – 5 REB – 4 AST / 2 TO shooting 11/17 FG and 6/6 FT.

Soft touch, scoring versatility, finishing packages like the FLOATA, pull-up jumpers from the contested middy running Spain P&R to the stepback triple out of double-drag pick-and-roll, an off ball elbow screen cutting alley-layup, a transition outlet up-and-under finish, multiple nicely timed backdoor cuts to the rim, always looking for the best shot for his team by drawing extra defenders and creating looks for others, hitting teammmates in shooting pockets; highlights here.

Elijah’s all-around point guard play was made evident even when teammates’ shots didn’t fall, because open 3pt looks were still created. Once after he ran back on defense for a deflection, he swoops in for the rebound in traffic, brings the ball up, moves the ball around, gets the ball back, and makes a spinning pick-and-pop pass to the shooter; another tim, he operates double-drag after double-drag until he finds the driving lane he wants to manipulate the defense with to create an open look for the shooter.

In the MAIT’s 3rd place game between Brewster and Oak Ridge, Elijah Crawford put up 7 PTS – 6 REB – 5 AST / 2 TO – 2 STL in 23 MIN, making winning plays through out.

The Stanford commit’s sweetest sequence may have been the deflection for a steal pace-pushing dropoff pass for a trailer in transition C&S three. Elijah stays bringing up the ball like he’s mad at the basket, on a grab-and-go wheel with a never-ending motor the whole game. Hits Nojus Indursaitis for the highlight fast break slam, drills a pull-up three after trapping his man under the screen, hits the grab-and-go turbo button off the board for a quick corner-kick 3PT assist to Dwayne Aristode, and drills a behind-the-back fadeaway middy pull-up so fast you’d miss it if you looked down for a second.

Jordan Tillery
6’6″ Guard
Oak Ridge

• Tough shot maker who can score at all three levels
• Active hands and great timing for digs, deflections, passing lane steals, blocks on the way down
• Soft touch on threes, floaters, alley oop lobs
• Natural point guard at 6’6″, tall for position
• Great body control for deceleration finishes at the rim, grab and go acceleration speed, first step burst to the rim
• Tight handle ball control on dribbles
• Great vision, playmaking feel, team-first passing chops

Jordan Tillery out of Oak Ridge can fly.

Tillery impressed in all-around winning two-way impact against Montverde with anticipation and active hands creating multiple deflections for steals; soft touch, sound timing, and good body control on the spinning FLOATA, tight handles for a mean ISO finger roll reverse, range on the three-pointer, vision on the alley-oop lob pass and mad hops on throw down mean tip slam.

In the first quarter, Tillery’s active hands deflects the live dribble of Liam McNeeley in transition, then forces another turnover soon after for a second steal, following those up with a nice display of body control and shooting touch on the spinning FLOATA.

Over the course of the game Jordan flashed fiery handles and finishing at the rim on the finger roll reverse, knocked down a catch and shoot jump shot from downtown, and lobbed up an alley-oop to Oak Ridge teammate Tyler Johnson.

Tillery left it all on the floor in the fourth against Montverde. The Southern Miss commit stripped Rob Wright’s shot on the way down after leaping to contest, throws down a powerful putback one-handed tip slam off his own miss, swipes the ball away for a deflection steal, completes the give-and-go fast break flush slam dunk highlight.

What a move by the Georgia Southern Commit.

Against Brewster, Tillery showed off effective flashy handles, vision, body control, rebounding timing in traffic, and finishing at the rim with the decelerating finger roll and a good two-handed skip pass across the court. While his shot might not have been falling, he found other ways to contribute. Oak Ridge teammates Tyler Johnson (6/8 FG 7/8 FT) and Cameron Simpson (6 3PM) dropped in 20 points a a piece.

Jordan Tillery gains a momentum advantage into the DHO from the wing, sizes up the defense, drops a quick killer crossover, attacks the gap with burst, decelerates into the air hunting contact for the bump and finish against the big in the air with a tough soft touch up-and-under winding finger roll.

Against The Rock School, Tillery picked up the grab-and-go pace and hit tough shots galore, despite a few turnovers trying to make a play:

19 PTS (8/11 FG) – 5 REB – 1 BLK – 1 AST / 4 TO

Middies with the contested turnaround Dirk fade
Clean finishing at the rim
Timing up the lob pass
Sound body control decelerating on coast to coast drives
Impressive ball skills for the 6’6″ playmaking speedster

Tillery leaving it all on the floor to propel his team to a win: opens the second half with a pull-up three, later with a rebound in traffic and huge block in the clutch:

Tyler Johnson
6’5″ Wing
Oak Ridge

• Athletic force uses advantages effectively over peers, energetic rebounder
• Strong play-finisher at the rim, can hit open three and attack closeout with burst
• Risky reacher on defense, gets steals but more fouls than forced turnovers
• 16 PTS, 10 REB, 7 AST in a win over The Rock
• 19 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL vs Montverde Academy
• 20 PTS (6/8 FG), 9 REB, 5 AST in a win over Brewster Academy
• 5th in overall impact via Cerebro C-RAM
• 33% 0.7 3PM over 3 games
• 1.3 STL+0 BLK for every 2 Fouls

In the Montverde matchup, future Virginia Tech Hokie 6’5″ Forward Tyler Johnson flashed creative handles, tight ball control, transition tenacity, cerebral team defense, active hands for a passing lane deflection steal before a give-and-go layup, tough shotmaker on pull-up and catch-and-shoot threes, driving up-and-under finish at the rim through defenders.

The future UCF sharpshooter 6’6″ wing Cameron Simpson showed off his funky jump shot and feathery shooting touch throughout the tournament with 3 catch-and-shoot treys against Montverde and 2 pull-up threes against Brewster.

6’0″ point guard Jalen Reece pitched in against Montverde with impressive pull-up shooting, the stepback gather from three, the pull-up middy, spinning elbow fadeaway, with a nice wraparound pass for a corner catch-and-shoot three. When facing Brewster in the 3rd place, Reece showed he had the full-sprint-stop-on-a-dime elbow pull-up jumper down looking like Russell Westbrook, even hitting behind the back dribble fadeaways to create space for himself to go to work.

Shon Abaev
6’7″ Forward
Calvary Christian

• Tough shot-maker at all three levels
• Developable ball-skills with NBA height and length
• Tight handle, mastery of dribble moves
• Soft touch shooting as clean scorer with silky smooth jump shot as a pull-up threat

Shon Abaev shows off his full arsenal of ball-skills, body control, ball control, and scoring touch: the fake-drive stepback three; the fading in-and-out dribble stepback corner three over contests; the change-of-pace hesi fading FLOATA, splitting the trap defenders into a eurostep FLOATA through 3 total defenders; the leaning pull-up middy fadeaway; splashing in talls hot release middy fadeaways like a young Michael Beasley making every shot feel unblockable by falling away while taking it.

Shon Abaev may be getting buckets professionally for years to come. His shot release is hard to contest, and when he shows the ability to get to any spot on the floor, the shot confidence to rise up and fire, and the silky smooth shooting arc to drop in nothing but net shots from anywhere, there’s little defenses can do but send multiple defenders, and pray.

Guard Cayden Daughty, Shon’s teammate at Calvary Christian, also impressed with his natural feel in this game, creating a hockey-assist corner-kick three-pointer off a nice hang dribble revealing his handle, vision, and passing chops, while keeping active hands ready for a deflection and steal.

vs. Riviera Prep
Shon: 16 PTS on 7/13 FG – 5 REB – 2 STL
Cayden: 17 PTS on 7/7 FT – 3 STL – 3 AST / 1 TO

vs. Brewster
Shon: 16 PTS on 17 FGA – 6 REB – 7 AST / 1 TO – 2 STL – 2 BLK
Cayden: 20 PTS on 12 FGA

Rob Wright III
6’1″ Point Guard
Montverde Academy

• Two-way team-first floor-stretching playmaker who plays hard and smart for his size
• Traditional point guard with modern scoring creator skills, savvy connector, smooth 3pt jumper, tight ball control handles
• Hunts contact on drives for fouls, nice aggressiveness with the ball, tough shot-making on runners over tall defenders
• Gets up under players on defense, forcing offensive fouls, making opposition uncomfortable.
• Winning player, makes talented teammates better with natural point guard instincts that elevate an offense, makes the right play every play, looks for best shot for the team, hits open shots, high floor as floor-managing 3pt-shooting connector

Showing nice touch against Oak Ridge with the underhand bounce pass, the running FLOATA, and the catch-and-shoot corner three.

Smart movements, relocating here to the corner, up to the wing, attacking closeout with 0.5 second decision making, spin move footwork and clean finger roll finish to create easy layup for himself off BLOB set:

Good 3pt shooter on and off the ball

FLOATA King Rob Wright III has mastered one of the toughest shots in the game, a necessary one for a point guard attacking the rim with drop defenders who tend to be much taller and in the way.

Clutch scoring late for Montverde, runs Horns set with picks on both side of the ball, reads defense and finds good shot for himself to tie the game with just over a minute to play in the MAIT Championship game.

Clean contested dribble drive up-and-under reverse for Rob Wright without much room to operate:

Rob Wright III is as cool in the clutch as they come.

Montverde clears the entire side of the floor with a misdirection stagger screen for their 3pt threat McNeeley to distract the defense as Wright and Queen run a simple angle high PnR

Rob feels his first step advantage with the big man too high up, speeds past the dropping big for a finger roll layup.

Rob draws a charge on Dybantsa the next play before Flagg beats a press for a breakaway slam to seal the championship!
(Flagg blocks another shot and draws a foul with 5 seconds left for good measure before the buzzer)

Derik Queen
6’10” Center/Forward
Montverde Academy

• Overpowering NBA Size, Strength
• Mobile Rim-Protecting Rim-Rolling Lob Threat Play-Finisher
• Good footwork, handle, finishing touch, vision, timing
• Active Hands, solid defensive instincts to Deflect ball without fouling
• Questionable decison-maker with developable ball-skills, can be too forceful with a live dribble

vs Oak Ridge: 23 PTS on 11/15 FG with 11 REB – 2 BLK – 1 STL – 2 TO

Rim-deterrent against Oak Ridge contesting shots and forcing bad ones, despite a handful of plays of trying to do too much, Derik Queen throws down a couple of strong man putback jams. Queen flashed sound footwork and shooting touch near the rim on the spinning hook shot through traffic and solid timing on a late-possession block to prevent a 2-on-1.

Big rim-runners like Derik Queen, Aiden Sherell, Ryan Jones Jr. rated highly in At The Rim efficiency via Cerebro, as do wings who attack the rim Asa Newell, Cooper Flagg, AJ Dybantsa, Tyler Johnson, Tyran Stokes, Liam McNeeley; all in the Top-10:

One example of Active Hands in drop defense against PnR helps Derik Queen poke dribble away from the driver, Zoom Diallo, forcing a turnover.

Here’s an up-and-down sequence summing up the Derik Queen experience:

Opens the 2nd quarter with one big coast-to-coast Oreo cookies DQ blizzard to-go, where at first Queen shows off great timing and active hands by breaking up a bounce pass, once again forcing a turnover in PnR drop coverage, this time stunting at the ball-handler and falling back to guard the roller.

Queen’s ability to dribble the ball up the court is a positive, but when he forces the dribble through traffic, he makes the game more difficult for himself. Instead of setting up the offense, Queen spins into a tough fadeaway midrange jumper, and while creating this shot is no easy task, it’s certainly a shot the defense is okay with Montverde taking anytime.

Queen immediately sees his shot is off, timing up an offensive rebound by crashing the glass, resetting his footwork for the second jump, and putting back the layup in traffic.

Derik Queen’s size, strength, and instincts give him incredible advantages that should translate to the NBA level; focusing on perfecting what he does well instead of improving weaknesses outside of the role he needs to fill could help carve out a long NBA career, a two-way role in play-finishing and paint-protection. Developing ball skills to round out his game could make him more well-rounded, but learning and understand how and when to utilize these skills defines one’s feel for the game.

In a matchup against DME’s 7’2″ Center Thiam, Queen held his own in a size mismatch, flashing all of the ball skills and nice vision with a look-ahead pass, bringing the ball up, finding Cooper Flagg for an alley-oop, drilling a pull-up middy, and blocking a shot at the rim with good ball instincts, anticipation, timing.

Queen finds an open spot against the 2-3 zone, parks, catches, turnaround baby hook bucket:

Queen flashes baby hook shot prowess, and has good patience, timing, and footwork in the post, but can find himself in situations where a loose handle moving in traffic can lead to a turnover, tough shot in traffic, or offensive foul; one or two plays of trying to do too much outside of his current skill-set. Other times, one can see good touch on plays like a high-low post-entry pass out of double drag, but just as often negative possessions seem to occur from unforced errors.

A shot-creating point guard ala Chris Paul to Deandre Jordan back on the Lob City Clippers or Luka Doncic to Derrick Lively today could unlock and maximize Queen’s full skill-set as a rim-protecting rim-running play-finisher with soft hands, creating a positive feedback loop where the big man is rewarded on offense for his effort and tenacity on defense.

Curtis Givens
6’3″ Guard
Montverde Academy

• Smooth 3pt jump shot streaky scoring on and off the ball
• Clean finishing skills at the rim, middy pull-up game
• Runs pick-and roll and pushes pace quickly looking to score first and create second
• Tight ball control, good handle, sound body control, effective decelerating drives
• Nice timing, anticipation, ball instincts forcing turnovers on blocks and loose ball recoveries

Montverde’s Curtis Givens is a walking bucket with a reliable 3pt shot; the 2023 Hoopshall Classic MVP (13 PTS 6/8 FG 2 STL) shows good feel, handles, touch, speed control decelerating after burst to the rim, and good ball instincts timing up steals hopping passing lanes. In this year’s Hoopshall Classic Title Game, Curtis added a clutch shot in the final minute.

Against Oak Ridge, Curtis dropped in an efficient 10 PTS (4/7 FG) – 1 STL – 2 AST/1 TO with a catch-and-shoot three, a soft touch finish finger roll running pick-and-roll, a tough same-side reverse on the drive, good body control throughout with the start-stop layup, active hands and nice timing to jump a passing lane for the steal.

A tough shot-maker on threes and near the rim, with good ball instincts and ball skills, Curtis Givens may remind fans of Tre Mann or Cole Anthony with his shot diet, shot release, silky smooth P&R north-south middy-to-deep pull-up score-first approach.

Off the handoff from Newell, Givens takes the half-step advantage to drive through the tiniest of creases in the defense, making a driving lane out of thin air for the clean contested reverse at the rim.

Newell crashes the glass for a second chance board, kicks to Curtis Givens, who pumps the three, fakes the pass, and attacks the closeout, beating his man and creating contact with the big for a bump and tough soft touch spinning reverse.

Nojas Indrusaitis
6’5″ Guard
Brewster Academy

• Great off-ball mover cutting, rim-running, relocating around the arc
• Brings 3&D impact as a guard
• Sound fundamental footwork, dribble moves, clean driver through traffic
• Good vision and feel
• Hustles for loose balls
• Anticipation, timing, awareness on team defense

11 PTS – 2/3 3P – 6 REB – 3 AST / 2 TO in 20 MIN vs Calvary Christian

Nojas makes a pro move eurostep finger-roll through traffic and diving on the floor for a loose ball steal, nice outlet pass lookahead vision to find Elijah Crawford for a smooth up and under, jumping a passing lane for a steal and breakaway slam

Smooth-looking jumper on the pull-ups with 18 PTS – 5 REB – 3 AST against Montverde in the Hoopshall Classic tournament.

Dwayne Aristode
6’7″ Guard
Brewster Academy

• Knockdown 3pt shooter can score on and off the ball
• North-South athleticism with defensive timing, first step burst, and natural hops
• Scoring versatility with up-and-under reverses at the rim, deep range 3PT shooting, and fadeaway middy pull-up
• Good handle using behind the back dribble and first step to create advantage on drive

21 PTS 4/11 3P 4 REB 3 AST in 26 MIN vs. Calvary Christian

Zoom Diallo
6’4″ Guard
Prolific Prep

• Explosive north-south guard
• Fast, strong, quick first step burst, notable athleticism
• Good footwork, deceleration body control
• Strong finisher through contact, switches hands on drives like a running back
• Shooting touch at and around the rim
• Smart player with good timing on cuts
• Nice vision and decision-makingas a passer

Diallo zooms by his opponents with ease, flying past defenders with elite first step burst, accelerating and decelerating with impressive body control, moving off the ball for swift cuts and north-south attacks.

Zoom doesn’t just fly by you; he drives through you.

Don’t underestimate the strength of a man named after a burst of speed, who shows sound footwork and impressive proprioception, with his ability to envision and execute his own graceful athelticism in movements through space.

Zoom Diallo accelerates in the sidelines-out-of-bounds play off a screen, staying in motion which maintaints an advantage in momentum for a strong drive into the up-and-under finger roll finish.

Winters Grady
6’8″ Wing/Forward
Prolific Prep

• Catch-and-shoot 3pt off-ball threat
• Knockdown off-ball shooter running off screens, movement shooter
• Solid feel to attack closeout with pumpfake and pass to find open cutters

Against Riviera, Winters splashed in 23 PTS on 6/8 3P in 25 MIN

Winters Grady shot 4/7 from downtown in the Hoophall Classic, running off stagger screens and relocating for C&S triples:

Mikey Lewis
6’3″ Guard
Prolific Prep

• High feel, smart decision-making point guard, knows where to be and where to find his teammates
• Excellent anticipatory timing feel and footwork for relocation threes
• Deep range off-ball shooting gravity
• Incredible vision dishing out catchable passes
• Soft shooting touch, tough shot making, finesse finishing at every level
• Midrange game with floaters and pull-ups
• Great all-around offensive game; size may present challenges defensively

In the Hoophall Classic championship matchup between Prolific and Montverde, the St. Mary’s commit tossed in a tear drop FLOATA, zipped passes ahead in transition and to cutters, and knocked down the pullup middy and catch-and-shoot triple.

Incredible AND1 FLOATA here as Mikey Lewis attacks Asa Newell’s closeout with a through-the-legs hesitation dribble, change of pace acceleration intothe bump and finish one-legged runner while falling away from the rim, just an impossible shot that #0 makes look easy.

Beats two trapping/ICE defenders in PNR swarming the ball with a lofty touch pass to the roller, Aiden Sherrell finishes the play strong at rim after a strong screen. Ball-handler Mikey Lewis sees the trap coming, backs up with one step to keep his dribble alive and buy time for the roller to beat the tag from the wing and be left open at the rim, then drops a dime.

Shows off relocation timing and displays footwork fundamentals for C&S threes, running around screens, staying aware of his location on the court and where the ball is at all times.

Aiden Sherrell
6’11” Center
Prolific Prep

• Good timing, anticipation, and ball instincts protecting the paint as a rim-deterrent without fouling
• Length, height, footwork effective for switching and drop defense
• Team-first mindset looking for best shot rather than forcing up bad one, finds shooter (#0 Mikey Lewis) for relocation handoff triple after rebounding own miss

Against Riviera: 12 PTS – 8 REB – 3 BLK – 1 STL 4/8 FG – 2/2 AST/TO

Sticks with his man in drop defense tagging the roller, help defense protecting the rim blocking Asa Newell’s second chance post-up shot and Rob Wright’s driving runner in PnR:

Moustapha Thiam
7’2″ Center
DME Academy

• NBA Size, Height, Strength, Length
• Sound post-up footwork fundamentals, hook shot soft touch
• Good two-way feel and team-first decision-maker
• Anticipation, timing, ball instincts as rim-protector

Montverde hosted DME Academy the Saturday night prior to the MAIT, where Moustapha Thiam, DME’s 7’2″ center who ranks 20th in his class and has committed to play at UCF, impressed with his anticipation rim protection skills, sound post-up footwork fundamentals, soft touch finesse finishing on hook shots on the block, and good feel making team-first reads.

Thiam combining his size, skill, and instincts could lead to a long professional career in basketball. On this play, he uses his size, anticipation, vision to make a simple yet clean high-low entry pass that not all big men have the touch to make.

Ryan Jones Jr.
6’8″ Center/Forward
The Rock School

• Off-Ball play-finisher, especially on cuts and as C&S 3pt shooter
• Team Leader, Volume scorer on good shooting efficiency
• Active deflector, yet fouls just as often

15 PTS 8 REB 3 STL 6/12 FG vs Oak Ridge

Rating 4th overall in impact in the tournament by Cerebro’s C-RAM, Jones scored off the charts with per game averages of 21 PTS (63% FG% ) on 2.3 3PM (50% 3P%) and 5 REB in 3 games, racking up 2 blk+stl for every 2 fouls. Ryan scored 27 PTS in a W over Imani Christian, showing his play-finishing abilities as a catch-and-shoot 3pt threat and cutting off ball to the rim.

Dante Allen
6’4″ Guard
Riviera Prep

• Volume scorer, tough shot maker
• Good 3pt shooter, sound defender, 3&D impact
• Soft touch on shots near the rim

Dante Allen impressed with two-way impact, hitting 37% on 3.7 3PM over his 3 games in the tourney.

Against Prolific: 23 PTS on 22 FGA with 5 REB – 4 STL – 5 AST / 3 TO

Against Calvary Christian: 17 PTS on 15 FGA and 4 3PM – 3 AST – 4 REB

Despite some smooth soft touch deep high-arcing FLOATAs for Riviera guards Allen and Myles Fuentes (21 PTS), the vision of Fuentes’ brother Mason (9 AST/5 TO), and sound rim-protection instincts from their center Gustavo Guimaraes Alves (4 BLK), Dybantsa’s Prolific Prep team pulled away late.

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Video & Stat sources: NBA.com(video), Cerebro Sports(data), Montverde Academy(film), Maxpreps(heights)

The post Scouting the 2024 Hoophall Classic Title Game & Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament appeared first on Swish Theory.

Teams: Montverde, IMG, Columbus, Brewster, and Sunrise Christian

Standout Players:

Cooper Flagg, Cam Boozer, Asa Newell, Elijah Crawford, Rob Wright, Darius Acuff, Donnie Freeman, Cayden Boozer, David Castillo, Elijah Elliot, Derik Queen, Jase Richardson, Liam McNeeley, Dwayne Aristode, Randy Smith

How many future NBA lottery picks can you spot in one photo?

Fun Fact, hoop heads: Jason Richardson and Carlos Boozer both have two sons currently playing for Columbus basketball; that’s two Richardson sons and two Boozer sons all on the same high school team in Miami, for those keeping track at home.

Feel old yet?

A strong-shouldered forward with feathery shooting touch like his NBA All-Star dad, the 6’9″ Cam Boozer quickly become a household name in draft circles as a Top-3 2026 prospect, with this Montverde-Columbus marquee matchup featuring another potential Top-3 prospect (in 2025), Cooper Flagg, just to name two of many exciting prospects in this contest.

Cooper Flagg’s game stretches the word ‘versatility’ to its limits. Doing it all on both ends of the floor, Flagg flashes elite touch, feel, and vision, a natural scoring creator constantly looking for the best shot for his team whether that be setting up shooters on drive-and-kicks or self-creating a good look for himself.

Boozer exploded in the second half, playing with more intensity and focus, powering through opponents, pushing the pace on lookahead passes, and gliding off ball for well-timed cuts, play-finishing rim-rolls, and in-rhythm pick-and-pop jumpers.

Asa Newell, a 6’10” forward who fills a rim-rocking rim-protecting rim-runner role creating vertical gravity for Montverde, shows incredible two-way potential with NBA size, length, active hands, and energetic motor that produces deflections, shot contests, blocked shots, and nasty highlight play-finishing moments throwing down highlight slams.

Rob Wright stepped onto the court Friday night ready to take care of business, not leaving the building until he had swished more FLOATAs for Montverde than every other player in both games combined that day.

Cayden Boozer, Cam’s brother, ran point to a tee, fulfilling classic playmaker duties with touch passes, highlight play feel, and good feel decisiveness on when to score and when to create for others.

Like his pops used to do, Jase Richardson flashes bouncy rim-rocking hops and soft shooting touch with a bucket-getting swagger, swishing high-degree-of-difficulty shots from a left-leaning elbow pull-up middy to a fadeaway AND1 FLOATA.

MVA’s Derik Queen stands strong and tall, overpowering opponents for boards and putbacks, muscling in rim-roll play-finishes, giving his all every play he’s out there. While the finesse footwork can come and go for someone who sometimes moves like a bull in a china shop, that backdown dropstep slam and counter-move hook shot can look effortless when it hits.

Frenetic energy, two-way feel, active hands forcing deflections, impressive start-stop body control for decelerating drives, and tough midrange pull-up shotmaking round out a high floor as a defender, playmaker, and shotcreator for Elijah Crawford of Brewster, a bulky yet zippy point guard who generally looks in full control on both ends when he’s not losing control in moments where it’s too late to hit the brakes.

IMG’s Darius Acuff came out with the win over Brewster, making shots in the clutch, cruising to a smooth 24 PTS – 4 STL – 4 AST afternoon where Acuff scored effortlessly from all three levels on driving contested finishes at the rim, pull-up and catch-and-shoot treys from downtown, and free points from the pinstripe.

Donnie Freeman, Acuff’s teammate, got plenty of buckets of his own for IMG, flashing all of the developable ball skills, good feel decision-making, and impressive timing for someone with legitimate NBA size, wingspan, and two-way impact. Prospects with the height and length to defend multiple frontcourt positions who show capability in every offensive area, who don’t hurt their team on either end, who flash on-ball self-creator upside tend to be the most coveted prospect types by pro teams.

Sunrise Christian Academy’s high-octane backcourt of division one commits Elijah Elliot and David Castillo pushed the pace early and often, creating big 4pt and 5pt swings with Elliot deflecting everything in sight, forcing turnovers off pick-six steals, and finding a leaking out Castillo for transition threes and fast break flushes.

Stats Analysis

To evaluate the stats from the Sunshine Classic’s standout players, we can utilize Cerebro Sports’ data to compare different impact metrics kept track by Cerebro, allowing us to visualize findings like the best Scoring Creators by comparing players’ pure scoring prowess (PSP) and floor general skills (FGS) to find high feel good decision-makers, the players who most consistently create the best looks for themselves and others.

Good play-finishing skills, two-way feel for the game, positive length metrics are always coveted in the NBA; developing plus-defense and dribble-pass-shooting ball-skills into reliable scoring versatility and two-way team-first impact can take a potential nba rotation player connector to the status of all-around star, seen by the rise of Tyrese Haliburton.

Which prospects can be relied on the most as offensive engines for team-first shot creation?

Cam Boozer and Donavan Freeman rate strongly here as both scorers and creators, in a similar range of output this weekend as Cooper Flagg and guards Rob Wright and Darius Acuff.

Elijah Crawford flashed elite playmaking skills setting the table, tied with Rob Wright for best floor general skills rating, as Liam McNeeley leads the group in scoring after a lights out shooting performance from downtown.

Zooming out, we can compare overall impact (C-RAM) and defensive statistical impact (DSI) to show the players who impact winning the most from the handful of games in the 2023 Sunshine Classic.

The visualization below graphs the most active defenders on the x-axis compared to overall impact on the y-axis, revealing how much the defense component adds up towards each player’s total two-way impact in these games.

Donovan “Donnie” Freeman stands out once again due to his instinctual defense and overall impact from efficient scoring at all three levels, impressive indicators for someone already donning NBA height and wingspan length.

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2023 Nike EYBL Scholastic Sunshine Classic Day 2 Standout Players

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#32 Cooper Flagg, 6’9″ Forward, Montverde Academy

vs. Columbus
23 PTS
8 REB
7 AST / 3 TO
3 STL + 2 BLK
9/17 FG – 5/6 FT
(31 MIN)

vs. Sunrise Christian
12 PTS
12 REB
5 AST / 0 TO
2 BLK
4/10 FG – 4/4 FT
(20 MIN)

vs. IMG
13 PTS
4 REB
2 AST / 3 TO
5/11 FG – 3/3 FT
(31 MIN)

Watching Coop Flagg hoop can only be compared to seeing a cartoon octopus chef cooking up breakfast in the kitchen.

With 8 legs at his disposal, this hash brown slingin’ mollusk can flip an egg, sizzle some bacon, grill the onions, boil a little rice, bake a tortilla, sprinkle on spices, grab the Cholula hot sauce from the fridge, and drizzle a little honey on the final product that is the perfected breakfast burrito, all at the same time.

How else can one describe Flagg’s swish army knife versatility from his defensive instincts to offensive malleability?

Cooper Flagg will defend a guard and switch onto a big before blocking a drive in help;
score off the post-up mismatch on the block with a spinning FLOATA;
break out for a coast-to-coast pull-up elbow middy;
ignore the screen for a driving up-and-under reverse;
push for a transition drive-and-kick 3pt assist;
crash the boards for a flyby putback slam;
pull-up for a fadeaway jumper;
deflect everything in sight;
score efficiently from the field and the line;
switch onto anyone and everyone he can find;
time up cuts, rebounds, and blocks with ease;
and make good team-first decisions with the ball.

The Maine Event will drill tough shots anywhere, anytime, with the ability to dribble, backdown, and pull up from any spot.

In the 2022 Sunshine Classic, Flagg posted the highest impact rating compared to his peers via Cerebro’s C-RAM (+10.7) after an off-the-charts defensive statistical impact rating of 119 due to averaging 3.7 BLK + 2.3 STL over three games.

A year later at the same event, Cooper posted a Top-5 rating with +9.0 C-RAM and 83 DSI rating, staying active defensively by averaging 1.3 BLK + 1.0 STL over those three games, posting 5 Stocks (STL+BLK) against Columbus alone.

Flagg rounded out his impact with good all-around team-first play, posting a below average 69/100 PSP rating as a scorer, yet showing good feel as a decision=maker with a 75/100 FGS rating and 74/100 ATR finishing, metrics via Cerebro Sports.

Montverde’s coaching staff matched up Cooper against Jase Richardson in the Columbus game, a huge length mismatch favoring Flagg, which locked up Richardson most of the night. Fans could see Jase visibly frustrated with Flagg’s go-go gadget arms swarming every move, but the opposing team making this part of their gameplan is out of respect for Richardson’s threat of sparkplug scoring and smooth shooting touch, even if it dares top prospect Cam Boozer to beat them.

Flagg constantly looks to set up his knockdown shooters like Rob Wright and floor-stretching wing #30 Liam McNeeley, who dropped 16 PTS on 4/4 3P in 22 MIN against Sunrise Christian and 20 PTS on 5/8 3P in 27 MIN against Columbus, flashing feathery touch as a knockdown perimeter shooter, posting an off-the-charts 110/100 3Pefficiency rating via Cerebro.

Measuring all the skills and two-way feel Cooper Flagg possesses can be hard to compare with so few players coming before him being as versatile on both ends of the floor, let alone one side of it; embodying the word versatility with super-deflector shot-swatting defensive superpowers balanced by a diverse offensive shot diet and table-setting desire to seek out teammates while looking for the best shot for his team, Cooper walks into the NBA as the ultimate modern plug-and-play player with sky-high two-way range of potential due to the combined sum of everything he already can do on the hardwood.

Andrei Kirlenko would serve as a fine example of the type of versatile big wing impact defender and team-first decision-maker Flagg could model parts of his game after, as the cerebral defensive playmaker carved out a long career locking down the opposing team’s best player in any position 1-4 while blocking, passing, switching, rebound-crashing, cut-timing and closeout-attacking drives with team-first vision to drive into the paint, draw defenders, and look to kick.

Cooper becoming a primary offensive scoring engine on top of that floor-stretching rim-running play-finishing talent could pave a lane towards future stardom.

#12 Cam Boozer, 6’10” Forward, Columbus

vs. Montverde
20 PTS
8 REB
5 AST / 8 TO
4 STL + 1 BLK
6/13 FG & 7/10 FT
(30 MIN)

A powerful yet graceful dancing bear 6’9″ forward who rocks rims on rolls through the paint, shows soft touch on the jump shot, looks ahead for outlet passes, and glides through defenses on off-ball cuts, Cam sure plays like a Boozer.

In the Montverde matchup, Boozer came out with more intensity in the second half, focusing on powering through people, showing sound handles on the ball, lookahead vision as a playmaker, and leaving huge impact as a rim-finishing play-finisher, even blocking a Flagg driving layup in help defense before finding his brother Cayden on the break off the turnover.

His outlet passes to jumpstart fast breaks were plentiful, even featuring a highlight coast-to-coast live-dribble behind-the-back dribble corner kick 3pt assist!

Boozer flashed all the developable dribble-pass-shoot ball-skills with strong finishing power and good off ball movement timing. This powerful 6’10” hammer who nails deep range jumpers projects to be an offensive force at the highest levels, excelling in similar areas to his NBA All-Star dad, while showing natural scoring creator tendencies for team-first shot creation.

Cam posted the 6th-highest overall impact rating in the event with 8.9 C-RAM, practically tying Cooper’s overall rating. Boozer was more effective as a scorer with a 79/100 PSP rating in the matchup, slightly more impactful defensively with an 87/100 DSI, while mostly matching Flagg in Floor General Skills and At The Rim effectiveness (75 FGS and 70 ATR)

Cam Boozer and Cooper Flagg sit atop future NBA Draft big boards for a reason; big wing/forward plus-defenders who can be relied on as halfcourt offensive creators, connectors, and play-finishers tend to be impactful winning basketball players.

The Good
Scoring at all three levels on and off the ball
Pick-and-pop, catch-and-shoot, relocation threes
Vertical gravity rim-running and well-timed paint-cutting
Drawing fouls with brute strength, sound footwork, solid handle
Clear vision, passing ability, grab-and-go playmaking chops looking ahead on fast breaks
Filling out the box score on both ends like a Shawn Marion or Aaron Gordon multi-faceted turnover-forcing play-finisher

The Bad
Losing control. Whether it be his own strength, the dribble, body and ball control at times – focused effort on spatial awareness, gaining the proprioception feeling of understanding one’s own body movements in space, could work wonders
First half lacked energy and focus compared to second half, but played opponent even from that point in a tough matchup

#14 Asa Newell, 6’10” Forward, Montverde Academy

vs. Columbus
13 PTS
5 REB
3 AST / 3 TO
1 STL
6/9 FG
(31 MIN)

vs. IMG
18 PTS
5 REB
1 AST
1 BLK
1 STL
8/12 FG – 2/3 FT
(24 MIN)

vs. Sunrise Christian
12 PTS
2 REB
6/9 FG
(16 MIN)

In the 2023 Sunshine Classic, Asa Newell ranks T-7th overall in Cerebro Sports’ comparative impact rating (+8.1 C-RAM), flying around to rack up blocks and shot contests while scoring efficiently by running the floor, posting an 81 PSP rating in Cerebro’s scoring measurement, finishing with respectable ratings as a defender (67 DSI) and at-the-rim finisher. (67 ATR)

Oddly uncredited for any blocks against Columbus, the 6’10” Asa Newell showed out with swarming defensive focus, active waving hands breaking up passing lanes, arms straight up deterring opponents from the rim, awareness deflecting everything in sight, even timing up shot contests from marquee matchup Cam Boozer to spark an early 20pt lead for MVA.

Montverde even scored instantly off the opening tip, as Asa Newell won the jump ball by tipping it forward for the easy 2-on-1 mismatch breakaway layup to strike first.

Offensively, Newell shows team-first decision-making feel as a connector, especially impressive for someone with his NBA-level height and length as a 6’10” big/forward with plus wingspan, like watching a young Larry Nance fly up and down the court.

Newell’s two-way impact as a big/forward was felt right from tipoff, never faltering throughout the night, with an early steal leading to the first of many Rob Wright FLOATAs.

One possession, Newell anchors the defense in the paint with back-to-back blocks, but is called for a foul on the second.

In the slowmo clip below, Newell shows sound backdown footwork fundamentals with the dropstep and post-move finish over Cam Boozer.

Time and time again, Newell would deflect a ball, break away on the outlet, and score easily and effectively running from rim to rim in transition, timing up off-ball cuts through the paint for dunker spot jams, and outhustling opponents off forced turnovers by beating them to their spots to spark those very same fast breaks with incredible body and ball control.

Asa Newell stays running the floor, moving defensively, attacking the rim on one end and protecting the rim on the other.

#1, Elijah Crawford, 6’1″ Point Guard, Brewster Academy

On 11/30 against Sunrise Christian, Stanford Commit Elijah Crawford went off from midrange and in the paint, creating pull-up jumpers and looks at the rim for himself while driving and kicking to teammates as a natural point guard scoring creator.

Elijah’s impact is felt on both ends every possession from a motor that never turns off.

vs. Sunrise
16 PTS
5 AST / 2 TO
6 REB
1 STL + 1 BLK
6/11 FG – 4/4 FT
(23 MIN)

The next day, Brewster’s Elijah Crawford energy stood out again in the early friday game against IMG.

While Crawford’s Brewster team lost the game down the wire, Crawford’s effort was felt consistently on both ends. The bulky 6’1″ point guard uses his strong size and zip-zap athleticism to make you feel him everywhere, every play, all at once.

vs. IMG
7 PTS
6 AST / 6 TO
5 REB
1 STL
(28 MIN)

Elijah Crawford will stop sprinting suicidies mid-game after the spinning top from Inception’s closing scene stops spinning.

Flying around both ends of the floor, deflecting loose balls with active hands while pushing the pace off forced turnovers, looking for teammates at every turn, Elijah stayed in full control of the game showing traditional point guard skills in a bulky frame and impressive start-stop deceleration, reminding one of explosive guards like Russell Westbrook, Baron Davis, or Deron Williams.

Plus-defender positive decision-making point guards carve out NBA careers, just ask Tyus Jones and his brother, Tre.

If Crawford had finished better at the rim, or if his receivers could handle high-speed passes a little better in the first half, his team could have easily pulled out the victory in a game so tight that every possession mattered. 

Elijah showed strong two-way feel for the game, reading and reacting well with good ball instincts, with great vision constantly looking to create for others, diming the pass of the day with the overhead two-handed lookahead bounce pass for the fast break flush, dishing a driving jumping skip-pass to an outside shooter across the court, hitting the dunker spot and roll-man with beautiful wraparound pass assists, and sticking with Acuff well at times defensively, making life difficult.

Controlling the game on both ends, Elijah sparks a 5pt swing sequence with a mean chasedown block on Acuff leading to a catch-and-shoot transition three for himself, drills an early tough pull-up elbow jumper after stopping on a dime like Westbrook on the coast-to-coast drive in transition, crosses up his defender in ISO for a gliding running hook, makes separation on drives, stays pushing the pace, and jumps passing lanes for deflections.

This dynamic two-way playmaker reveals great proprioception, flying around on and off the ball while mostly staying in control and aware of his own body’s movements, locations, actions on hesitations, cuts, drives, faking angles to attack gaps and create scoring opportunities for himself and teammates, perennially looking for the open man.

Crawford’s overall impact rating of 6.5 C-RAM was comparable to his IMG adversary Darius Acuff (6.6). Elijah’s strong playmaking skills were on full display, tying Rob Wright for the highest Floor General Skills rating of the event (77 FGS), as Elijah’s hustle could be felt throughout, resulting in a 70 DSI rating.

The Good – Strong point guard with great stop-start decelerating body control explosiveness, decision-making feel, vision and passing chops, feels like he’s impacting and in control of every play the entire game

The Bad – Makes it to the rim yet missing close layups, can slip out-of-control pressing the accelerator pedal too hard, throw passes with too much heat on them, sometimes leading to unforced turnovers on drives and passes. Focused practice could help develop finishing touch at the rim, deceleration controls for changing momentum, and softer passing touch.

Brewster’s #3 Dwayne Aristode produced all around, flashing good decision making, two-way feel and good timing while filling out the box score against IMG: 15 PTS – 13 REB – 4 AST / 2 TO – 1 STL (6/10 FG – 3/6 3P) in 30 MIN

Aristode’s play stood out on the stat sheet, posting a 67/100 rating defensively in Cerebro’s DSI, scoring a solid 77 PSP rate, shooting well from beyond the arc with an 84/100 3PEfficiency rate, and finishing in the paint with an 89 ATR rate at the rim.

Brewster’s #4 Nojus Indrusaitis showed clean shooting form finding his rhythm as a scorer knocking down 3/8 3P from downtown off ball screens and kickouts, breaking away for fast break flushes, staying active off the ball constantly moving around, looking for opportunities to cut, flash, and dish against IMG: 16 PTS – 2 AST / 3 TO in 31 MIN

Indrusaitis’ best ratings were found in a D&3 role, posting a 69 DSI rating and 64 3PE rating, via Cerebro Sports.

#5 Darius Acuff, 6’2″ Point Guard, IMG Academy | & | #10 Donavan Freeman, 6’9″ Forward, IMG Academy

vs. Brewster
24 PTS
4 STL
4 AST / 4 TO
8/16 FG – 4/6 3P – 4/5 FT
(29 MIN)

vs. Montverde
12 PTS
4 AST / 4 TO
5/16 FG

A self-creator rim-attacking traffic-weaving north-south force who keeps an eye open to create for others, Darius Acuff is a walking bucket, straight cash money shooter, here on a mission to put the ball in the basket.

Darius rated well amongst other starting guards in the tournament, rating 6.6 C-RAM overall. Acuff impressed across the board, with strong two-way impact as a plus-defender, clean deep range shooter, smooth individual scorer, and team-first decision maker; a true scoring creator who looks to set himself or teammates up with a good shot every time down the floor. Darius posted ratings of 72 PSP as a scorer, 77 DSI as a defender, 70 FGS as a playmaker, and 82 3PE as an efficient perimeter shooter, revealing impressive all-around winning impact as a connector who doesn’t get beat on either end.

Acuff is a phenomenal finisher at the rim, looking unstoppable driving through the paint as he avoids all the towering trees cars and logs flying at him like he’s George Costanza setting the high score on a pizza arcade Frogger with the perfect combination of Mountain Dew, Mozzarella, and just the right amount of grease on the joysticks.

Flashing good feel dishing to others, Acuff showed willingness to attack the rack with a scorer’s mentality, look for contact to draw fouls once there, and finish with soft touch or look to kickout, coming through in the clutch for IMG to go up 4 late in the game, twice, by splashing a triple and swishing two free throws to ice the game against Brewster.

Darius’ shooting touch stays on point with stepback swishes from deep, the free throw line, and the field, especially on finger rolls at the rim, though few if any floaters were made in the IMG-Brewster game by any player.

Team shot creation, individual scoring, two-way feel to force turnovers and create easy scoring opportunities in transition, with superb touch from the rim to beyond the arc, Darius Acuff shows real promise as a scorer, shooter, and playmaker.

#10 Donavan (Donnie) Freeman, 6’9″ Forward, IMG Academy

vs. Montverde
20 PTS
9 REB
3 AST
4 STL + 1 BLK
8/16 FG – 3/4 FT
(27 MIN)

vs. Brewster
16 PTS
12 REB
3 AST / 3 TO
3 STL + 1 BLK
6/8 FG – 2/3 3P
(31 MIN)

6’9″ forwards with grab-and-go mentality, realistically developable dribble-pass-shoot ball skills, and good two-way feel don’t grow on trees; Donnie Freeman makes winning plays on both ends with intriguing scoring creator potential on the ball.

Talents as promising as this tend to be some of the most coveted prospect types in the draft, like Devin Vassell or Mikal Bridges, players who have nearly every tool at their disposal. The development of these prospect types depends on the situation they end up in, like water bending to the glass that holds it or turtles only growing as big as their bowl lets them

Freeman posted the highest overall impact of the event with 12.5 C-RAM, along with off-the-charts defensive output of 110 DSI after racking up 7 steals and 2 blocks over a 2-game stretch. Donavan’s scoring effectiveness is noted in his 87 PSP rating as an individual scorer, 78 3PEfficiency rating as a floor-stretching forward, and 83 ATR as a rim finisher in the paint.

Not enough film was taken of Donavan Freeman, a legitimate NBA prospect with bankable aspects to his game that should translate to every level he reaches going forward.

It’s not every day a prospect as tall as Donnie can create his own shot, dribble on the drive, finish at the rim, stretch the floor from deep, and use his height and length effectively to be an absolutely disruptive defender.

Against Brewster, Donnie Freeman showed smooth scoring chops along with dribble pass skills, notable for his height, featuring a mean stutter rip drive and dribble drive rim-finishing capabilties.

After a great hustle play by #14 Felipe Quinones, #10 Donnie Freeman throws down a breakaway slam.

Right before that, Freeman pull-ups up for a clean middy.

Soon after, Donnie makes a good connector pass to the open man, and draws a foul on the floor, later hitting a contested catch-and-shoot triple.

6’8″ IMG forward #11 Khani Rooths shows tight handle for his size and strong rim-rolling vertical gravity finishing plays, too.

#1 Rob Wright, 6’0″ Point Guard, Montverde Academy

vs. Sunrise Christian
11 PTS
6 AST / 0 TO
2 STL
3 REB
5/6 FG – 1/2 3P
(15 MIN)

vs. IMG
11 PTS
5 REB
5 AST / 1 TO
2 STL
4/12 FG – 3/3 FT
(31 MIN)

vs. Columbus
18 PTS
5 REB
4 AST / 5 TO:
1 STL
6/12 FG – 2/5 3P – 4/4 FT
(31 MIN)

Some hoopers were just born to run point.

With 15 assists over 6 turnovers in 3 games, Wright racked up a pristine 2.5 AST/TO ratio, rounding out a good 77/100 Floor General Skills Rating via Cerebro’s playmaker metric. Grabbing 5 steals in this stretch helped Rob round out an 83 DSI rating, while he rated solid as an individual scorer at 69 PSP with soft finishing touch and a sound 70 3Pefficiency rate.

Whatever offensive role you need your guard to fill, Rob Wright is here to fill it.


Hit the roll-man off the handoff? No sweat.

Drill the catch-and-shoot corner three? Splash.

Step into a pull-up trey in a scramble? Easy breezy.

Attack the closeout with the shot, dribble, and pass? Fo’ free.

Swish floaters in pick-and-roll over drop coverage? Like it’s nothin’.

Hockey assist kickout to the open shooter three passes away? Here ya go.

The future Baylor point guard makes running an offense look easy, drilling threes and floaters off and on the ball, looking to create for others at all times, taking the open shot when it’s there and looking for the best shot for his team every time down.

Active hands, phenomenal feel, sound timing helps Wright break up passing lanes to force turnovers for steals.

Soft shooting touch on runners, catch-and-shoot threes, and pull-up jumpers with deep range on high efficiency from the line and downtown provide extremely promising indicators of future scoring success at every level.

Not to mention, he’s clearly a fan favorite of Montverde’s student section:

#2 Cayden Boozer, 6’5″ Point Guard, Columbus

vs. Montverde
10 PTS
4 AST / 3 TO
1 STL
3/7 FG & 3/4 FT
(22 MIN)

Big point guard, impressive playmaking ability, consistently looks to set up teammates.

Two-way feel with plus size and length for your position are bankable traits at ever level.

Great vision, nice body control, good decision-maker with crafty passing touch.

Cayden Boozer shot the lights out from deep with a 92 3PEfficiency rating on the night, flashing natural point guard skills even with a relatively low 62 Floor General Skills rating, and impressing as a defender with good size for his position helping force turnovers and generate a 70 DSI rate.

Watch him set up a pick-and-pop to big bro with the hook pass, hit the short roller with a smooth bounce pass, and then…

WAIT

WAS THAT A BOOZER TO J RICH JR. NBA STREET GAME-BREAKING DOUBLE ALLEY-OOP?!?

#4 Jase Richardson, 6’3″ Guard, Columbus

vs. Montverde
9 PTS
3 AST / 4 TO
1 STL
4/6 FG
(27 MIN)

Jase Richardson flashing smooth ball skills, especially as a lefty bucket-getter with soft touch tough shotmaking talent, impressed in feel for the game and as a a walking NBA Jam highlight machine, all similar traits to his father, the OG J Rich.

In an off-night from deep, Jase did his damage in the midrange and the paint, running off handoffs and screens looking to put the ball in the net.

Showing ball control, body control, vision and shooting touch on the driving spinning AND1 FLOATA, the elbow left-fading pull-up middy (off the stutter rip drive and kick from Cam Boozer), spinning into swishing runners, drawing fouls on bump-and-shoot drives, hitting teammates after drawing extra defenders, reveals scoring creator potential.

Columbus guard #3 Randy Smith made winning plays throughout, forcing steals, pushing pace, corner vision kickouts.

Randy’s two-way impact as a plus-defender forcing turnovers for a 78 DSI and knockdown shooting ability hitting at an 83 3PE clip didn’t go unnoticed, making plays to create scoring transition opportunities for his team.

(*Columbus guard Benny Fragula also made notable impact with his 7.1 C-RAM rating top-15 for the event in a 3&D role with marks of 88 3PE and 94 DSI.)

#25 Derik Queen, 6’10” Forward, Montverde Academy

vs. Columbus
9 PTS
5 REB
1 STL
4/8 FG
(9 MIN)

vs. Sunrise Christian
14 PTS
7 REB
3 AST / 2 TO
1 STL
6/7 FG
2/2 FT
(21 MIN)

Derik Queen posted the 3rd highest impact metric of the event (+8.9 C-RAM), revealing effectiveness as a play-finishing scorer (92 PSP), around the rim play-finisher (86 ATR), and active defender (69 DSI)

A hulk-like play-finisher with soft receiver hands to help catch post-entry passes and dunker spot dumpoffs, 6’10” big/forward Derik Queen brings uber athletic swarming energy, infrequently insane intensity, solid post-up footwork and nice hook shot touch.

For someone his size, however, racking up just 1 BLK + 2 STL against 10 personal fouls over a 3-game stretch is a red flag for defensive awareness and effectiveness at forcing turnovers without fouling. Utilizing sheer strength, sound footwork, active hands with better timing and less reaching could improve results.

Against Cam Boozer’s Columbus squad, though, Queen seemed to force things, losing control of power/handle/footwork, looking a little less coordinated in the post compared to cleaner paint production in the IMG matchup the night before, where Derik dominated the paint to the tune of 25 PTS – 13 REB – 1 BLK shooting 11/14 FG and 3/3 FT in 25 MIN !

#10 David Castillo, 6’1″ Guard | & | #5 Elijah Elliot, 6’2″ Guard
Sunrise Christian Academy

David Castillo
vs. Brewster
14 PTS
3 REB
1 AST / 1 TO
3/8 3P – 3/3 FTf
(23 MIN)

Kansas State commit David Castillo flashed knockdown floor-stretching duties with rim-running vertical gravity, outrunning the opponents over and over on fast break outlet opportunities, looking to score on quick pace

Castillo’s 84 3PEfficiency rate via Cerebro Sports reveals his catch-and-shoot knockdown ability, shooting 36% 3P% making 2.5 3PM over two games against Brewster and Montverde.

Elijah Elliot
vs. Brewster
7 PTS
6 STL (!!!)
4 AST / 1 TO
2/4 FG – 3/3 FT
(31 MIN)

FAU commit Elijah Elliot was everywhere all at once, flying around like a mad man forcing turnovers, pushing the pace, looking to find others on fast breaks.

Elliot’s 6 STL outing led to the 2nd-highest defensive statistical impact rating of the tourney behind Donavan Freeman, with Elijah posting a 102 DSI. Vision looking to create for others on display with a 72 FGS rating.

sources:

film, words, and data visualizations from @BeyondTheRK

data via Cerebro Sports

box score stats via mvasports.com
(https://mvasports.com/sports/national-interscholastic-basketball-conference/schedule/2023)

The post Scouting the 2023 Sunshine Classic appeared first on Swish Theory.

2024

Jayden Quaintance

I went into this camp as a strong believer in Quaintance’s skill set, and I left absolutely blown away. Quaintance has consistently been one of the best players in every single setting that he has played in despite being 15 years old during this past high school season. He was one of the best players with Overtime Elite this year, was an All-Star at the NBPA Top 100 Camp, and was an integral part of the USA’s FIBA U16 team this past June.

Quaintance is an absolutely dominant athlete. He possesses an unparalleled blend of movement skills for a 6’10” big and knows how to effectively use them on both ends. His agility for his size is something to marvel, as he is able to jolt side to side on downhill drives and defend well in space on defense. This agility comes together with his strong frame and upper body to give him excellent play strength, as he is able to aggressively bump defenders while moving downhill. Quaintance is able to switch between power and grace on his drives, as he can go to one or the other or a blend of the two depending on who is defending him. All of these miraculous tools are unlocked by his solid handle for a big, as he has consistently shown lots of comfort as a ball handler in big space. At times in this camp he even brought the ball up against full court pressure, and there were moments of him splitting double teams to get the ball across halfcourt. If he can continue to display comfortability with keeping his dribble against ball pressure from many directions, his half-court scoring ceiling would raise even higher, as handling high amounts of gap pressure and double teams can be a major struggle for many of the league’s best centers. 

Another skill that can truly unlock his full potential is his jumpshot, which is currently a work in progress. He only shot 25% from three (2.3 attempts per game) and 60% from the free throw line in Overtime Elite, but it is important to note that Overtime Elite uses an NBA three point line. There were times where Quaintance would set a ball screen and pop into space for jump shots, and it appears that he is truly trying to round out this part of his game. Another part of his game that will continue to be a work in progress is his screening and pick and roll game. Quaintance projects to be an elite roll man going forward, as he is a springy leaper with a big catch radius who already loves playing with downhill momentum. As Quaintance continues to get more and more reps, he will certainly pick up some pieces of screening minutiae, which will make him even more effective as a screener long term.

While Quaintance has immense offensive upside, his defensive upside may be just as high. Quaintance will carry a ton of lineup flexibility in the future, as he has the potential to play all pick and roll coverages and protect the rim in help defense. He is able to hedge with his agility and length, has the potential to be a good drop defender as he continues to learn positioning, he can backpedal when playing at the level of the screen, and he even has the potential to switch onto ball handlers. His movement in space is truly one of a kind for a young big, as he is able to contain drives and recover when he does get beat. Ground coverage is another incredible strong suit of Quaintance, as he is able to play help on drives and still close out to the perimeter without being out of the play. Quaintance blocked at least three separate three point attempts in the games I watched, including one play where he went under a screen and still jumped in time to block a pull-up three. 

The scheme versatility that Quaintance brings to teams is very rare, as he does not handicap lineups from running ideal modern schemes like other bigs often do. Quaintance can be a team’s defensive anchor and will adapt to his supporting cast, though he always will have the baseline of being an incredible primary rim protector. His load time as a leaper is unbelievably quick, allowing him to react quickly and to make it hard to throw his timing off. Speaking of his timing, Quaintance has showcased great jump timing in many settings, as he is able to jump second and still get up in time to erase shots at the basket. His length is certainly another factor here, as he is able to reach up and deflect shots with his very long arms. Finally, Quaintance is comfortable jumping off one foot or two feet, giving him elite potential as a roaming help defender and pick and roll defender. The league’s best help defenders often jump off of one foot while the best pick and roll defenders specialize in two footed leaping, and Quaintance is able to effectively do both.

Sam Springer

Despite Springer being unranked on all major recruiting outlets, he consistently looked like one of the better and more productive players at the camp. Springer is a 6’7” wing who possesses all of the traits that mid-major and even some high-major programs look for. He is an absolutely knockdown spot-up shooter, and had moments knocking down threes while trailing in transition. He can also hit shots from outside while creating from a standstill, though he often does not create much separation off the dribble. Instead, he specializes in off-ball play, whether that be through knocking down open shots, cutting to the middle of the floor for mid-range opportunities, or decisive off catch drives. He has a high set point on his lefty jumper, making this shot hard to contest when fading inside the arc. 

Springer also serves as a stabilizing player on defense, as he consistently executes his assignment while communicating every action. I would project him into a primarily off-ball role, where he can execute smart rotations while sniffing out actions all around the floor. I would not have Springer guard quicker guards, though he is a solid recovery leaper off of one foot in case he does get beat off the bounce. Instead, I would have Springer guard spot-up threats or even wings that prioritize strength, as Springer seems to be able to match contact on drives. His one foot leaping gives him another boost in low rotations, as this leaping style naturally minimizes load time, allowing the player to get in the air much quicker. 

Finally, Springer does lots of the little things that teams look for. He is a solid rebounder on defense and is always looking to throw outlet passes to teammates. His playmaking seems to be fairly anticipatory, though there were moments of him missing a help defender and turning the ball over. He also seems like a great teammate overall, as he was constantly uplifting the players around him and looking to get everyone involved. 

Dayton Williams

For my last eye-catcher of the 2024 high school class, I decided to go with 6’4” guard/wing Dayton Williams. Williams has lots of tools to build on right now, as he is a very lanky and flexible ball handler who can create advantages on a variety of drive angles. He makes wide drive angles work with his off-arm usage and ability to convert on scoop layups with his left, though there are times where I would like for him to take tighter driving angles. He is more than capable of doing this and did at times during this camp, though he seems to be a bit contact averse at times. This is a common issue among young basketball players, and I believe that this is something that will improve with age. Williams’ wide handle allows him to create tons of separation in an instant, and he seems to especially love the super wide left-right crossover. He seems like a very aware interior passer off of his drives, as he had great moments pulling help defenders out of position to free up teammates in the dunkers spot. Overall, Williams seems to have lots of driving tools to build on, though he is also extremely left-hand dominant on these plays. This is another common issue among young players, though it is one that many players have struggled to fix.

As for his outside shooting, he shot fairly well at the camp in the games I viewed, though it seems like results have been inconsistent in other settings. It seems that there is something to build on as he has a fairly high set point and a consistent follow through. His touch at the rim is also pretty solid as well, which is another positive indicator for Williams’ shooting going forward. Finally, his willingness to shoot off the dribble jumpers is another positive indicator for future success, as he has a fairly fluid pull-up when given space. 

On the defensive end, Williams is able to use his length to make plays that others can’t. His frame allows him to effectively play passing lanes while not being thrown too far out of position, and he seems very comfortable playing in rotations. He can occasionally deter shots with his solid one-leg verticality, which is fairly valuable considering he profiles as a wing or guard. Finally, he is an extremely active rebounder on both offense and defense, which is a skill that lots of schools are always searching for.

2025

Jasper Johnson

If you like creative improvisational ball-handlers that have no issues creating their own offense, Jasper Johnson is the player for you. Johnson is one of the more creative on-court prospects I have ever seen, as he is always trying something new to create a bucket. Whether that be an odd pick-up, a new step pattern, or a new way to get into his patented lefty scoop, Johnson is consistently successful with his creative on court style. Jasper is the master of unpredictability at the high school level right now, as he has a seemingly bottomless bag of counter moves and elite change of pace capabilities. Jasper’s touch is also something to behold, as he can be seen making logo threes or even lefty skyhooks. It must be pretty mesmerizing guarding him, as it’s impossible to predict his next move yet he is also so good that there is no way to actually stop whatever he decides on doing.

His shiftiness can be partially attributed to his lanky frame and ball control, as he has an extremely wide handle which allows him to shift defenders further out of the way. His ball control with his left hand is incredible, as he is able to quickly get into soft one hand scoops immediately after his final dribble. This ball control also helps him out on the perimeter, as he is able to execute essentially any move you can think of with ease. This frequently gives him access to driving lanes, but he also generates lots of pull-up shooting windows. Jasper has a smooth lefty jumper with a lower set point which allows him to effectively shoot from deep range. He can get into his pull-up off of a variety of moves, and he is comfortable using it after freezing his defender.

On defense, Jasper is capable of guarding wings and guards due to his long frame. His long wingspan helps him rack up lots of deflections, and he is adept at getting wraparound steals when he gets beat off the dribble. He is also a springy leaper which pairs well with his long wingspan, as he is able to rise up to erase shots at the rim on occasion. Jasper has lots of potential as a havoc creator on defense, though he may have issues with screen navigation going forward due to his frame. However, I believe he will be able to compensate with length and improved technique, which could make him a true impact player on the defensive end.

Azavier Robinson

Azavier Robinson was easily the quickest player at this whole camp. His incredible lower body flexibility allows him to get into explosive positions, and his first few steps allow him to consistently leave defenders in the dust. There are not many players at the high school level who are able to get lower on their drives than Azavier Robinson, which essentially allows him to duck under defenders to access difficult driving lanes. He is also amazing at decelerating, as he can immediately stop his momentum to generate more scoring opportunities. In transition, Robinson can shift his defender one way and blow by them within a blink of an eye. Robinson is a walking paint touch when you combine his quickness with his deep bag, which is extremely valuable as rim pressure automatically generates efficient offense. His drives always open up teammates for easy scoring looks, and Robinson has shown lots of comfortability with making flashy interior passes and kickouts. 

Robinson’s vertical leaping is also incredible, as he is able to fly off of two feet and convert shots at the rim. His hang time and body control allow him to create finishing angles that not many others can, and he is able to convert on these with a myriad of double clutch layups. Robinson tends to jump with a lack of mercy for his opponents; other players shy away from contact, whereas Robinson wants the contact. He wants to put his opponents on a mixtape, and he has been successful with this numerous times.
His jump shot is also something worth betting on, as he has extremely smooth mechanics and is very comfortable creating space for his shot. He has some advanced footwork patterns on his drives that allow him to get into clean stepback looks, and he seems to be comfortable shooting off the catch as well. His off catch drives have the potential to be absolutely lethal as time passes, as he is very comfortable getting into explosive positions with his back leg to attack closeouts.

Robinson is also an absolute pest on defense, as his elite core strength and lateral quickness allow him to stonewall drives from even the quickest guards you can find. He has extremely active hands on defense, and he is always looking to make a play on the ball. If he ever takes a gamble, he has the tools to effectively recover on this end to still make a huge impact. Robinson has incredible moments getting up off two to make plays on the ball, as he is prone to get a highlight block every once in a while. Robinson projects to be an immensely impactful point of attack defender at any level he plays at, as he has the frame and quickness to get around screens while having the lateral quickness and footwork to stay in front of drives.

Kaden Magwood

In one of the first drill segments I watched, Kaden Magwood’s confidence and energy immediately stood out. He was confidently going at everybody in this drill, as he would confidently take pull-up jumper after pull-up jumper. There was a point where he missed a tomahawk dunk in transition, dropped down and did pushups on his own volition, then in the very next rep he converted on that same tomahawk dunk attempt. Magwood didn’t look like he just wanted to be there, he looked like he wanted to dominate every matchup he played against.

Magwood is an amazing scorer from all three levels who can also make plays for his teammates off of his own creation. His creativity can be seen in all aspects of his game, as he is an extremely shifty ball handler with a super deep bag of moves to beat his defender. He has a very wide dribble style and loves using wide crossovers, which allows him to get to the rim or into his pull-up. He has a very high set point on his jumper, and he consistently gets lots of elevation in the mid-range. His jumper mechanics are very good for fadeaway jumpers, as the elevation and high release point allow him to shoot over defenders that play up on him. He is also a deadly accurate outside shooter, whether that be off the catch or off of the dribble.

Magwood is also a competitive defender who tries on that end, and he has the lateral movement to stay in front of his matchups. He could be seen consistently walling off drives and making a play on the ball. His lateral movements, hand-eye coordination, and tenacity should make him a strong point of attack defender at any level he plays at. He was also active in rotations and always making the right help defense play, though there were moments of spacing out a little bit. Regardless, Magwood should be a successful off-guard defender who can slide onto tough matchups when asked to do so, and I certainly trust him on this end especially when you consider his offensive output.

Trent Sisley

Sisley is another player who I was a bit familiar with going into this camp, and he certainly stood out in this setting. Sisley could be seen consistently making net-positive plays on both ends of the floor as a versatile forward, which is an archetype that I am a massive fan of. Sisley has an extremely adaptable offensive game as he can play a myriad of roles depending on his supporting cast. He has a great baseline of solid fluidity and touch, and he is a great player off the catch. He always has moments as an outside shooter, and he can hit easier looks off the catch or more difficult ones off movement. Sisley typically keeps the ball moving as well, and he can even hunt mismatches when given one.

His offensive game may have stood out to me first, but he is no slouch on the defensive end. At 6’8”, Sisley is a solid mover on defense and always makes the right rotations. He may not be the most explosive leaper, but he times his rotations well to deter easy shots at the basket. Sisley can effectively guard forwards, though I may not have him guard traditional centers just yet. He has the potential to execute soft switches in late clock situations or make all necessary low rotations, and I believe that coaches will be pleased with his skillset on this end.

Moving forward, I am a big believer in Sisley’s potential to run DHOs with pull-up shooting threats. He will likely be covered by forwards at the next level, and I can see a world where he can easily generate scoring opportunities by faking DHOs and driving by slower forwards. These looks can also lead to him getting open threes, as he can pop off the screen into open space. Overall, Sisley’s well-rounded game can fit on any team that he will play with and I would bet on him to have a long successful career in professional basketball.

Nicholas Randall

Coincidentally, Nicholas Randall profiles into a similar role as Trent Sisley as a versatile forward. Randall was probably Jayden Quaintance’s best matchup at the camp, as there were times that Randall could mimic Quaintance’s physicality to prevent him from getting easy scoring looks. Stopping Quaintance is no easy job, but Randall did about as good as anybody could. He is an impressive lateral mover for a forward, and he excelled in help rotations when playing as the low man. Randall is a good leaper with versatile takeoffs and can time up shots around the basket very well, allowing him to be a good strong deterrent. Whatever role a certain lineup may lack, Randall has the capabilities to step into most roles that he may be asked to play. 

On offense, Randall has a very scalable ancillary game. He does not need the ball to be effective, as he is able to shoot it from outside and cut to the basket for layups or dunks. When he is asked to handle on ball reps, he has the ability to put his shoulder into defenders on drives and can make shots with his soft touch. He is not the most flexible player in the world, but his straight line drives are effective and he can even pull-up from mid-range if given space. Finally, Randall is an improving outside shooter off the catch with clean and consistent mechanics.

Randall profiles into a role that has him setting screens, rolling to the basket, and occasionally making plays off the short roll. It remains to be seen how he will make plays in this area, though I think he has lots of potential to successfully execute winning plays in these situations. His touch should also unlock some scoring opportunities in floater range, and he also has the potential to pop into open space depending on the pick and roll coverage he is facing. I also expect him to be setting many off-ball screens, where he can easily slip to the basket for scoring opportunities or free up teammates for clean looks. Randall has a skill set that every team in the country covets, and I am fascinated to see which path his recruiting ends up taking. 

Austin Sperry

Like some of the other guards I have talked about throughout this piece, Austin Sperry exhibits incredible on-court creativity. Sperry is always using small nuanced movements to free up those around him, and he has many passing deliveries mastered. Behind the back passes in transition or over-head backwards passes to players roaming in the dunkers spot, Sperry is always making a play that leaves many fans in the stands speechless. This creativity translates very well over to his ball-handling, as he has many out of the box dribble combos to free up looks for himself at all levels. Ball control is certainly a marquee skill for Sperry, which shows up in his ball-handling and also his crafty finishing around the rim.

Sperry is also an amazing pull-up shooter who can get hot in an instant. He generates so much lift on his jumper, which lets him free up windows that may not otherwise be possible to shoot from. His shot is mechanically pure and he is able to get it off from range, and he has lots of potential as a movement shooter from outside. Another clear standout trait of Sperry’s is his great feel for the game which he always showcases on both ends of the floor. He has great scoring feel as he effectively gets to his spots, and his court mapping is truly incredible. His constant awareness and understanding of where the other nine players on the floor are at all times is a rare skill, and it helps him become a true master of offensive manipulation and unpredictability.

His feel also shows up on the defensive end, as he plays with a great anticipatory style and can make plays in a variety of different situations. His athleticism also stands out on both ends, as he is an explosive leaper and can cover ground effectively. This ground coverage helps him a lot on closeouts, where he also showcases his solid decelerative tools. Sperry’s combination of feel and physical tools gives him a solid foundation to build off of, and I am fairly confident in Sperry’s overall defensive development moving forward.

2026

DeZhon Hall

Despite being one or two grades below many of his counterparts, DeZhon Hall was a constant standout at this camp. Slashing guards have been a bit of a theme on this list, and Hall is a player who certainly fits into this criteria. Hall is an impressive downhill player in the halfcourt, as he has excellent stride length and overall burst. Deceleration is another strong suit for Hall, as he is able to hit the brakes on the end of his drives to throw off defensive timing. This deceleration carries over to his change of pace play, allowing him to reset drives and pull out some of the counter moves he has in his bag.

However, what truly unlocks Hall’s driving game is his ability to convert pull-up jumpers. Combining elite rim pressure and budding pull-up shooting gives the defense an ultimatum, where they essentially have to pick their poison when defending Hall. His shooting seems to be more streaky than consistent, as he constantly flipped between cold and hot shooting stretches. There were multiple times where Hall was dropping pull-up after pull-up which made him absolutely unstoppable, as when that shot is going you essentially are conceding free points either way. Shooting off forward-moving momentum is a struggle for lots of players, but this is something that DeZhon Hall seems very comfortable with. He is able to organize himself to get clean looks off the dribble, where he is extremely confident as a mid-range and outside shooter.

Defensively, Hall has the potential to be a positive player as a versatile guard defender and defensive playmaker. Hall had lots of moments at this camp applying high amounts of ball pressure, and his overall quickness allows him to do this. There are times where he will get beat off the dribble, but this ball pressure also naturally generates turnovers on less confident ball handlers. Transition defense is another strength of Hall’s, as he is able to make recovery plays on open breaks using his speed and explosive vertical leaping. 

Gabe Weis

Movement shooters with a combination of solid height and fluidity provide latent value in modern basketball, and every team is trying to get their hands on as many of them as possible. These players are typically selected high in the NBA draft due to their lineup versatility, as they often work to ease up the difficulties from other roles. In comes Gabe Weis, who seems to be one of the better players in this mold in the 2026 class. Weis’ combination of touch and self-organization off of movement is fairly rare, and this combination makes him an absolutely lethal movement shooter. When you also consider that Weis is fluid and coordinated enough to attack closeouts off the catch, it becomes easy to see his long term offensive potential. 

Adding onto his impressive offensive arsenal, Weis is a legitimately skilled shotmaker inside the arc, as he is comfortable hitting fading jumpers or floaters. These shots help open up easier drives for Weis, where his impressive stride length and touch finishing allow him to get all the way to the rim. There are moments of improvisational counters from Weis, which is another sign of incredible upside on the offensive end. Playing in a fast paced system could help unlock Weis’ full offensive skill set, as more transition play will help him get more open looks from outside but also easier drives against crossmatches.

Weis is kind of a jack of all trades type of player on defense, as he combines solid length and athleticism with good feel. Teams that covet tertiary rim protection and length will appreciate Weis’ skill set on defense, though I could see a world where he is miscasted into other roles on other teams. I would not have Weis on a player that comes off many screens, as many players with Weis’ frame often struggle to get around screens and effectively lock and trail moving players. Weis should prioritize help defense at the nail, low rotations, tagging roles, and occasionally stopping dribble drives from primarily spot up wings or forwards. 

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