This new approach has been interpreted by many as an abandonment of the high school athlete, it’s as though college programs are openly saying, “why recruit an 18-year-old unknown when there are reliable veterans available?” And while some teams may subscribe to this thinking, in reality, it’s a deeply flawed approach and ultimately the wrong takeaway from this era of college basketball. The two most recent national champions, for example, both featured relatively unheralded freshmen in Thomas Haugh from Florida and Alex Karaban at UConn, both of whom made significant contributions to their title efforts.

Both teams recognized the futility in basing their recruiting strategy on the number of stars a player had next to their name. With the level of roster churn in college basketball, finding freshmen who could fit their system and adapt to whatever shape the roster takes year over year was the winning formula in today’s age. With this in mind, I made it my goal to write about players who stood out not solely because of their tantalizing upside, but because of their proven ability to contribute to winning. By analyzing stats and film from the three major grassroots circuits, here are 6 players I believe have the biggest standouts of the grassroots season so far.

Class of 2026

Anyone familiar with my writing probably understands that a good deal of my evaluations heavily feature statistical analysis, which leads to higher quality work but probably doesn’t make for the most riveting reads. In the interest of engaging the reader, I present the table below. For context, 4 of 5 players below were one-and-done bigs, and one is a big man in this current class – based on these statistical profiles, which player would you prefer?

Now for the reveal: players B-E were all top 20 picks after their freshman years, and player A is 7’0″ Guinean center Arafan Diane.

Arafan Diane: A Modern Throwback

Rankings (As of 7/10/25)

• ESPN: 34
• ON3: 22
• 247: 15

Arafan Diane is comfortably the highest-rated player included in this article and has been one of the biggest risers in the 2026 class this summer. Diane first caught my attention playing for the Guinean team during the 2024 U17 World Cup; his combination of size, strength, and soft touch set him apart from other bigs at the event. Although Guinea were decisively beaten by Spain in the Round of 16, I’d designated Diane as a player to watch. For a big at that age, even demonstrating infrequent flashes of coordination is notable, and Diane displayed reliable touch around the basket and from the free-throw line, where he shot 73.8% on 42 attempts. Despite my optimism, I would not have predicted that this would be Diane’s worst outing over the next calendar year, and the World Cup would mark the beginning of Diane’s rapid ascension towards the top of the class.

Diane’s improvement across the board this year has been staggering. Arafan still doesn’t have the most expansive repertoire of post moves and he’s extremely reliant on getting to his right-hand, confining him to turning around over his outside shoulder on the right block and his inside shoulder on the left. But Diane’s ability to apply physicality and create finishing windows has grown immensely.

Take the clips below, for instance. About a year ago, if Diane didn’t receive an entry pass directly over the block, he’d have significant struggles backing his man down and elevating through contact. Diane was obviously still a BIG player at the time, but not necessarily the strongest.

Fast forward to roughly a year later. If Diane was denied a deep post-entry, he could make the catch in the short corner and back his man down into the basket. The patience with his footwork and balance on these attempts is a night-and-day difference.

I’d referenced the lack of counters currently available to Diane, but the few options Diane had shown an affinity towards have also gotten much sharper. On the right block, if Diane couldn’t get to a hook shot over his outside shoulder, he’d typically spin baseline. In the first possession of this clip, you can see how that move would typically lead to disaster, but by the end of Diane’s high school season he could spin baseline, process the help, and decelerate quickly enough to create a clean look at the rim.

In the second possession of that compilation, Iowa United ran ‘Flex‘ action, which was a staple of their playbook during both their prep and AAU seasons. Over the year, Diane grew comfortable making reads out of this play and generally recognizing help off his post-ups.

Maybe the most consequential development for Diane’s game has been his improved conditioning and the impact it has had on his mobility. Comparing the clip below exemplifies how much more dynamic Diane has become. From laboring in the to complete the press break in the first clip to confidently driving off the DHO keeper in the second clip.

Becoming better conditioned has provided Diane with a wealth of easy baskets from just running the floor. In the following play, Diane beats incoming SMU big man Jaden Toombs up the floor for an easy dunk, and Toombs is undoubtedly one of the best defenders in the country!

Continuing to work on his conditioning could put Diane in an incredibly rare class of big men. It may sound like hyperbole, but there simply have not been many players in the modern history of the NBA who possess Diane’s size and movement skills. This February at this year’s Basketball without Borders Camp, Diane measured in with a 9’4.5″ Standing Reach and weighed 313 pounds. Using Mark C’s Draft Combine App, I found all the players who had recorded similar numbers at the Combine and listed them below.

The fact that Diane is comfortably the youngest of these players and is still within striking distance athletically bodes well for his translation to the next level. But the department where Diane could stand to improve the most is definitely his lateral movement. Arafan’s limited backpedaling and change of direction are preventing him from being an impactful rim protector; correcting these issues and erasing reps like the plays below could be what separates him from the rest of the big men in the 2026 class.

Overall, though, I have little doubt Diane will walk into college as one of the best offensive bigs in the country. The aforementioned physical tools and touch give him such a strong foundation on this end. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Diane is shooting at a decent volume from the midrange or even from 3 by the time his freshman year comes around. Outside of his stellar free-throw shooting, Diane routinely hits these high-degree-of-difficulty touch shots…

…which is a common sign for latent shooting potential. However, even if the shooting doesn’t immediately materialize, the strides Diane has made in such a short time easily qualify him as one of the 10 best prospects in the 2026 class.

Colben Landrew: The Prototype

Rankings (As of 7/10/25)

• ESPN: 68
• 247: 62
• ON3: 71

When I think of national recruiting sites’ perception of Colben Landrew, the first and only word that comes to mind is ‘confusing.’ Before getting into the details of Colben Landrew’s game, if I were to tell you a player had posted these kinds of numbers…

…had just been named the player of the year in the highest classification in Georgia, all while standing 6’6 in shoes with a 6’11 wingspan, you would also probably find it hard to believe that consensus opinion amongst industry experts is that there are at least 60 players better than the player I had just outlined. But therein lies the rub with Colben Landrew, who, in my opinion,n is without a shadow of a doubt the most underrated player in the class of 2026.

The reasoning behind titling Landrew’s section ‘The Prototype’ is that, as it stands, I cannot think of a single team at any level who turns down a wing with Colben Landrew’s skillset. Per Cerebro Sports, Landrew has shot 39% from three (200 attempts) and 77% from the line (122 attempts) over the past two years. A sterling shooting resume for any high school player, never mind one of Landrew’s size.

But what’s especially enticing about Landrew’s game goes well beyond being a wing with shooting touch and defensive chops; Landrew’s game is much more in step with what is increasingly being demanded of wings, namely that they create their own shot.

Similar to the dynamic mentioned with Arafan Diane, Landrew’s high school (Wheeler) and AAU team (Game Elite) are not too dissimilar. In both settings, ’27 guard Kevin Savage, a fantastic player in his own right, runs the show, and Landrew is deployed more frequently as a forward than a guard. Instead of running a high volume of PNRs, the plays typically called for Landrew are ‘Pistol’ and variants of it, such as ‘Pistol Miami‘, both of which can be seen below.

Or Landrew will operate out of ‘Horns’ alignments where he’s adept both driving to the middle of the floor and making reads, or being the trigger man for sets from the elbow.

And while Landrew has been effective out of these playtypes and as a complementary offensive player in general, I think this utilization has somewhat masked, or at least muted, how high-level of a creator he is.

Of the 826 possessions Synergy has logged for Landrew, only 6% of them consist of PNR Possessions. Considering how gifted Landrew is as a ballhandler and driver, this is not a trend I expect to continue wherever his next stop may be.

What gives me confidence that Colben Landrew will become a featured ballhandler at the next level is how effective he already is creating without a screen. The lack of PNR reps in Landrew’s career to date has forced him to create against set defenses often, and even under these difficult circumstances, Landrew has routinely risen to the challenge. Although Landrew doesn’t have the most electric burst, he’s constantly changing speeds, is always the first to initiate contact on drives in order to keep his defender off-balance, and has the vision to find his teammates when he collapses the defense.

Unlike the majority of players his size, Landrew thrives navigating tight spaces, his ability to stop on a dime and create driving angles out of nothing is truly an outlier skill within the class.

Circling back to Landrew’s stat profile from the beginning of the section, his free-throw and dunk rates have surged this year in large part because of the advancements he’s made athletically and as a ballhandler. The aforementioned ability to decelerate in concert with the threat of Landrew’s pull-up jumper and his overwhelming strength as a ballhandler should see his foul-drawing translate in virtually any setting.

This skillset makes Landrew uniquely qualified to take on a much greater diet of ballscreen actions, and judging by the limited sample we do have available, he will handle this responsibility well.

Terrence Hayes Jr.: Utility Guard

Continuing with the theme of profiling players where the perception doesn’t match the production, there may not be a more underappreciated ’26 in the country than the 6’2 Gary, Indiana, native, Terrence Hayes Jr.

Rankings (as of 7/10/25)

• ESPN: N/A
• 247: N/A
• ON3: N/A

The fact that the buzz around Terrence Hayes Jr.’s recruitment hasn’t at all reflected his level of play this summer isn’t necessarily the biggest surprise. Hayes’ game is unique, and doesn’t exactly resemble what many evaluators associate with elite guard play. For Indiana Elite, Hayes’ backcourt partner Luke Ertel handles a lot of the traditional point guard duties, consensus 5-star wing Anthony Thompson demands his own touches (for good reason), and Hayes is asked to fill in the gaps.

For the majority of scouts and coaches who watched Indiana Elite, I’m assuming they saw a smaller player playing off the ball in a complementary role and immediately wrote him off. Conventional thought dictates that in order to play basketball at a high level, a guard needs to be proficient in the PNR, and any player incapable of running a high volume of ballscreens at the high-school level doesn’t deserve serious consideration. That line of reasoning is not only antiquated, but in Terrence Hayes’ case, extremely wrong! What makes Hayes a special player and the kind of guard who should be the MOST sought after is exactly what many probably see as his greatest weakness. That Hayes drastically impacts the game WITHOUT needing a heavy diet of ballscreens is exactly what makes him special

For starters, Terrance Hayes (#10 in the clips below) is an ELITE rebounder for his position; as I write this, he is averaging 2.4 offensive rebounds per game. Hayes’ timing, willingness to play through contact, and exceptional leaping separate him from the majority of guards on the glass.

Hayes’ activity on the glass helps mitigate any limitations he may have as a spacing threat at the moment. But when Hayes is placed on the ball, he utilizes a dynamic first step to get downhill — he’s especially effective rejecting ballscreens and consistently kills ICE coverages.

Even with Hayes’ inconsistencies as a shooter, he has no issues creating in the halfcourt when his drives are walled off. Shooting 45.6% (21/46) on non-rim 2s, Hayes has reliable scoring counters when he can’t get all the way to the rim.

Another grassroots scout described Hayes’ approach on the defensive end as ‘he plays with a mean streak’, and I don’t think there’s a more apt description for Hayes’ style. Despite having a thinner frame, Hayes will frequently switch onto larger guards or frontcourt players and oftentimes dissuades them from attempting to exploit the ‘mismatch’ with his quick hands.

With Hayes’ athleticism and situational awareness, he’s able to make plays from all areas of the court and in a variety of roles. Off-ball, Hayes’ presence turns driving lanes into danger areas for opponents.

The intersection of downhill explosiveness and ballhawking ability on defense allows Hayes to make the most of the havoc he creates on defense. There are only a few players who can keep up with Hayes in the open court and the steals he accrues are consistently converted into points.

All in all, while he is not without his flaws, Terrence Hayes Jr. embodies what should be considered above all else when it comes to evaluating guard talent. Hayes contributes to the possession battle on both ends of the court, and to a degree where I struggle to see him not being a significant contributor at whatever level of college basketball he decides to play.

Class of 2027

Jalen Davis: Changing of the Guard

Rankings (as of 7/10/25)

• ESPN: Unranked
• 247: 34
• ON3: 44

When I first saw Jalen Davis play a little over a year ago, and went to talk to others about his game, someone had told me he was ‘laconic’. And I was extremely jealous because there really wasn’t a better way to sum up his game, on the court Jalen Davis is all about getting to the point.

Through his first two years of grassroots basketball, Jalen Davis has been ruthlessly efficient, and the numbers reflect his playstyle.

To contextualize how impressive Davis’ scoring has been, below are the only players across the three major shoe circuits to score over 20 ppg. Davis is tied for 3rd in scoring, and on comfortably the highest efficiency.

But, closer examination of each player’s playtype distribution would show Davis is scoring in a much different fashion than his peers.

What’s behind these numbers makes Jalen Davis such a dynamic offensive threat, and a player whose game is uniquely tailored for the next level.

The foundation of Davis’ offense is his jumpshot. Possessing pristine mechanics to match the stellar shooting indicators, Davis is 92.6% (101/109) from the line in AAU so far. Additionally, Jalen’s process on the catch is fat-free: there’s almost no unnecessary movement or clock wasted pounding the ball.

Davis’ team frequently calls ‘RAM PNP’, where Davis receives a down-screen before setting a ballscreen which he may ghost depending on the coverage. In the plays below, Davis’ defender lingers on the ballhandler (or miscommunicates the switch) and Davis pops for the 3.

Eventually though, defenses adjust, and when it comes to high-caliber shooters, their default response will be to run shooters off the three-point line. What makes Davis such an exciting offensive player is how consistent his decision making is in these situations. Where high school players typically fall apart, Davis thrives. Despite being just a high school junior, Davis is already reading closeouts at a college level.

Overall, Davis’ halfcourt offensive refinement is well beyond his years. Beyond the efficiency, Davis is deployed in a variety of actions and his comfort toggling between playing on- and off-ball is a trait shared with the best offensive players at the next level. Whether Davis is running ‘Zoom‘ action…

Or asked to ‘Replace the Roll‘

Davis’ description is beyond that of just ‘primary ballhandler’; he’s forced to problem-solve in every area of the court and answers the call to do so consistently.

Jalen Davis’ feel for the game is rare without mentioning his defensive impact. Almost more impressive than the number of steals he acquires is how controlled Davis’ aggression is. Boasting a Stock (steals + blocks) to Foul ratio of 4.7 Stocks to 1 Foul is incredible. Even accounting for the amount of zone Davis’ team, Beauchamp Elite, runs this is a level of mistake-free defensive production I have yet to see from another player Davis’ age. Plays like the one below exemplify how decisive Davis can be when he sees an opportunity to take the ball from an opponent.

To put a bow on it, the past two summers Jalen Davis has put together is unequivocally one of the best two-way resumes in the country. Anyone with this shooting ability or defensive instincts alone would make for an impressive prospect. Pairing the two together places Davis firmly amongst the names to know nationally in the 2027 class.

Isaiah Hill: Rim Protector+

6’11 big Isaiah Hill has been among the most dominant rim protectors regardless of class, and possesses shot-blocking instincts and discipline well beyond his age. Hill currently leads all EYBL age groups in total blocks, and no matter where Hill is positioned he has the range to defend the rim from various areas of the court.

A major differentiating factor between Hill and his peers at the position is the coverage versatility he’s already shown at such a young age. Hill is fluid enough on the perimeter to play at the level in ballscreen coverages, disrupting the timing and comfort of opposing ballhandlers while preventing the offense from generating downhill momentum.

At this stage Hill seems to actually relish the opportunity to play on the perimeter defensively. Take the plays below, for example. Hill trusts himself to recover to the ballhandler, not overextending which would allow a mismatch to form.

Patience is a common theme of Isaiah Hill’s defense. It’s rare not only compared to his contemporaries, but relative to all highly regarded big-men of the past few high school classes.

As you can see, Hill is not only the most prolific shotblocker in this group of highly recruited bigs, but also has the third best Block/Foul ratio of the group. Being the least mistake prone rim protector while accumulating the most blocks is an extremely rare combination.

Hill’s comfort on the perimeter is noticeable on the offensive end as well. He’s comfortable stringing together multiple dribbles on drives to the rim when the opportunity presents itself.

There are subtler indicators of Hill’s coordination for the position, like the play below, where Hill seamlessly transitions from securing a pocket pass to finishing on a roll to the rim.

And perhaps most intriguing in Hill’s offensive game is his willingness to shoot from three. Hill currently boasts a robust 0.38 three-point rate, and while the efficiency isn’t particularly stellar he has projectable shot mechanics.

As the AAU season comes to a close, I can’t help but think Isaiah Hill was one of the biggest snubs from the USA U16 Americas team. A center with his size and skill is exceedingly rare, and when you account for him being one of the youngest players in his class (will not turn 16 until August), it becomes abundantly clear that few players share the long term potential of Isaiah Hill.

Carson Crawford: Keeping it Simple

Of all the players covered in this article, none have undergone a bigger improvement over the past year than 6’7 Orange Park wing Carson Crawford. A quick look at Crawford’s stats will verify as much:

What’s made Crawford’s leap so impressive isn’t any particular isolated skill improvement, as you can see Crawford hasn’t exactly exploded as a three-point shooter. It is that Crawford has become an expert in getting opportunistic buckets. Crawford seldom has his number called, as per Synergy over 75% of Crawford’s offensive possessions consist of Transition, Cut, or Putback buckets.

The sequence below is an apt representation Crawford’s role and how he has, in many ways, become the lynchpin of a Florida Rebels team with the second-best point differential in EYBL’s 16u age group. Crawford gets the helpside block on the defensive end, runs the floor, and finishes the dumpoff pass on the other end.

Unlike most dynamic wings his age, Crawford is perfectly content doing the dirty work on both ends. Currently sitting second in all EYBL age divisions in double-doubles with ten, Crawford is relentless on the glass and frequently finishes his offensive rebounds with putbacks above the rim.

But again, Crawford is a selfless player and doesn’t hunt offensive rebounds solely with the intent of scoring. Crawford subscribes to the Houston Cougar’s school of offensive rebounding — when he cannot secure the rebound for himself Crawford will tip out the ball just to keep the possession alive.

As with any wing though, what will ultimately determine Crawford’s offensive ceiling is whether or not he will develop into a reliable spacer from the 3-point line. At the moment, Crawford doesn’t have a significant three-point rate, but his consistent touch from the line (over 70% for his career) along with the comfort from the midrange…

…bodes well for him eventually developing into a consistent shooter from deep. Even without being a volume shooter, Crawford has been one of the most productive players in his age group, and I do not see this changing no matter how long it takes for his three-point shooting to materialize.

Conclusion

With this being the first installment of my grassroots series, I want to again reiterate that this isn’t a ranking or a pro projection, but rather I wanted to spotlight players who should be highly sought after because of how they contribute to winning. The combined team record of the players covered in this piece is 67-17, as, regardless of the holes in each player’s respective game, they’ve shown an aptitude for contributing to team success. And because of this, no matter their current ranking, each of these players is currently underappreciated.

The post Swish Theory Summer Standouts: Names to know from the grassroots season so far 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.

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.

You don’t have to look very far back to find examples of ill-fated pre-draft college seasons resulting in incomplete evaluations come draft day. How many teams regret passing on Jalen Duren and AJ Griffin just one year later? My guess would be quite a few. College basketball is great, but it’s limited. A season really only offers one context, from role to health or surrounding talent. Every cycle we talk about how context matters in projecting forward future NBA roles, so it would make sense that seeing prospects in additional pre-draft contexts gives a clearer picture. 

The only issue with that is, where do you even start? Pretty much every prospect plays high school basketball, but only some of those games come on TV, and some of those games are in the Overtime Elite league, which is like high school, but also not, but also has some actual high school teams playing in the league. 

Then we get to grassroots basketball, more commonly (and I think incorrectly?) referred to as AAU. There are three major shoe circuits, with each having their own events throughout the summer and a few inter-circuit events sprinkled in along the way. On top of the enormous amount of teams scattered across multiple leagues, team rosters and jersey numbers can be more difficult to find than you expect.

All in all, those hurdles make the prospect of scouting pre-college basketball feel a little unapproachable. As I began my yearly summer catch up this year, I figured it was time to finally, truly, dive straight into the wilderness. The result has been a newfound love for youth basketball, though that did come with a few hurdles along the way.

The goal of this piece is to help people who are looking to understand youth hoops find it all a little less overwhelming, while hopefully helping you skip a little legwork. We’ll go through a few of the things I think are foundationally important to understanding the general landscape, and a few helpful resources for when the process becomes confounding.

High School Basketball

At its most basic level, high school basketball is pretty straightforward to understand. The vast majority of schools look a lot like the schools the general public grew up in, large student bodies and a competitive sporting environment. The difference between public and private school in basketball terms is about the same as it is in the real world: they are very similar, with private schools having a few more (financially driven) opportunities.  

The biggest private schools play their own national circuit, NIBC, as a way of garnering greater national exposure. The highest end private schools are littered with NBA talent, but teams like Duncanville, Camden and Wheeler are public schools with three of the best prospects in the class. Top flight private schools or academies have a competitive advantage in their depth and national presence, but the high end talent is relatively spread out over both public and private schools.

Full games are generally easier to find for high school vs grassroots, though the bigger academies like Link or IMG have an embarrassment of riches in that department. For public schools, almost every district has a team that records every game to put on YouTube. If you are lucky, that team has prospects, and now you’ve lost an entire evening to the doldrums of AAAA North Texas high school basketball.

GEICO High School Basketball Nationals

The GEICO Nationals tournament is the best of the best, consisting mostly of private basketball academies like Sunrise Christian and Montverde. Public schools are able to receive an invite, but laws differ from state to state regarding public schools playing national competition or against private academies. 

As a general rule, this is the high school basketball holy grail. At no other event will you find such a dense collection of NBA talent, and the games are aired on National TV (and later uploaded to YouTube via helpful third parties). It’s a great event, one that showcases future lottery picks every season.

State Champions Invitational

The State Champions Invitational is a newer event that was created to showcase state-champion public school programs on a larger scale. Inclusion is still dependent on the aforementioned state laws on national competition, but the event is always stacked with high-end talent. These games are aired on ESPN and their family of networks, but are more difficult to find in the Youtube ether. Hopefully, as the event gains more attention and a larger public audience, that changes.

Overtime Elite

The reputation of Overtime Elite precedes itself with a billing as the next great basketball developmental program. While there are continued questions as to OTE’s future viability as a pre-draft destination (especially when compared to more established, pro-oriented programs like the G League Ignite and the NBL Next Stars), their viability as a pre-college developmental environment should not be questioned. 

Their site is clean, they have basic and legible stats, and their games are often available on Youtube or Amazon Prime, with a direct from the game box score. That kind of accessibility is unfounded in this space, and something that gives OTE a leg up in the high school basketball world.

Grassroots Basketball

Oh, the unknown. Grassroots basketball is a bit of a black hole at times, but with each passing year a new resource pops up to make things a little bit brighter. The scene is dominated by three major circuits, where teams play against each other in circuit events throughout the summer. 

There are leagues for nearly all ages with 17U meant to consist of players entering their senior year of high school, though some players choose to play up a year (and in the case of AJ Dybantsa, dominate while doing so). Sometimes the only tape you are able to find on Youtube is two years old from when they played 16U, but film is film, I will not discriminate. 

There are quite a few independent teams that are not a part of either shoe circuit, but will commonly play events like Who Wants The Smoke where they match up against shoe circuit clubs. Which circuit is which matters really only in what teams will play at which event, trying to find worthwhile value in comparing competition or talent level feels unproductive. Each league has their fair share of talent, though one may get more attention than the rest. 

Really, what matters most is what teams play on which circuit. Each circuit has their own nuances in structure but when you boil it down, film is still film. Thankfully selectbasketballusa.com made a helpful list of the teams in each league shown below.

Nike EYBL

The Nike Elite Youth Basketball League has long been seen as the cream of the crop, and for good reason. Their track record of producing NBA talent is unparalleled in the space, and while it has become more competitive that track record of dominance is noteworthy. This year, eight of the top ten RSCI recruits played on the EYBL circuit, with top pick contenders Ron Holland, Matas Buzelis, Isaiah Collier, DJ Wagner, Justin Edwards, Omaha Biliew and many others. The roster is deep.

Adidas 3SSB

The Adidas 3 Stripe Select Basketball circuit is well established with a lineage of NBA talent. While not as publicly discussed as EYBL, 3SSB has a deep roster of high major talent led by T10 recruit Ja’Kobe Walter, with Dink Pate, Baye Fall, Reed Sheppard, TJ Power and (personal favorite) KJ Lewis. Overall, a solid league with decent tape accessibility, though their official site does leave much to be desired. 

Under Armour UAA

The Boys Under Armour Association is the final leg of the well known circuits, with 3ssb being its closest comparison. Led by potential lottery pick Stephon Castle, UAA boasts yet another deep roster of potentially impactful freshmen like Caleb Foster, Elmarko Jackson, Blue Cain and more. Unfortunately, compared to the other leagues team/roster info can be incredibly difficult to find. On the plus side, the Middlesex Magic youtube page is a treasure trove of tape, like finding an oasis in the desert. 

New Balance Pro16

The New Balance Pro16 league is the newest of the four circuits, and while they may not have as much established, highly ranked prospects, the competition remains strong. Gehrig Normand and Dylan James are the two RSCI T100 prospects on the circuit with a growing collection of future prospects. Internet resources remain limited but are comparable with the bigger leagues.

Resources

Now we have established the general framework of the leagues we are working with, it’s time to dig a little deeper. Youth basketball is a mess of individual leagues and conferences, finding places with consolidated information is a must. Knowing who to watch, what teams they are on, the numbers they wear and the teammates they have is a more complicated task than it seems.

RSCI Rankings

This is a fairly obvious place to start. This may not be breaking news, nearly every top draft pick is a highly-rated recruit coming out of high school. The rankings are by no means a be-all-end-all, Keegan Murray wasn’t ranked and ended up the fourth overall pick (!), but it is a great starting point. If you look at late risers like Jeremy Sochan and Patrick Williams or sophomore studs like Jaden Ivey and Bennedict Mathurin you will find them ranked in the Top 100 entering college. It’s a long list, but it is chalk full of NBA players throughout it. If you are beginning to create your watch list, the RSCI Top 100 is the place to start. 

MADE Hoops Power Rankings

This is a stupendous resource. The site has a paywall for future class rankings, but their 2023 rankings are public. The actual rankings themselves are nice, but the real draw is that the board lists not only the high school team for each prospect, but the grassroots team as well. That kills an enormous amount of leg work searching google for players and teams, and gives you a great starting point on what high school and grassroots teams should be at the top of your watch list. Great stuff. 

The Season Ticket

Now that you have the players you are looking to see and the teams they play on, The Season Ticket site, and more specifically The Circuit (a subheading on the site) is just about a one-stop -shop for rosters, team schedules and rankings for all age groups, both high school and grassroots (you can even sometimes find a box score!). You can dive into any league you want, though EYBL and 3SSB rosters are the most filled out. 

Finding actual team rosters with numbers and game dates is awesome. It can be incredibly hard to pin down what games players played in, the times they took place, and the teams they played against. Once you pick your team, there should be more than enough here to familiarize yourself with the surroundings. 

Cerebro Sports

Cerebro is a basketball site with Mark Cuban as a public investor and the infamous draft twitter stylings of the illustrious Prospect Development Web. There is an enormously steep paywall for individuals attempting to use the platform, but the free resources available are more than worth an initial email signup.

You are able to see the five most recent events for each player, which is incredibly helpful for international and OTE prospects (where an entire season is listed as one event). For US based high schoolers, the stats are a little more hit and miss, with some prospects showing stats for over 20 games and others less than 10. 

You are able to see the Top 10 performers for each event, but you can’t just search for an event, you have to select it through a player’s profile. This can be a little tricky at times, but is worth a few extra clicks in order to see the bigger picture of top performers for any given event. A very cool tool, but one that requires some corporate overhead to make the cost worthwhile. 

How Context Changes Stats

This is a more general bullet point to end off the section, but an important one to consider when looking at statistical output in high school and grassroots basketball. The first thing, and most consistent across levels, is that teenagers are not good three point shooters, and they often have a more difficult shot diet than they will in the league. 

Shooting in the low 30s on good volume in high school is a good thing, very few players (with the necessary athletic gifts) are able to score efficiently on jumpers as a 17-year-old. This is why AJ Griffin never should have fallen out of the top seven on draft night, but I digress. 

The difference between high school and grassroots is not a cut and dry one. Grassroots teams tend to play at a higher pace with a more free-flowing style of game with high school representing a more structured context. Statistically speaking, that added pace can affect numbers to a degree, but team context plays a much larger factor. 

Sean Stewart was the best player on the Florida Rebels, but at Montverde he was the sixth man the majority of his senior season. Omaha Biliew was the only high-profile recruit at Waukee his senior year, but played for Mokan Elite with fellow T100 prospects Cameron Carr, Trey Green and 2024 five-star John Bol. Playstyle differences matter, and each context tells you something unique in that regard, but you have to know the difference in on-court role and context to see it.

Searching for Tape

This is the single most stressful part of pre-college draft scouting. Finding quality tape, ideally for free, is a more difficult task than it may seem. Struggling to find full games for prospects was the largest barrier to entry for me: there is nothing I hate more than being in the mood to watch tape, only to waste precious time trying to find it. My philosophy when scouting is to maximize the time spent watching tape, and it is hard to do that when you’re searching for a needle in a haystack.

I decided to take a different approach this summer, getting ahead of my actual tape watching and accumulating film for as much of the RSCI Top 100 as possible. The process was a long and arduous one, but I have been able to find full games for every single prospect in the Top 100, with most prospects having a full game of high school and grassroots.

I have hyperlinked the games I could find in the below excel sheet, just click on the team name on the far right and dive straight in. A quick note: I tried not to link the same game twice for prospects on the same team and sprinkled in condensed videos when I ran out of full game tape. If you are itching for more of a certain prospect (or the link for the player is a shorter video), look for other prospects that played on the same team, you should find what you’re looking for.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aiQO8DqFD9zT47gdtQrj7oo8cbqsrZlJrkC3a5NeWeo/edit?usp=sharing

YouTube

YouTube, the one and only. There is no other place with free youth basketball tape, but you do need to know how to search. Finding actual game tape is not as easy as typing “Ron Holland Full Game” into your search bar (though with better video titles and captions, it could be!), you will need to be smart about your searches. I’ll go through a few helpful rules I try to follow when searching for games.

Know Your Date Ranges

Grassroots games take place over the summer before a prospect’s senior year, meaning all videos should be roughly a year old. Very rarely are games uploaded months after the fact, so it is pretty safe to assume the NJ Scholars video uploaded in April is not the tape you’re looking for.

High school basketball takes place during the year, so those games should all be less than a year old, and going back a year will take you into the previous season. That can be fine, for both grassroots or high school, if the prospect you are trying to watch was actually on the team the year prior. 

Know What Prospects Look Like

Jersey numbers are a figment of your imagination. They will be listed on the circuit or on other sites, but they are rarely consistent (particularly in grassroots). My personal best practice: google image search “[player name] [team name]”. 

I will look for jersey numbers they’ve worn, if they wear a t-shirt, if they have a recognizable hairstyle, general build, anything to help. If you’re in doubt, search a highlight video and compare movement styles. Sometimes good tape takes a little digging.

Start Specific

Youtube searches are a finicky business, and using too many keywords can be overly exclusionary. With that said, sometimes searching “Dennis Evans Hillcrest Basketball” takes you directly to the video you are looking for. Start specific, and eliminate keywords as you go, until you get down to “[team name] basketball”.

Know When to Keep Scrolling

This one is a little on the finicky side, but sometimes scrolling a little longer is all it takes. There are so many different age groups and years of competition to sift through, and it was very common for quality, full game videos to be buried 50 videos deep in a search. If you are still seeing videos with the team name you searched, keep going. 

Try Google

This one is kind of weird, and honestly I am not sure it “works” from a search engine perspective, but going into the Google videos search bar and looking for games helped me find a few that I just couldn’t seem to get on YouTube. There are at least no “recommended” videos you have to skip past when scrolling. 

BallerTV

The single best publicly available accumulation of high school basketball games, BallerTV is certainly worth a look in your search for tape. The pricing isn’t spectacular, but they do allow you to purchase individual events. You’ll get access to teams that are harder to find (like Dennis Evans on Team Inland) and inter-circuit matchups you won’t find elsewhere. The interface isn’t as smooth as your typical streaming service, but the juice is worth the squeeze if you purchase one of the more star-studded events. 

Twitch

Twitch is the single best place to find EYBL tape, you can find the entirety of Peach Jam on there now, but it is only for the 2023 year (next year’s class). Streams air live on the platform and are available to watch for an extended period of time after, but not an indefinite one. 

Sifting through the different streams and the games within them can be tedious, but that is a small price to pay for a literal metric ton of prospect tape. You just have to do it in a more timely manner than a midsummer cram session.

Parting Thoughts

High school and grassroots basketball is awesome and overwhelming simultaneously. There are more names than you could ever keep track of, yet people seem to do it all the time? Following the ins and outs of future high school classes is an enormous task, and that enormity can make the space feel unapproachable. 

You don’t have to live and breathe grassroots hoops to gain value from watching it, or even joy. Basketball is still basketball, and finding quality tape of players throughout their development journey and in differing contexts is invaluable. Hopefully with a little framing the greater picture of youth basketball is a little clearer. Sometimes to make a circuit work you just have to connect a few dots.

The post A Beginner’s Guide to Amateur Basketball appeared first on Swish Theory.