Icebreaker HoopFest 16U Championship: Scouting Reports (Video)
Louisiana Nightrydas Elite announced their presence on the grassroots scene with an impressive win over Elfrid Payton Elite in their second year as a program. The Nightrydas were down for most of the game but made a late comeback to win it 79-77 in overtime. Here are some of the top players from the matchup and you watch the highlights from the game at the bottom of the post:
Tory Cargo (Nightrydas/Landry-Walker 2019 PG) — It was my first time seeing this kid and boy did he make an impressive first impression. By now, you’ve seen the video of him drilling two huge 3-pointers in regulation and overtime before hitting the game-winner in sudden death of the second overtime, but that wasn’t all he did.
Cargo hit at least four 3’s in the game and by all accounts, that was a regular occurrence throughout the weekend. He appears to be more of a scorer and made the majority of his plays outside the 3-point line but he also made a couple of nice drives and looks to have a good feel as a passer.
The 6-foot-4 prospect’s length at the point guard spot reminds me a lot of former McDonogh 35 standout De’Jon Jarreau, who just completed his freshman season at UMASS, but I think Cargo will be more of a scorer rather than distributor like Jarreau.
I’m very interested to check this kid out again and see how he develops over the next two seasons.
Ramon McGrew (Nightrydas/Landry-Walker 2019 G) — Cargo ended up stealing the show with his cold-blooded shots at the end of the game but McGrew was also a force throughout the matchup on both ends. Another guard with great length at about 6-foot-3, McGrew jumped passing lanes, blocked shots and was aggressive on offense. He was constantly in attack mode and essentially all of his points came off of drives to the rim or in transition where he was able to show off his ability to finish smoothly around the rim.
Damiree Burns (Nightrydas/Sophie B. Wright 2019 W) — Burns is an interesting prospect that spent most of his time in the paint as one of the Nightrydas’ tallest players (about 6-foot-5) but also flashed some skills that showed he was more than comfortable on the perimeter. He handled the ball in transition, beat his man off the dribble a couple of times and also showed off a sweet post move that resulted in a bucket.
Markie Swearington (Nightrydas/Martin Luther King Jr. 2019 PG) — Swearington is undersized at about 5-foot-7 but he’s a quick and shifty point guard with a tight handle. He strung together some nice dribble combinations to get by defenders for layups and also pulled up for a couple of jump shots over defenders.
Rodney Munson (Elfrid Payton Elite/De La Salle 2019 PG) — Munson is more in the scoring mold of point guards but he can also distribute as well. He has a somewhat unorthodox jump shot but he’s fairly consistent with it in catch-and-shoot situations and was EPE’s lead ball handler against the Nightrydas.
Tony White (Elfrid Payton Elite/West Jefferson 2019 G) — White is a bucket-getter that can get it done in or outside the 3-point line. The 6-foot-1 guard drained a couple of long range shots against the Nightrydas and was aggressive getting into the lane in half court sets and in transition.
Greg Hammond (Elfrid Payton Elite/Sophie B. Wright 2019 G/W) — Hammond is a patient player that chooses his spots well. The 6-foot-3 prospect has a good midrange game with solid athleticism and used both of those traits to his advantage against the Nightrydas.