IndyBall: Saturday Notes
The first week of the AAU season is underway for us and we spent all day Saturday at North Central High School checking in on some of the top programs from around the state as they try to get their feet under them. Here are some of the highlight from the day.
Jackson-Davis Impresses With Production
The 6’9 forward from Center Grove, Trayce Jackson-Davis, is one of the more quiet players in the state but his game was big and loud on Saturday. He went for 14 points in a win over Men of the Family to open up the day as well as 15 points against Indiana Elite Orange 17U.
Trayce looked a little improved in terms of his athleticism. He was playing really quick and up and down the floor in a couple of blowout games. He had a couple of big alley-oops and throw downs in the lane. He was really adept using his left hand near the rim with the footwork to put him in position to make a play every time he caught the ball.
He’s become a lot more aggressive and this was maybe the most he had been that we have seen. He has a ton of skill and if the athleticism can step up a bit it could go a long way to helping him take off. He’s drawn a ton of Mid-Major and High-Major interest already garnering offers from Purdue and IUPUI.
Indiana Elite 2020 Looks Elite
Early on in the season you really can’t get too ahead of yourself with evaluations. Some teams and players start slow and some can kick it into gear. However, Indiana Elite 2020 is really just that good. With so many different areas to look at, their size is the first thing that stands out.
Mabor Majak is a 7’1 center who can flat out play for such a young age. He’s an adept shot blocker and so fluid with his body that he can make plays at the rim and in the air adjust to finish it off. Then you have 6’7 PF Nick Hittle from Culver Academies. He’s a large, low post with tons of weight to throw around. Pair those two together and you have to have one of the largest frontcourts in the country
Then, the playmakers on this team are really intriguing. With guys like Anthony Leal who can knock down perimeter jumpers or Tayson Parker that can go get buckets and is a ridiculous athlete. Trey Galloway is starting to come around as well and he could end up a top prospect in the class. This team has so much talent and should do very, very well on the Adidas Gauntlet.
Jared Hankins Drops 51 Today
Well, it is never too early to have the best game of your career and I’m just going to guess that Hankins’ 51 points is the best of his to date. We didn’t get to see the game but we were told he lit it up from a couple different sources. Not only that, supposedly he hit 12 threes in the game.
Hankins has been one of the more impressive players we have seen in the 2019 class this year as he was playing on an already crowded Lawrence North team and only getting a handful of minutes off the bench. Even so, he’s a guy that showed he can be an aggressive scorer who is always looking to go north and south. This 51-point performance wasn’t something we thought we would see but still within range of possibilities. If you get time, go watch him on Indiana Elite Fastbreak 2019.