Prep Hoops Top 250 Expo Skill Session Standouts
The Prep Hoops Top 250 Expo hit Sioux Falls last Saturday as some of the best players in South Dakota converged for an afternoon in the gym to work on developing skills, get some great competition and frankly, knock off some rust and bridge the gap between the end of summer basketball and the winter season.
The script of the day was simple: various skill drills for about an hour followed by about four hours of games.
Skill drills included a handful of shooting drills including spot up jumpers, pull ups and a combination of dribble attacks, defensive drills that featured hard closeouts and one-one-one and two-on-two sessions.
Here are some of the guys that looked good throughout the skill sessions
In an event where it felt like practically everybody could shoot the rock, guys like Jackson McCormick, Parker Brown, Teegan Evers and Connor Crane all impressed with a combination of picturesque jumpers and what felt like unlimited range. All four not only seemed comfortable drilling stand-still shots but also perfectly composed when asked to shoot off the dribble. Crane and Evers were particularly good in the two-on-two sessions as well.
Another guy who looked excellent in the two-on-two drills was Gabe Glanzer. Glanzer’s ability to probe in two-man game ball screen actions was on display and he had a string of several pretty assists backed up by a number of long triples as defenders tried to go under on screens.
Kale Landguth did a good job in shooting drills for a taller player and showed off a really pretty touch using the glass from range.
There were a number of guys who stood out in a big way during the individual defensive drills as well. Chris Morales was one of the most impressive players over the course of the entire day but he caught my eye with his individual defensive effort from the start. He’s got a feisty style and cat-quick hands, getting stops practically every time he was tasked with doing so. Another top defender in the skill sessions was Kobe Busch who, like Morales, seemed to relish the opportunity to shut someone down. He played physical, pressing on the perimeter but also used his length and active hands to contest and make up ground if someone ever got a step on him.
Darius Dawson had his share of wins on defense as well and primarily got stops thanks to a combination of great anticipation and tenacity. It felt like whenever a offensive player made a move, Dawson beat them to their spot. Quincy Ilhen had a lot of success in the defensive drills as well thanks to physical on-ball presence and effort.
It’s hard to glean a whole lot from ball handling drills but in some select cases, you can just kind of tell if a guy has got it. And there were a number of kids Saturday that showcased very tight handles.
Emmanuel Tor and Kevin Suah were two lead guards that had the ball on a string throughout the day and it was evident fairly early in the day that they like handling it. Both guys put on a show in the attack drills, showing off their smooth handles and explosive agility.
Alex Sumption was one of the most explosive leapers in the entire event and definitely one of the most physically gifted in general. He excelled in the dribble attack drills and had his share of success in defensive drills. Boden Skunberg was in that kind of tier as well as he showcased a rare twitchiness throughout the drills. His ability to erase shots at the rim got him a lot of wins in one-on-one defensive drills and he he showed off his ability to finish in the attack drills.