Notebook: Circle City Hoop Fest Day 1
The AAU season got underway this weekend and I was out at the Circle City Classic put on by Elevate Sports. It was a light event in terms of teams, but there was a lot of good play by the teams that were there. I saw some standout performances and found some teams that are worth watching deep into this summer. Here are my key takeaways from this weekend.
Team Thad 2019 puts on a show
One of the most dominant teams at the event easily cruised to the 2019 title. On Friday, I had the chance to see one of their games and they didn’t disappoint. The team, based out of Tennessee, has tons of height and length and are going to be a lot to handle on the UA circuit this year. The player that stood out was the #1 player in Kentucky, Dekeyvan Tandy. He’s a load to handle in the open floor and was getting pretty much anything he wanted. He scored 15 points in a game against Hoops Dreams (KY) 2020 and was instrumental on defense and in the open floor.
Nova Village 2019 and 2020 will turn some heads this summer
I saw both of these teams early on in the day and both have some really intriguing prospects. They like to play fast and hard. On the 2019 team, Terin Kinsway looked really good in the first game. He scored 19 points and was doing it in a multitude of ways making some jumpers and was getting to the rim. Kinsway is a guy who has all the attributes of a D1 athlete, he has the scoring and the athleticism to get it done. I think he will fly up the radars this year. On the 2020 team, they have two guys that really stood out to be due to their versatility along with their height. Hayden Stone and Luke Lachey both are able to score the ball and run in transition. They need a bit of work but in the game I saw they played really well.
NWA Hoops ran through the 2022 class
They have some height and they are supremely athletic compared to any other 2022 team here. They struggled shooting the ball a little bit but made up for that with their hustle and their ability to get to the rim. Willie Mays was a guard who I thought looked good with his on ball pressure and he ability for him to go end-to-end with the ball pretty quickly. Martez Tyson is a 6’5 center who while very raw, could be really good. He doesn’t have a good looking shot and seems like he is lost at times but he is a good shot blocker with length. A team to keep an eye on if they stick together.