Washington TOC: Friday Morning Session Prospects

PrepHoops took in the first half of the day Friday at the Washington Tournament of Champions.  This is annually one of the best Thanksgiving Tournaments around with Illinois teams battling squads across the country.  That is exactly what we saw in four Illinois vs out of state team contests.  Here we breakdown the standout performers from the morning session at TOC!

Illinois Prospects

PG Treye Tucker (Harlem – 2019)

Tucker is a 5’10” unsigned senior that is a fun player to watch.  The top 100 in-state prospect plays a flashy brand of basketball.  He is an exciting playmaker with the ball in his hands as he showed at the TOC making sick dishes in the half court.  Has the ability to get in the lane and find teammates.  Works well in the pick and roll.  Floater game is one of his strengths as well.  Plus shooter with a clean release.  Made several threes in the first half.  Came up short on them as the game went on.  He had 21 points.

PG David Williams (Harlem – 2019)

Williams is a senior 6’1” point guard that drilled several threes.  Plays mostly off the ball for this team, but at the next level will need to be more of a point guard.  Could find a home at the D3 level.  Went for 13 points.

PG Bryson Thomas (Harlem – 2021)

Thomas put himself on our radar with his play.  The 6’1” sophomore is a scrappy kid that brings toughness to the table.  Scored on layups mostly in the first half.  Just has a nose for the basketball.  8 points in their morning contest.

PG Dom Renteria (Harlem – 2019)

Renteria is a tiny lead guard from Harlem that is a spark plug for their team.  Effective pull up jump shooter especially from mid-range, but can stretch to three on occasion as well.  He had 9 points.

PF Trey’Shaun Jones (Harlem – 2019)

Jones is a long and lanky 6’6” post that is thin.  He displayed good mobility.  Still pretty raw offensively.  There are some tools to work with though.  Finished with only 2 points.

SG Christopher Cross (Urbana – 2020)

Cross broke out last month at the Prep U Showcase.  Showed more at the TOC on Friday.  Lefty is a shooting guard that has a crafty game.  He isn’t the most athletic, but just knows how to get stuff done.  The junior had his floater game working in the first half.  Sound mid-range game as well pulling up off the bounce.  Stretched it to three on occasion.  Tailed off in the second half.  He had 15 points

PF Miller Calhoun (Urbana – 2019)

Calhoun is a four man with length and some mobility.  Started off strong with a corner three, but then didn’t do much else the rest of the game finishing with just 5 points.  Needs to get stronger.

G Payton Sheen (Urbana – 2019)

This Urbana combo guard has nice size at 6’3”.  Capable three point shooter although he only hit one in this contest.  What he did best was close the game out at the charity stripe with a ton of free throws.  He had 14 points.

PG Fred Cleveland (Leo – 2019)

Cleveland is one of the more exciting playmaking point guards in the senior class.  The North Carolina A&T commit is a sound perimeter shooter with deep range on his shot.  Can hit both spotting up and pulling up on his own.  Despite his height he isn’t afraid to go in and score among the trees.  Opened the game up with a tremendous acrobatic layup for an and-1.  He is such a heady player.  That was shown when he missed a free throw and he was the only one who knew it was a 1-1.  Walked up, grabbed the ball, and put it in.  Cleveland made key plays in this game both as a scorer and distributor.  Also converted at the charity stripe finishing with 23 points in the win.

PF DaChaun Anderson (Leo – 2019)

It was a quiet first half for one of the better unsigned posts in the 2019 class.  In the end though the senior showed up when it mattered.  He took control of the game in the third quarter with his physical brand of basketball.  The undersized broad shouldered four man mauls opponents on the glass.  He scored inside with quickness and outworking the opponent.  At his best going after offensive rebounds for put backs.  Also had a spin move and baseline take.  Sent the game to OT with a clutch score late.  Runs the floor hard and is a tough post defender.  Went for 14 points.

PF Kendale Anderson (Leo – 2020)

This junk yard dog four man had a productive outing.  Brute strength out of the junior.  He has strong hands in traffic which allows him to catch difficult passes.  Had a nice drive from the high-post which he finished for a layup.  Tough kid that rebounds the ball in contested situations.  Went for 11 points.

SG Myles Thomas (Leo – 2019)

Thomas was a key glue guy for Leo in this game.  Played quality defense and did the little things well.  Like the power game he brings with his strength attacking the hoop.  He had 8 points.

SF Will Wolfe (Aurora Christian – 2020)

Wolfe continues to be one of the most productive players in the 2020 class.  He played well when we watched Wednesday and had another nice outing on Friday.  The 6’6” small forward is a lights out perimeter shooter.  Hardly ever hits the net when he lets it fly.  Drills threes off the catch as he moves well without the ball to get open.  Also can create his own shot off the bounce scoring on drives shielding the ball away from defenders as well as pulling up from 15-18 feet.  He is a fundamentally sound passer.  Overall a very tough and skilled prospect.  Went for 21 points.

PG Taaj Davis (Aurora Christian – 2020)

Another solid outing for Davis.  The lefty point guard is a slippery ball handler that scores in the paint with tear droppers and scoop shots.  Also is a plus shooter from three with a quick release.  Continues to improve as a playmaker for others.  Davis had 20 points in their win.

PG Jaehshon Thomas (Aurora Christian – 2021)

This sophomore has been one of the breakout players from the first week of the high school season.  The point guard was sensational on Wednesday and followed it up a 17 point outing on Friday.  Just an overall excellent feel for the game.  Picks his spots as a scorer.  Can get points off the dribble and is a quality three point shooter as well.

Out of State Prospects

C Davion Bradford (Mehlville, MO – 2020)

Bradford was a man among boys in the first game of the day.  The big man who is near 7’0” has a huge frame with strength.  He is in much better condition now however as opposed to early in his career.  Bradford dominated the glass throughout.  Granted he was half a foot taller than most of the other team, but still he showed a nice feel for where the ball was coming off the rim.  Got a lot of his points on offensive rebound put backs.  Also had some nice positioning receiving passes in the post for scores.  Liked how for the most part he kept the ball high and away from the guards trying to steal it.  He had 27 points and 13 rebounds.

SG Dylan Branson (Mehlville, MO – 2020)

Branson is a skilled wing that has multiple D1 offers already on the table.  He is a sound shooter as was shown early in the game drilling a spot up three to open.  Crafty player that handles it solid and makes nifty moves in the paint.  Good passer that made solid reads in the half court.  High basketball IQ out of this St. Louis product who had 20 points in the win.

PG Jai’ryn Pruitt (Mehlville, MO – 2019)

Pruitt is a lefty point guard that did a nice job of getting to the line in their contest.  Tough kid that also had a couple good passes in the paint.  He had 9 points.

PF Juwan Perdue (Sumter Lakewood, SC – 2019)

Perdue has a lot of projectability at 6’6” with long arms and plus athleticism.  Projects as a face up four for Jacksonville State in the OVC.  At times he looked disinterested as he has the ability to take over a game like they had against Urbana.  Was solid on the glass.  Offensively he hit from the charity stripe where he shoots it well and had a quick finish inside.  10 points and 9 boards.

SG Quentin Hodge (Sumter Lakewood, SC – 2020)

Hodge was impressive.  The junior who holds offers from Mercer, Florida Gulf Coast, and South Carolina State showed why he is a D1 recruit.  Dynamic scoring guard with size.  Lived in the lane breaking defenders down consistently throughout the game.  Slick handles.  Clean looking jumper as well.  Went for 24 points in their game.

G Naz Adino (Sumter Lakewood – 2019)

This guard is a slashing combo that is best scoring from 15 feet and in.  Converted some shots around the rim and hit a mid-range shot.  He had 12 points.

SG Larenz Williams (Cy-Fair Learning Center, TX – 2019)

Williams is wired to score!  The 6’5” senior got buckets from all three levels off a live dribble in the first half.  Was probably at his best using his athleticism and burst off the bounce getting in the lane where he converted tough shots or got to the line.  Nice looking jumper as well that has some range.  Scored all of his 12 points in the first half.

SF Tyreeke Shepard (Cy-Fair Learning Center, TX – 2019)

This 6’5” small forward from Texas had his moments.  Born scorer that slashed through the Leo defense.  Burst with the ball in his hands.  Mixed in some floaters and mid-range shots too.  Quick second jump allowed him to be an active rebounder.  He had 20 points.

F Judah Brown (Pacifica Christian, CA – 2020)

This 2020 6’7” combo forward is a freak show athlete!  He showed that off with several monster jams in the open floor.  Long arms and a frame he can add strength on.  The super bouncy forward is best in the transition game.  Ton of developmental upside here!  Scored 18 points.

F Solomon Davis (Pacifica Christian, CA – 2019)

The other end of the California combo forward duo was this senior.  He is also listed at 6’7”.  Really impressed with the way he shot the rock in the first half at his size.  Elevation on shot and more times than not it was nothing, but net.  Long strides running the floor and has a burst when attacking off the bounce.  Intriguing prospect.  Davis had 24 points against Aurora Christian.