Bigs who made a splash NEO Youth Elite Classic
Michael Fitzpatrick
Big men made their presence felt at NEO Youth Elite Christmas Tournament Dec. 27-29 at Garfield Heights; The three-day tournament featured some of the best teams and players in Northeast Ohio.
Here is a list of the bigs who stuck out to me.
<strong>Josh Irwin (2021), West Geauga</strong>
The 6-6 sophomore was all over the floor as he scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds in his team’s loss to Wadsworth.
The loss dropped Irwin’s team’s record to 1-8, although they’ve suffered close losses in five of those defeats.
Irwin and likes to shoot the ball from distance so he could project as a Stretch 3 or 4. He rebounds well and plays with a little chip. Talks a lot on defense.
<strong>Jack Simmons, (2019) Wadsworth</strong>
The unrated 6-4 Simmons scored 28 points to lead his team to the win against Irwin and Co. He shot the ball well from distance and was able to get to the basket and score while rebounding well.
He did play well against Irwin, who’s reportedly getting looked at by Big Ten and MAC schools.
<strong>Luka Eller, (2020) Lake Catholic</strong>
The 6-9 big man plays with a non-stop motor and his very skilled. Not afraid to put the ball on the floor. Very strong build.Nice footwork. Battled inside all night long against St. Ignatius big man Kevin Davet, who was a nice matchup at 6-8.
<strong>Nehemiah Benson (2020) Lutheran East</strong>
The 6-6 Benson scored 26 points and showed a nice inside-outside game. College coaches like him because he can be a pick-and-pop guy. At least one Division I head coach stayed for the entirety of a blowout to get an extra-long look at Benson.
<strong>Malaki Branham (2021), St. Vincent-St. Mary</strong>
It’s become why the 6-5 SF came in so highly touted. He scored a team-high for St V in its blowout win over Garfield.
Showed of a new-and-improved shooting stroke. In the first half during one compressed sequence he scored inside off an assist; then scored on a drive and finish and scored a catch and shoot 3.
Big-time prospect.
<strong>Jayson Woodrich, (2019), Beachwood</strong>
Put on an absolute shooting show as he scored a tournament-high 46-points in the Bisons’ win over Revere.
Woodrich needed just the tiniest of spaces to get off his jumper. He also hit seven 3’s.
<strong>Honorable mention:</strong> Not enough space for these guys, but I’ll be writing more about them in future: Jevontae Jones (2020 and Anthony Maxie (2020) Richmond Heights; Chris Livingston (2022) Akron Buchtel.
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