Who Stood Out at the 2018 TOC Classic? (Part One)

Atlanta, Georgia - The 2018 and third annual Tournament of Champions Classic began this week and ran over a three day span, from December 27-29th. This year's tournament was no different really then past seasons and was filled with talent all over the two gymnasiums with some of the peach state's best prospects. College coaches from Virginia, Georiga, Georgia Tech, UMass, Xavier, Auburn, Clemson, and few division two schools were in attendance throughout the tourney. The tournament was split into two divisions with four different brackets. Here I have pointed out who stood out in the national division.

Note: Part 1 of 3. 

2020 W Corey Walker (Bishop Snyder, FL) 

It is clear now that one of the best pure scorers in this 2020 class is 6-foot-7 wing Corey Walker. The junior wing averaged 23.0 points per game in Bishop Snyder's three games in the TOC Classic. Scoring looked too easy at times for Walker. He plays at his own pace offensively and is really patient when he has the ball in his hand. He does have trouble being consistent at finishing through traffic when driving to the lane but that should come as he develops. He has a mean pull up game and if his opponents were not pressuring him he knew exactly when to square up and pull up. Besides his scoring abilities, Corey is very active defensively. He blocks shots, crashes the boards, and was able to time his steals perfectly every single time. 

2020 PG Dwon Odom (Saint Francis, GA) Xavier commit

If we are going to compare guys and see who the maybe the next Russell Westbrook will be, then Dwon Odom should certainly be in the discussion. The 6-foot-3 point guard is always going at least 90 miles per hour when he is on the floor. He holds crazy athleticism and is very gifted at what he does. We are not saying he puts up numbers like Westbrook, but watching him play it sure does have comparisons. Odom led St. Francis all the way to the apple bracket title game against powerhouse Wheeler. En route to the title game, the Knights defeated Newton and one of Florida's best programs in Blanche Ely in the first round, where Odom dropped 34 points. He showed how explosive he is all tournament long and what a high motor he plays with. 

2020 PG KD Johnson (Southwest Dekalb, GA)

The summer is going to blow up for this kid and if you have yet to watch him play in person then you are definitely missing out on something special. I have said this over and over that KD Johnson plays with the same mentality as former national prospect Collin Sexton played with in his days. The 6-foot-2 point guard arguably deserved MVP honors of the entire tournament after averaging 33.3 points per game in Southwest Dekalb's three games. Although he has to work on his shooting, his scoring abilites are off the charts and the kid is a very dynamic scorer. KD can go coast-to-coast in a blink of an eye and before the defense is even able to get set. He is a very active defender and is one of those rare players that loves to play defense and shut down his man. 

2019 SG Jamir Chaplin (Meadowcreek, GA) - South Florida commit

South Florida signee Jamir Chaplin has improved his game tremondously from a year ago. No he has not become that elite scorer, but he has found ways to score the ball in the halfcourt and to do what he does best offensively. Chaplin is a 6-foot-4 athletic two-guard who is bouncy off the ground and is one of the best on ball defenders in the country. He has a college ready type body and uses that body to make his way inside the low post on most possessions. Jamir has always been known for his powerful finishes at the rim and if opponents were not taking charges then he made his way to the rim almost every time. His shooting stroke and jump shot was the knock on Jamir last season but this season he has shown us that he has worked on his jumper and it sure did seem like it at the TOC. 

2020 G Gyasi Powell (Bishop Snyder, FL) 

Talk about a kid who made a name for himself, Gyasi Powell was that kid for sure. Besides teammate Corey Walker handling all the scoring, junior guard Gyasi Powell was able to show he can score as well. The 6-foot-2 guard was not the flashiest or smoothiest guard out there but he definitely stood out with his shooting skills. He scored 18 points and 25 points in Bishop Snyder's first two games here in Atlanta. Powell does have to get better as an all around guard but he was one of the best shooters in this year's tournament. As Gyasi develops his game he should be receiving some type of interest from next level college coaches. He already holds interest from schools like FAMU, Lafayette, Columbia, and Rice.