K-Guard Holiday Classic Standouts (Part 1)
In my annual trip across Virginia, I decided to focus my first two days in the Roanoke/Salem area. While it’s three hours away from where I live in Richmond, I have always been partial to the Roanoke area and am…
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Continue ReadingIn my annual trip across Virginia, I decided to focus my first two days in the Roanoke/Salem area. While it’s three hours away from where I live in Richmond, I have always been partial to the Roanoke area and am always able to find some talent out there as well. My first stop was at the K-Guard Holiday Classic at the Salem Civic Center, and it featured eight teams from across the region with a ton of talent all over the place. I broke the standouts up into two parts because of the number, and here’s a look at part one of the top performers from that day.
Manmeet Singh | 6’5” PF | Hidden Valley ’21
A physical big man with soft touch, everyone told me that Singh has improved immensely over the past few seasons and it wasn’t hard to tell with the way he played. The 6’5” forward isn’t the most athletic guy but he played with a good motor, showed good hands and good feet and was great as a catch and finish guy around the basket. Despite losing to Botetourt, Singh finished with 19 points when I watched them.
Grayson Carroll | 6’3” G | Hidden Valley ’20
The other guy that stood out for HV, Carroll has good size at his position that makes him a mismatch because he can play on or off the basketball and make tough shots off the bounce. He showed a solid handle while handling the rock and he has a great middle game with a number of floaters and pull-ups he showed off.
Conner Tilley | 6’2” WG/WF | Lord Botetourt ’21
Botetourt beat HV by sharing the ball and playing tough on both ends of the floor, but it was also Tilley who made a number of shots from deep when they needed it most. He’s a stocky 6’2” guard who can get physical with other guards, but really shines as a floor spacer and shot maker. He finished with 12 points, all from behind the arc in their win over HV.
Parker Huffman | 6’6” PF | Cave Spring ’20
The CNU commit is one of the main reasons that Cave Spring is considered a favorite in Class 3 this year because there aren’t going to many teams that can match up with both him and fellow 6’7” senior Matt Cagle. It’s also hard to game plan for Huffman because he has a unique skill set at his size as an inside-out scorer, and Head Coach Jacob Gruse runs some great stuff to put him in situations to succeed. He finished with 12 points in their win over Floyd County, and would have had more if he didn’t sit for much of the second half.
Adnan Jasarevic | 6’1” G | Cave Spring ’20
The kid I hadn’t seen much of on this Spring team that impressed me was Jasarevic. The question with this group is going to be their guard play, but if Jasarevic can consistently provide the level of play on both ends that he did when I watched them play he’s going to be the x-factor for them. He finished with 13 points, shooting it well from deep and being a secondary ball handling option.
Reed Pendleton | 6’2” WG | Cave Spring ’21
My early season pick for POY in the Roanoke area, Pendleton is known as one of the best shooters in the area, but he showed he’s much more than that as he finished with 23 points on 9-for-10 shooting from the field and six steals in their win over Floyd. Pendleton’s best attribute outside of his pretty stroke is his high IQ, as he reads the game well on both ends and finds himself in the right position to make plays. He works well off the basketball, he jumps passing lanes and he’s a consistent scorer from all three levels. Don’t be surprised if he leads the area in scoring and leads the Knights to a late run this March.
Joseph Peters | 6’9” C | Jefferson Forest ’21
I haven’t seen Peters play in about two years, but I was impressed with what he brings to this Jefferson Forest team and his ceiling as a prospect moving forward. First off, the kid is massive at 6’9” with a solid frame, and he has good touch with decent feet and takes up a ton of space in the paint. He needs to continue to work on his body and his foot speed, but he could be a steal since he has stuff you can’t teach. He finished with 10 points and 8 rebounds in their loss to Salem.