Highland Shootout: Top Performers

The 29th Annual Highland Shootout was on Saturday and despite bad weather it was a packed house for all seven games from 10 AM through 10 PM. This has become one of the premier events in the state year in and year out. We will have TONS of coverage from the day, but let’s start out with Highland Shootout: Top Performers!   Luke Cox (Triad – 2020) Cox is a 6’4” shooting guard that is a natural bucket getter. The Triad senior came out firing and never stopped all day long! Cox connected on an array of threes to open up with a smooth and fluid release. He then began to score off the bounce. Quick and aggressive moves to the hoop. Pretty decent athlete that has crisp handles. Missed a few bunnies, but overall was fantastic scoring it. Also rebounded very well for a wing. He went for 31 points (12-29 FG) and 11 rebounds. Small colleges should be all over him!   Jevon Porter (Father Tolton, MO – 2022) This was my first look at the 6’10” Porter. The younger brother of the Denver Nuggets Michael Porter. Jevon has similar height, but his game is definitely more reminiscent of Jontay Porter. What we liked about his game was his size, length, and mobility around the cup. Finished well with soft hands inside. Feel scoring in the paint. Connected on a pick/pop three showing sound mechanics. Put it on the deck for an and-1. Several times he flew in from out of his area for rebounds. Played hard. Shot blocking presence defensively. Went for 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks.   Ray’Sean Taylor (Collinsville – 2020) The SIU-Edwardsville commit was spectacular as always! Taylor continues to lead his team to a 17-0 start to the season and has firmly put himself in the Mr. Basketball conversation. Taylor is a dynamic scorer off the bounce that took it right at Desmet’s high-major shot blockers. He has a burst with the ball in his hands and is so crafty getting the ball up on the glass before the help comes. His knack for finishing at the cup at a high rate was truly impressive. Struggled shooting it from deep hitting only 1-8. Gets on the glass with a quick second jump. Sound passer that makes quality decisions as a passer including a dish for the game winning three. Defensively he gets after it with his active hands and often takes steals the other way for scores. He had 26 points (10-27 FG), 8 rebounds, 5 dimes, and 6 steals.   Davion Bradford (Mehlville, MO – 2020) Bradford was in the best shape of his career and his play showed it. The 7’0” Kansas State commit came out aggressive and stayed in that mindset the entire day. In his head to head matchup with Ryan Kalkbrenner he used his advantage in physical strength to dominant early. Made powerful moves on the low block along with combination moves for scores. Garnered deep post position and finished with strength including a couple of powerful jams. Very good area rebounder. He had 23 points (9-12 FG) and 9 rebounds.   Rashad Weekly-McDaniels (Trinity Catholic, MO – 2020) This Central Michigan commit was outstanding against Mehlville. Powerful bowling ball guard that has a super high motor for a guard. Weekly-McDaniels shot it about as well as we have seen him going 5-10 from three point range including drilling several heat check ones. Connected both pulling up and off the bounce. Also made regular trips to the foul line using his strength in the paint to draw contact on drives to the hoop. High level passer that does it with flair. Fun player to watch. He had 36 points (11-25 FG) and 5 dimes.   Patrick Baldwin Jr (Hamilton, WI – 2021) Baldwin was the top prospect in this event and he more than proved that against Chaminade. Wow was he impressive with his play! The 6’9” small forward is one of the most skilled players from a national stand point we have seen in recent memory. Opened up with a pair of feathery jumpers and from that point it was on! He had the crowd in the palm of his hands. Slippery drives to the cup handling and finishing with either hand equally well. Long strides allow him to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time. Scores well from all three levels. One area that I was really impressed with was his passing. High level decision maker that throws bullet passes. Great rebounder on the defensive end and swatted four shots. From an NBA comp standpoint we see some similarities to guys like Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Jayson Tatum. Those guys are doing ok! He had 29 points (11-19 FG) and 12 rebounds.   Ahamad Bynum (Simeon – 2021) Bynum is a microwave scorer who had it rolling on Saturday night! He shot about as high of a percentage as we have seen in one of his high scoring games going for 26 points (9-14FG) (7-12 3 PT). His jumper was definitely on fire as he drilled pull up three after three. Such an explosive scorer that when he gets rolling like he was on Saturday night he is unguardable. Outstanding effort out of the DePaul commit!   Cam’Ron Fletcher (Vashon, MO – 2020) Fletcher got off to a slow start, but in the second half the Kentucky commit played like a blue blood level player. The thing that stood out most to us was his size and how aggressive he was moving without the ball. Caught it on the move numerous times for buckets. Inside the arc he only missed one shot all night long. Athleticism and ability to finish with either hand maneuvering the ball at the rim with his long arms were impressive. Ran the floor hard in transition. Flew in for several big offensive rebounds. Hit one pick and pop three. Fletcher had 26 points (10-14 FG) and 9 rebounds.   Phillip Russell (Vashon, MO – 2020) Russell is headed to SEMO next season and they certainly got themselves a good one! The point guard can flat out shoot the rock from three as he went 7-9 from distance in his 31 point performance. Russell is a big time perimeter shooter and when he gets in a zone like he was Saturday is one of the premier shot makers in the Midwest from the lead guard spot. Speed with the ball in his hands and is a dynamic playmaker as a distributor. Russell had 31 points and 6 dimes.   DJ Steward (Whitney Young – 2020) Epic performance for the Duke commit in Steward’s battle with his future ACC rival. High level shot making from all around the floor throughout the night for Steward. Hit several deep feathery three point shots. Moves well without the ball to get open and transfers catch to shot easily. Then took it to the rack on slippery drives where he finished extremely well at the cup not missing a single shot inside the paint all night. That included the biggest one of the night to take the lead and tie the Highland Shootout scoring record. Steward had 40 points (14-20 FG) and 3 dimes in Whitney Young’s victory.   Tyler Beard (Whitney Young – 2020) The uncommitted Beard did his part in the Dolphins victory. The biggest was on the defensive end in the second half tightening up things on Caleb Love who went off in the first half. That was huge in giving Whitney Young a chance at a comeback. Beard was also confident on the offensive end knocking down several mid-range jumpers and powerful takes on his drives to the cup. Threw down a big alley-oop off a Steward lob. The top 10 senior also passed it very well we thought finding his teammates mostly the Duke commit in situations to succeed. He had 13 points and 4 assists.   Caleb Love (CBC, MO – 2020) In the first half Love was absolutely sensational. He had several dunks including a huge windmill that had the crowd going nuts! Got to the rim off the bounce including splitting double teams and finishing with his off hand. There were several pro moves off the dribble that made us say “wow” during the game. The North Carolina commit is also going to bring quality passing to Chapel Hill with his ability to find teammates on the move with bullet passes. He had 19 points (9-22 FG) and 4 assists.   Larry Hughes (CBC, MO – 2022) This 6’4” son of the former NBA and St. Louis University star continues to impress us each and every time we see him perform. Hughes has a long and rangy build with big time shot making from beyond the three point arc. He drilled 4-7 from distance showing a lighting quick release off the catch. Smooth all-around player that is very projectable toward the next level. He had 16 points on the night.