DMV Roundtable: Recent standouts, favorite commitments and prospects who missed out on summer live evaluations

After a short hiatus we are back with another edition of the DMV roundtable. Three out of the four of us had the chance to get into gyms as teams around the area are holding workouts, scrimmages and other sessions while embracing safety and abiding by the CDC guidelines. There’s still much uncertainty, but any basketball we get to take in at this point is extremely valuable. Let’s get to it. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/Jeannot-Basima.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1024718" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/Jeannot-Basima-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> 1. Give one or two names that have stood out to you during your time in the gym. Giacubeno: I’ve been able to get into the gym twice to see the Team Durant program. Two players that have stood out on both occasions are 2022 guard Dariq Whitehead and 2023 guard Jahn Lamothe. Every time I see Whitehead I walk away thinking how much higher his ceiling is. This past Saturday in a scrimmage against District BC, the 6-foot-5 guard simply couldn’t be stopped. He was converting on shots from three, nailing mid-range jumpers after stopping on the dime in transition and attacked the rim with vigor when driving lanes were open. Lamothe has completely transformed since seeing him in a St. Frances jersey. The 6-foot-3 guard is now much leaner, explosive and has proven his worth as a playmaker off the bounce. He filled the role as a floor spacer with his ability to knock down outside shots and while he can still do damage from deep, becoming a more dynamic threat will only uplift himself and his team. Ayalew: At the New World combine I liked what I saw from St. Mary’s Ryken ‘22 PG [player_tooltip player_id="904645" first="Chase" last="Williams"]. He competed hard throughout the day and got after it on both ends. <div dir="auto">I think we can all agree that Lake Braddock 2023 wing Jamie Kaiser has been on a tear since he burst onto the high school scene, and that trend has certainly continued. He is known for his shooting but can also get to the hole and impact the game defensively and with his effort. </div>   Wilson: When I attended the Hoop Group Future All-American Camp, I walked away extremely impressed with [player_tooltip player_id="957030" first="Jeannot" last="Basima"] of John Carroll. Jeannot stood out right away in the drills and carried that over when the games started. He was constantly engaged offensively and looked great when the ball was in his hands. He stayed aggressive when attacking the basket and had lots of success scoring the basketball. He was voted to the camp All Star game where he took home MVP honors. Herron: While I haven’t gotten into the gym yet, I have been watching a lot of tape and live streams of different AAU events and there are quite a few that have stood out to me. 2021 Jaylen Leftwich of Liberty Christian Academy in Lynchburg has had a great start to his summer with Big Shots Tri Cities playing in the different Big Shots tournaments. The 6’3" combo guard was a breakout guy last year but is still under the radar a little bit and should be getting more scholarship looks moving forward. He’s a big guard that makes good decisions and can guard multiple positions, he’s a good athlete and he can play both on and off the basketball. A 2022 that is on the way up is [player_tooltip player_id="736190" first="Jaden" last="Daughtry"] who is playing up on BWSL Team Marsh 17U, and was named to the All Tournament team at Big Shots Nationals. The stocky forward is a guy who is chock full of potential with his versatility and reminds me a little bit of former Rock Creek and current DC Premier standout [player_tooltip player_id="902005" first="Zaakir" last="Williamson"]. He’s a hybrid forward with great strength and explosion and he has a base skill set of being able to attack off the bounce and shoot it from deep pretty well, all of which should continue to improve with time. He picked up recent offers from Marshall and Hampton this past week. 2. Which of the latest commits has been your favorite? Giacubeno: I’ll start with 2021 [player_tooltip player_id="697111" first="Angelo" last="Brizzi"] announcing his commitment to Villanova last night. The 6-foot-3 southpaw saw his stock skyrocket despite having no spring or summer live evaluation periods. High major programs were enamored with his long-range shooting, ability to make plays off the bounce and his overall IQ as a floor general. Villanova has a long list of guards who produce at a high level and I think Brizzi could be next in line behind Collin Gillespe. It’ll take a year or two for Brizzi to adjust to the level in which Nova plays, but I think when it’s all said and done he will have a productive college career with one of the best programs in the sport. 2021 forward Will Spencer committed to Hood last week and if you have any idea how Hood plays, you know that Spencer fits the bill well. He’s and undersized forward at 6-foot-4, but you can get away with that at the Division III level. The Blazers launch three’s and play and uptempo pace. While Spencer won’t be the most athletic player on the floor, his ability to shoot and make decisions as a passer from his position should translate into a nice career. Ayalew: I like [player_tooltip player_id="902002" first="Quincy" last="Allen"] deciding to attend Colorado. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/06/Allen-Quincy-Head-Shot.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1004467 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/06/Allen-Quincy-Head-Shot-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>They’re a sneaky good program that people on the east coast probably don’t know a whole lot about, but they consistently churn out NBA talent. Guys like Spencer Dinwiddie, Derrick White, Alec Burks, and more recently Tyler Bey come to mind. Allen certainly has the potential to be next in line. Wilson: Head Coach Jay Wright of Villanova was the first high major coach to offer [player_tooltip player_id="697111" first="Angelo" last="Brizzi"] and that turned out to work in the Wildcats favor as Brizzi committed on Monday night. I think Brizzi is going to mesh perfectly for the Big East program. Brizzi has a high basketball IQ which should help him thrive under Jay Wright. Known as an elite shot maker, look for Brizzi to make a lot of noise from behind the three point line while in a Wildcats uniform. Herron: There have been a few commitments recently, and I think a couple of them will be steals at the level they chose. In the 2020 class, Monmouth landed a late snag in VES big [player_tooltip player_id="687581" first="Klemen" last="Vuga"], a euro style big who can shoot it, put it on the deck and is equally comfortable playing in the paint and on the perimeter. He dealt with some injuries that kept him a secret, but at 6’9" he has a skill set that could make him a walking mismatch at that level. Ohio University got a good snag in the 2020 class as well, as Hargrave’s [player_tooltip player_id="957886" first="Mark" last="Sears"] chose to reclassify up and follow his former coach Lee Martin who took the job as an assistant at Ohio. He’s a stocky combo guard that’s explosive and is a dual threat to be able to score it and set others up, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if he got some high major looks had he stayed 2021. In the 2021 class, I think I have to give a shoutout to [player_tooltip player_id="798682" first="Elvin" last="Edmonds"] IV of Hopewell who committed to Bucknell in the Patriot League. Edmonds is the exact type of kid who thrives in the Patriot League, as he may not be athletic enough to play in some bigger leagues but he’s a highly savvy guard with a great skill set and the ability to really light it up from deep. He chose a program in Bucknell who is the cream of the crop in that league and he should be able to fit right in with their style of play. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/Ryan-Cornish.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1024146" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/Ryan-Cornish-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> 3. Which prospects in the DMV would’ve benefited from a summer live period most in your opinion? Giacubeno: I’m going to stick with the 2021 class for this question and choose two guards: [player_tooltip player_id="954213" first="D’Angelo" last="Stines"] (Mount St. Joe) and [player_tooltip player_id="902040" first="Trae" last="English"] (Poly). Stines was a breakout performer the second half of last season and especially in the postseason as the Gaels captured the MIAA A Conference crown. The 6-foot-2 combo guard was just scratching the surface in terms of what he was showing fans, college coaches and scouts. With an increase in role projected for 2020-21, don’t be surprised if he adds a few more offers to his list and mid-major programs are paying more attention to his development. English came off the bench for a nationally ranked Poly team last season behind [player_tooltip player_id="900152" first="Rahim" last="Ali"] (Howard) and provided invaluable effort on the defensive end. I recently saw English in the East Coast Bump Summer Run alongside other low-to-high major prospects and he was one of the top standouts in attendance. The 5-foot-10 guard is lightning quick with the ball and makes things happen in transition or ball-screen actions. An efficient finisher on drives to the basket, the defense can’t forget about English on the perimeter either. With time and space he can knock down three’s in bunches. A guarantee with English is his defensive effort. He pressures the ball the length of the floor and is precise with his attempts to go for steals. Loyola (MD) is the school who is recruiting English the hardest. Other local programs are starting to look his way a bit more. Ayalew: I think any 2021 prospect who is trying to take their recruitment to the next level would’ve benefited. This is truly an unprecedented time in the recruiting landscape. Wilson:2022 [player_tooltip player_id="897404" first="Paul" last="Lewis"] is coming off a really good sophomore campaign at Bishop O’Connell and broke out onto the national scene after a really impressive performance at HoopHall. I would have loved to see him go against national competition this summer to get a better gauge of him nationally. I have always been really high on 2021 [player_tooltip player_id="836468" first="Devon" last="Savage"] and I think he just needed that one major breakout weekend to really enhance his recruitment. Coming off a solid year at Riverdale Baptist, we saw a lot of his potential in an expanded role. Savage is someone that really could of benefitted from a summer live period. Herron: This is maybe the hardest question because I believe there’s so many kids that really got hosed with the decision to not only skip the live period this summer, but possibly not have an opportunity to play in front of coaches at all this year. In my neck of the woods, I look at a kid like [player_tooltip player_id="798722" first="Dominic" last="Stanford"] at Kempsville in Virginia Beach, a 6’4" wing who sprouted up and got super athletic last year and was set to be one of the top guys off the bench for Boo Williams when he hasn’t had an opportunity to play in front of coaches at a level like that yet. In the actual DMV, I think of three kids all at different levels that would have really benefited from playing in a live period. The first one that comes to mind is [player_tooltip player_id="697101" first="Darius" last="Johnson"] of Episcopal. While he has picked up high major offers from Georgetown, Providence, Florida and Alabama this summer, I think that he would have had an opportunity to show against a high level of competition what he can do, and he seems like the type of kid that would steal an offer by outplaying a big name kid that coaches were there to see him play against. Another kid that comes to mind is Wes Peterson Jr. of Bishop O’Connell and DC Premier. He was the type of guy I thought would be able to show that he’s become more confident and he already has a great frame and athleticism, and I think he would be holding double digit mid major offers right now if he was able to play on the UA Circuit. The third guy that comes to mind is [player_tooltip player_id="562690" first="Ryan" last="Cornish"] of Sidwell Friends and District Basketball Club. Cornish may not look the part, but every time I’ve seen him play he impresses me with his high IQ, craftiness off the bounce and as a shotmaker and his underrated toughness as a lead guard too. He seems like a guy that high academic and service academies would have loved, and he probably would have got some stuff higher than that as well.