Midwest Showdown: Sunday's Top Performers

APPLETON, Wis. -- The 2020 Prep Hoops Midwest Showdown came to a close on Sunday at Community First Champion Athletic Center. Here’s a look at the prospects that stood out on day three...   [player_tooltip player_id="804910" first="Nate" last="Abel"] - 2021 - PG - Wisconsin Crusaders Abel had maybe the best game I’ve seen from him in Sunday’s win over the Wisconsin Blizzard. The Beaver Dam lead guard shot the ball extremely well, knocking down some tough off-balance stuff. Every time the Blizzard made a run, it felt like Abel was the guy who stopped it. The 6-foot-2 senior can really play on or off the ball, but I like him more as a point guard as he can create for others as well. His name doesn’t come up when you think about athletic guards in the state, but Abel is pretty deceptive. He has a quick first step and is just smooth more than explosive. He faced some pretty good guards on Sunday and left them behind in the dust. [player_tooltip player_id="994508" first="Jameer" last="Barker"] - 2021 - SG - Wisconsin Sharks Barker definitely improved his stock with Sunday’s performances. The Racine St. Catherine’s guard is an absolute shot maker. Barker can score in isolation and makes difficult shots look easy. A lefty with a good pull-up or step-back game, Barker just waits for defenders to make a mistake and he exploits it. Barker has some long arms and can shoot right over the top against tough contested as well. The 6-foot-2 guard also has a strong upper body. He’s willing to attack the paint and had numerous 3-point play opportunities. [player_tooltip player_id="879984" first="Drew" last="Biber"] - 2021 - SF - Wisconsin Playground Club [caption id="attachment_1019216" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/Drew-Biber.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1019216" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/Drew-Biber-300x155.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="155" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="879984" first="Drew" last="Biber"][/caption] If he wasn’t committed to play football at Northern Illinois, Biber would be a really nice mid-major prospect. Hey may not start, but Biber comes off the bench and brings a lot to the table. The 6-foot-5 wing as an absolutely shutdown defensive stopper. Biber plays with a ton of intensity and aggression on that end. As soon as the opposition catches, he’s right there in his shorts. If Biber happens to get beat, he has recovery speed to make a play at the rim. A guy with 3-and-D potential, Biber gets a lot of stuff run for him where he can comes off screens and let it fly. A standout wide receiver/tight end at Cedarburg, Biber does some freaky things above the rim as well. [player_tooltip player_id="988698" first="Josiah" last="Butler"] - 2022 - SG - Wisconsin Crusaders Butler had maybe the most special performance I saw during the weekend. The Crusaders were done. Down by double digits to JH1 Elite in the second half in the 16U title game, Butler brought them back from the dead. Finishing with a game-high 25 points, including a 3-pointer to tie it and the game-winning free throws, Butler just wouldn’t let his team die. The Fox Valley Lutheran standout scored in so many different ways. Isolation, dribble drives, shooting off the catch, Butler just didn’t let the defense relax or hone in on what he was doing. When we release the biggest stock boosters from the weekend, Butler’s name is gonna be on it. [player_tooltip player_id="1019163" first="Aiden" last="Chislom"] - 2023 - F - Wisconsin Starz Elite Playing up in the 16U Division, Chislom showed some nice things this weekend. The 6-foot-4 combo forward has some nice length and athleticism to him. Chislom pulls bigs away from the rim and shoots it well from 3-point range. He also shows some nice mismatch potential, being able to put the ball on the floor and even pull-up in the mid-range. Chislom is still pretty raw, but his older brother, who’s now at UW-Whitewater, was a late bloomer and turned into a physical specimen by his senior year. Chislom can expect to be ranked when the next update comes out. [player_tooltip player_id="994492" first="Sam" last="Haese"] - 2021 - SF - Wisconsin Blizzard Haese shot it really well in a loss to the Wisconsin Crusaders on Sunday. The 6-foot-3 senior kept the Blizzard in it for a while with a string of triples. Haese is a smooth and confident spot-up shooter and will kill teams if they forget about him. He doesn’t always spend a ton of time near the basket, but Haese definitely has the upper body strength and toughness to score against contact when he does. [player_tooltip player_id="804902" first="Jayden" last="Jackson"] - 2021 - SG - ABC Young Lions One of the criticisms I’ve had for Jackson is that he’s too unselfish. He’s got the tools to sore from all three levels and get a quality shot just about whenever he wants, but seems to like playing point guard and getting others involved. But on Sunday, I had to give him credit, because when his team needed buckets in the 17U Hard Work title game, Jackson delivered. The ABC Young Lions got down a few times and Jackson was right there to bring his team back. In a tie game late, Jackson then hit the game-winning floater at the buzzer. Both a Division 1 football and basketball prospect, as well as an excellent student, mid-major hoops programs, need to catch on here. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> [player_tooltip player_id="804902" first="Jayden" last="Jackson"] wins the 17U hard work bracket at the buzzer.<a href="https://twitter.com/JaydenDJackson1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JaydenDJackson1</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/abcyounglions?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@abcyounglions</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PHCircuit?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PHCircuit</a> <a href="https://t.co/Z5E2daQzNf">pic.twitter.com/Z5E2daQzNf</a> — Evan Flood (@Evan_Flood) <a href="https://twitter.com/Evan_Flood/status/1285005397057822722?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 20, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> [player_tooltip player_id="761421" first="Andrew" last="Keller"] - 2022 - PF - Wisconsin Playground Club I happen to like Keller a lot as a tight end prospect, but we’ll see where basketball takes him. The 6-foot-5 forward is a tough, plus-length prospect who knows how to swing the momentum of games. He works his tail off on the glass and busts his butt up and down the floor in transition. Keller is lanky, but definitely has power. The Waunakee native had a couple of really strong and-one finishes on Sunday. He doesn’t show it a ton with this guard-heavy PGC team, but Keller has versatility. He handles the ball and shoots it from the outside. [player_tooltip player_id="938202" first="Kody" last="Krekling"] - 2021 - SG - Wisconsin Sharks Krekling is one of the best shooters on the Prep Hoops Circuit. The Prairie School standout has a beautiful high-arcing 3-pointer that’s as consistent as it gets. The 6-foot-3 sniper loves to sit in the corners and feed off dribble penetration. Krekling is also an underrated offensive rebounder. He may spend a lot of time on the perimeter, but Krekling crashes the glass hard and creates a lot of second chance opportunities for his teammates. [player_tooltip player_id="880038" first="Sam" last="Ludwig"] - 2021 - G - JH1 Elite Ludwig had 28 points to lift JH1 Elite past Chapman Basketball Academy in the 17U semifinals. That included a key 3-pointer from the corner to all but seal the win. A prospect that quietly produced in a big way last season for New Berlin Eisenhower, Ludwig did it again on Sunday, also helping JH1 to an upset win over Wisconsin Playground Club earlier in the day. A guard with a strong upper body and a versatile skill set, Ludwing can beat teams in so many ways. He’s a swiss army knife and an efficient scorer. Nothing overly flashy about his game, but Ludwig always seems to produce at a high level every time he steps on the floor. [player_tooltip player_id="804915" first="Cael" last="McGee"] - 2021 - SG - Wisconsin Rap McGee was a monster on Sunday. I’m not sure there’s a guard in the state that likes to attack the rim and try and go through people as much as him. The Stoughton guard is a physical prospect who can finish through the chest of bigger players. He also catches a lot of people by surprise with how explosive he is at the rim. You don’t see a lot of 6-foot-2 guards flying in for putback slams. A tenacious prospect who’s also pretty skilled off the dribble, McGee can shoot it, but doesn’t like to settle for jumpers if he can avoid it. McGee is wired to get downhill and all the way to the bucket or the foul line. [player_tooltip player_id="879996" first="Jadon" last="Melvin"] - 2021 - SF - Chapman Basketball Academy Melvin and Chapman Basketball Academy had a good run to the semifinals. The Hartford wing remains one of the tougher matchups in the state. A big body who’s quicker than he looks, it’s hard to find the right defender to contain Melvin. The 6-foot-3 senior has a strong upper body and can take people into the post. He’s also quick off the dribble and can break down defenders from the perimeter. Melvin also scores it well from all three levels and kind of makes defenders pick their poison. [player_tooltip player_id="880025" first="Aidan" last="Ottery"] - 2021 - F - Wisconsin Crusaders Liked what Ottery showed in spurts during Sunday’s win over the Wisconsin Blizzard. The 6-foot-3 combo forward is a bit of a matchup problem and a well-rounded prospect. He handled the ball in transition and dished it well for a kid his size. He doesn’t look the part of a drive and dish prospect, but Ottery had some nice moments where he was able to take the ball into traffic and find open teammates for shots. Ottery can knock down 3’s and also take people in the post and score on the block. Ottery’s deep skill set seemed to be a big difference-maker for the Crusaders throughout the win. [player_tooltip player_id="804920" first="Jasin" last="Sinani"] - 2021 - SG - Wisconsin Rap [caption id="attachment_1019218" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/Jasin-Sinani.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1019218" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/Jasin-Sinani-300x155.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="155" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="804920" first="Jasin" last="Sinani"][/caption] This kid was a walking bucket on Sunday. Definitely knew about Sinani from previous years, but never saw anything this good up until Sunday. The Oak Creek guard looked a lot more skilled and explosive off the dribble. He’s got a lot of wiggle and shake, but can still get to the rim in two dribbles or less from the top of the key. When defenders start giving him space, the 6-foot-2 guard can knock down shots off the dribble or in the catch-and-shoot game. As good as he was going to the rim, Sinani was just as effective from the outside. [player_tooltip player_id="865854" first="Marcus" last="Tomashek"] - 2022 - SG - JH1 Elite Tomashek shot it consistently all weekend and was a game changer for JH1 in their run to the 16U title game. Wasn’t anything highlight worthy about what Tomashek did, but he played his role about as well you can play it. When his teammates drove the paint, Tomashek moved without the ball, found the soft spots, and made himself available. You can probably count on one hand how many wide open looks Tomashek missed throughout the weekend. If he was given space and the pass was on-time and on-target, the shot was going down.