The Closed Session: Below-the-radar standouts

<p>Last weekend, I was invited to scout <em>The Closed Session, </em>a Team Griffin event in Oklahoma City. I became fixated, as I often do, on a handful of players who exceeded expectations. At an event hosting 40 players, many of whom boasted top-twenty national rankings, four or five stars and bags deep with Division-I offers, it was the play of a few outsiders -- players ranked outside of the top five within their own state -- that caught my eye the most.</p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%;"> <h6 style="text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="955387" first="Adante" last="Holiman"]</h6> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #f2f0f0;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">5’10" PG</span></td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">McAlester (OK) ’22</span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>Holiman is, in my opinion, a heinously-overlooked rural prospect, and though I had my reservations about his smaller stature before the event, his play at <em>The Closed Session</em> event erased my doubts.</p> <p>Skill translates; and when you are able to make plays, score and defend against a host of top-twenty national prospects, a Kansas commit and a number of hungry defensive guards with power-five aspirations, that skill not only warrants a significant boost in recruiting, it <em>demands</em> it.</p> <p>A crafty on-ball guard with a blink-of-an-eye first step and college-potential vision, Holiman was perpetually aware of the off-ball movements of his teammates and was able to spot holes in the defense, attack compromised zones and distribute the ball with quarterback-like accuracy in the half-court with little resistance. If you had your own questions about his ability to see the floor, his turnover-disinclined play without forfeiting his high motor for making plays was a spectacle that may have silenced your inhibitions.</p> <p>As a scorer, those same skills often applied and allowed him to score near the rim. First creating separation, Holiman was able to give himself the space necessary to score on the drive and could compete at the rim by means of his polished attack: putting his body into defenders, finishing through contact, weaving his way under the bottom interior, finishing on the reverse, euros, pump fakes and anything in-between. Holiman was also no stranger to sinking shots from distance out of the catch or handle.</p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;"> <h6>[player_tooltip player_id="703835" first="JJ" last="White"]</h6> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #f2f0f0;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">6’1" PG</span></td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Norman North (OK) ’21</span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>Last weekend was my first time seeing White in action since his junior season at Norman North. A full disclaimer: I have always been fond of his skill-set, but I questioned whether he was built to last as a Division-I guard with translatable skills rather than a high school standout with an arsenal of predictable, albeit, effective high school moves.</p> [caption id="attachment_1031295" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/08/DSC_0031.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1031295" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/08/DSC_0031-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Photo Credit: Noah Weber (Prep Hoops)[/caption] <p>However, the way he played, often dominating opposing guards on the perimeter with smooth mechanics, a durable skill-set and an adaptable attack made me eat any words I had about him.</p> <p>The Atlanta native was <em>cooking</em> the competition throughout the weekend, reaching deep into his bag to put defenders in a blender each game. White danced on the perimeter and attacked compromised defenders with quick, precise ball-handling maneuvers that adapted to those defenders’ movements in the blink of an eye, often seconds before flicking a shot from beyond the college arch and sinking it.</p> <p>He took the ball to the rack, as well, with little-to-no-problem, often after demoralizing opposing guards with unprecedented accuracy of college-ready shots from deep, catching them asleep by using his rapid first step and outlasting interior defenders to score with hand-work.</p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;"> <h6>[player_tooltip player_id="745357" first="Anthony" last="Pritchard"]</h6> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #f2f0f0;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">6’1" CG</span></td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Tulsa Webster (OK) ’21</span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><em>A.P.</em> was one the maturest, college-ready prospects at the event, regardless of tier or status.</p> <p>The dynamic scoring guard showed up to the event prepared to give buckets to any and everybody who stood between him and the basket with a catalog of polished skilsl. Pritchard was, first and foremost, one of the most reliable, durable shooters in the gym, both from the long-and-mid-range, and he had no hesitation to take shots --and sink them -- out of the handle.</p> <p>He relied on his confidence to knock down those shots against defenders much taller than him, though his handle was fortuitous in creating some separation for him in that process. He converted on difficult shots, often out of complex maneuvers, including the spin out of the drive, the step-back in mid-range, striking out of screens, backing-down and shaking defenders and more.</p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%;"> <h6 style="text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="745373" first="PJ" last="Johnson"]</h6> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #f2f0f0;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">6’1" CG</span></td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Casady (OK) ’21</span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>Johnson has shown significant improvements to his game since last summer, displaying at the Team Griffin event that he provides the same age with more efficiency, versatility and reliability.</p> <p>A sharpshooter with no confidence deficiency, he put the ball through the hoop often from <i>way </i>range from the catch, and with a rapid release and outstanding footwork, he was habitually a threat. Johnson was no stranger to taking the ball to the hole, either, though he used his handle sparingly and conservatively as to catch defenders asleep rather than forfeit his edge by pounding the ball against the hard-wood on every catch.</p> <p>Defensively, Johnson’s game was almost as impressive. The same fervor, confidence, <em>i</em><em>t-factor</em> or whatever you call it applied to his game on that side of the ball. He forced or influenced turnovers by swiping, poking and thieving the ball, utilizing his lateral agility and iQ to make easy plays out of easy opportunities.</p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%;"> <h6 style="text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="1015862" first="LJ" last="Gurley"]</h6> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #f2f0f0;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">5’10" PG</span></td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Choctaw (OK) ’21</span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>The skinny on Gurley is that he is, flat-out, one of the most underrated prospects of Oklahoma’s mighty class of 2021 with an aggressive, attack driven two-way game.</p> <p>The nimble, quick-witted point guard was a defensive shut-down specialist all weekend, routinely giving opposing on-ball guards fits and influencing turnovers with such ferocity and volume that those guards must have winced each time they saw Gurley activate his low, wide stance against them. More subtly, his play motivated ball-handlers to play more conservatively and turn their focuses from making plays to defending the ball from his quick hands.</p> <p>Offensively, he had a few head-turners on the drive, boasting a brilliant finishing package with all of the English <em>and </em>French on the ball, making acrobatic conversions at the rim light work.</p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%;"> <h6 style="text-align: center;">Gloire Houmba</h6> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #f2f0f0;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">6’0" SG</span></td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Sunrise Christian (KS) ’21</span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>Houmba has blossomed from a player whose responsibilities started and ended with cleaning up to a highly competent two-way player.</p> <p>One of the most capable athletes at the event, Houmba’s talents translated in using his remarkable stop-and-go speed in the scoring game, slipping behind the defense without the ball in his hands and adhering tenaciously to opposing guards.</p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;"> <h6>[player_tooltip player_id="955380" first="Caden" last="Fry"]</h6> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #f2f0f0;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">6’7" C</span></td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Owasso (OK) ’22</span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">(Editor’s note: though Fry is ranking within the top-five of Oklahoma’s 2022 class, his un-offered status warranted his spot on our below-the-radar list.)</span></p> <p>An exceptionally athletic and versatile player, Fry shined with a skill-set his team was able to utilize for various facets of play. From a kinetic standpoint, he was one of the most gifted athletes in the gym, pairing mobility, durability, fitness and a 6-foot-8-inch frame. From game-to-game, it was his fortitude when tasked with guarding top-twenty and top-ten national post prospects that impressed the most as he was rarely exposed as an outsider but rather a guy who belonged in the conversation. Fry has craft near the rim, a skill that often manifests itself when he puts his body into defenders and positions himself to score with power before finishing with finesse. He routinely leaned, shook and spun into defenders’ bodies with precision indicative of his practice and put the ball through the hoop with either hand, sometimes on a reverse finish, even. He was even comfortable handling the ball in the full-court, and with any gather whatsoever he was a dangerous threat to put any tenants in the paint on a highlight reel.</p>