Treasure Valley Classic Evals: Oregon Prospects Black (17U)

<p>The Treasure Valley Classic was held in the Boise area this past weekend and a number of teams - notably from the Oregon Prospects program - took the court in some competitive action. Oregon Prospects Black was the program’s top 17U squad consisting of some of the top players in the Class of 2021 and despite depth and injury issues, had a solid showing. Here’s a look at their top performers:</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="855925" first="Darius" last="Gakwasi"] (2021 Central Catholic)</strong></p> <p>Apparently Gakwasi suffered a mild ankle injury early in the weekend so we only got to see him play in one game. It was definitely a good one for the 6-foot-5 swingman though as his offensive game was on automatic. Playing on that bum ankle, he registered 27 points by hitting shots from all over the court, including five threes. Word was in the Prospects other games before his injury, Gakwasi performed extremely well - he certainly looked smooth in the action that we saw.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="606255" first="Trace" last="Salton"] (2021 Lake Oswego)</strong></p> <p>Salton normally doesn’t handle the ball a lot, but with the lack of backcourt depth on this squad the 6-foot-5 swingman was called upon to play some lead guard. That’s not the Lake Oswego senior’s natural position but he adjusted well and was able to get the ball up the floor and initiate the offense up top. For his own offense, he hit a couple of threes but his bread-and-butter remains his pull-up jumper and ability to use his body inside against smaller defenders.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="855930" first="Jalen" last="Grable"] (2021 Westview)</strong></p> <p>Grable has been working on his perimeter skills this summer and while he did hit some open jumpers, the majority of his offense came on attacking the basket either off the dribble or backing down his defender. The 6-foot-3 athlete used his length to grab boards and disrupt on defense and also showed off his underrated passing ability. Grable also helped bring the ball up the floor with no issues.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="855931" first="Brady" last="Grier"] (2021 Westview)</strong></p> <p>Grier had some ups and downs with his perimeter shooting on the weekend but did a good job of using his size to create opportunities to the hoop. His size was also helpful on the boards and defending bigger players on the opposing team.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="606252" first="Kamron" last="Robinson"] (2021 Desert Pines-NV)</strong></p> <p>While he’ll be in Las Vegas this season, Robinson suited up for the Prospects. As we’ve seen this summer, the 6-foot-9 former Jefferson post converted opportunities around the hoop and was particularly good at drawing contact and getting to the line, where he shot it well from the free throw stripe.</p> <p><strong>Kahlil Singleton (2022 Fort Vancouver)</strong></p> <p>Since his time was limited on the 2022 squad and this Black team needed depth at guard, Singleton filled in for a few games. He did a good job handling and distributing the rock with this group and managed to find some spots for his own offense as well.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="857344" first="Max" last="von Arx"] (2022 Grant)</strong></p> <p>Similar to Singleton, von Arx joined the Black squad to help out with depth. As he did with the 2022 team, he showed good motor, fought for loose balls and rebounds, and helped keep the offense moving.</p> <p><strong>Matthew Forsyth (2022 Marist)</strong></p> <p>Forsyth saw some bit minutes coming up from one of the 16U squads to help provide some depth. He’s a promising combo guard at 6-foot-2 to watch out for in the future.</p>