Black Panther Fall League: Week 4 Notebook

<p>Week four of the Black Panther Fall League took place today at St. Frances Academy where plenty of Baltimore prospects were on display. For this notebook, I’ll go through the games that I was in attendance for and highlight the standouts. </p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/Elijah-Jones.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1065160" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/Elijah-Jones-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Grey Dogs vs Mt. Zion Prep</strong></span></p> <p> Mt. Zion Prep ultimately came out with the win, but it was 2022 guard [player_tooltip player_id="777071" first="Christian" last="Winborne"] who put on the best performance of the day for the Grey Dogs. The 6-foot-2 guard finished with 40 points and refused to let his team go down easily. He scored from all three levels and simply couldn’t be stopped in ball-screen scenarios. Winborne is the ultimate competitor on the defensive end and got his hands on a number of deflection to earn extra possessions for his team.<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/Christian-Winborne.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1065161 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/Christian-Winborne-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p> <p>For Mt. Zion, 2022 Elijah Jones had yet another productive outing. Jones is a big-body presence in the paint at 6-foot-8 who has much to his game. He can operate in face-up scenarios, knock down shots off the catch out to 17-feet and finish with soft touch on over the shoulder hooks. He’s a tenacious rebounder and plays with an admirable motor. Jones holds offers from Bryant, Mississippi Valley State and Rider. I see that list growing tremendously if there’s any sort of season this winter. Primo Spears in the facilitator for this Mt. Zion group and he’s a fun one to watch. He’s a 6-foot guard who extremely quick and shifty with the ball. He has a great feel for the game as a distributor and finishes with craft regularly around the rim. Spears is another player on this roster low and mid Division I programs should be tracking closely.</p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/09/Julian-Reese.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1055957" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/09/Julian-Reese-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Panthers vs Baltimore Elite</strong></span></p> <p>The Panthers have been a dominant force throughout this league and have played against all of the other top projected teams. Maryland commit [player_tooltip player_id="712747" first="Julian" last="Reese"] led the way with 19 points and showed glimpses of improved versatility making things happen off the dribble. He blocked a handful of shots and rebounded at a steady rate. 2024 Derik Queen proves time and time again that he’s one of the special prospects nationally in his class. At 6-foot-8, he has such great feel and handles. He drives to create for others, but can also finish the job himself. Queen also canned a pull-up three as a part of his nine points in the win.</p> <p>Siena commit [player_tooltip player_id="775326" first="Jared" last="Billups"] was the lone bright spot for Baltimore Elite. The 6-foot-5 guard finished with a game-high 20 points and did so from operating off the dribble and creating his own shot. He got to the charity stripe routinely and had a few over the rim finishes that caught the gym’s attention.</p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/Kwame-Evans.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1065165" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/Kwame-Evans-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Our Family <em>vs</em> Your Team vs Hub City</strong></span></p> <p>2021 guard [player_tooltip player_id="902040" first="Trae" last="English"] led the way for OFYT with 16 points. He was aggressive at the point of attack and got downhill often where he finished tough lay ups through contact. English is a pesky defender who caused a number of turnovers for the opposition. 2022 guard [player_tooltip player_id="777095" first="Bryce" last="Lindsay"] was a smooth operator and continues to prove that he has underrated vision as a guard. He was an excellent playmaker for others in the first half and made his presence felt from deep in the second. 2023 wing [player_tooltip player_id="957019" first="Kwame" last="Evans"] logged a productive game as he finished with an efficient 13 points. I liked how aggressive he came out from the opening tip as it set a tone early for his team. 2021 wing [player_tooltip player_id="902030" first="Barry" last="Evans"] is another rising senior that has added to his game. Evans is a legit 6-foot-7 and while he’s always been able to finish around the rim and shoot at a decent clip when left open, he’s brought a toughness and gritty mindset that was missing last season. He plays hard on both ends and makes his presence felt even without the ball.</p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Cougars vs Stang Gang</strong></span></p> <p>2022 guard [player_tooltip player_id="904628" first="Deon" last="Perry"] led the Cougars with a smooth 20-point performance. He dissects the defense in ball-screen action and uses his quickness plus his long-range shot to keep both defenders guessing. Perry canned four three’s in the first half and set the table in the second half to cap off his outing. 2021 center [player_tooltip player_id="837931" first="Kevin" last="Kalu"] is going to be a crucial piece for his school this season. At 6-foot-8, he brings much needed size and a great motor that comes to light when rebounding or running the floor. Kalu thoroughly impressed me with his discipline in staying vertical when opposing players drove to the rim and tried baiting him into fouls. 2022 guard [player_tooltip player_id="904622" first="Tobi" last="Nnadozie"] chipped in with 11 points including a put-back dunk that he seemed to float in the air for five seconds to complete. Nnadozie’s jumpshot is showing improvement and he converted on two triples off the bounce with confidence. 2024 guard Andrew Dixon will be a freshman on my radar this season. He’s crafty as a ball-handler and is a capable scorer from three as well as around the basket. The 5-foot-10 guard finished with 14 points on the day.</p> <p>2022 guard [player_tooltip player_id="904634" first="Carlos" last="Alexander"] made everything go for the Stang Gang. In terms of potential, there’s not many guards who can do what Alexander can do with the basketball. He scored 13 points, which was the bulk of his team’s total. However, I’m still waiting to see Alexander grow as a leader and he continues to struggle in that regard.</p>