A-Game Fall Shootout: 8th Grade Gold Division Standouts

Manheim, Pa. — This past weekend Prep Hoops Next was in the gym for the A-Game Fall Shootout which was held at the Spooky Nook Sports Complex in Manheim, PA. There was a ton of talent present from grades 6th-8th with teams from all over the Mid-Atlantic participating. This article is part one of my  8th Grade Gold Division highlighting some of the top performers.

2025 Nate Ament | Team Impact

Ament stands out right away because of his intriguing size standing at 6’1 and good length. He uses his height to his advantage well when he shoots floaters up high over defenders. Ament is productive around the rim because of his length and is always involved in a lot of activity in the post. He can also step out and shoot it from the perimeter where he is efficient because of a nice pure high arching stroke that he has. As Ament gets older, he will need to continue to use his size as an advantage because right now he carries a nice mismatch against the opposition.

2025 Noah Crouth | Team Impact      

Fairfax, Virginia has been known to produce some college-ready prospects in the past and 5’9 Noah Crouth looks to be one of the next in line. Crouth carries a swagger with him while he is on the court and backs it up nicely. Crouth is a three-level scorer with a beautiful stroke on his jump shot where even his missed shots look good. He uses his strength to finish in the lane and displayed a good floater game where he finishes well in traffic. Defensively, he is the loudest player on the court as he is always talking and telling his teammates what to do. Crouth already carries a very mature level of leadership that should bode well for him in high school.

2025 Badara Diakite | New York Lightning   

Diakite was the best prospect this past weekend and absolutely oozes with potential due to his height and length standing at 6’10. Offensively he was dominant in the paint and cleaning up everything at the rim as he is a matchup nightmare because of his size. He also showed that he can step out to the perimeter and make shots. When he is not scoring, he is looking like he will be a big man that can pass the ball well too as he showed some impressive deep outlet passes after securing a defensive rebound. He is a great rim protector on defense as he was blocking shot after shot this weekend. Diakite does everything you want in a big man and is shaping out to be an elite prospect in the 2025 class.

2025 Brendan Hamilton | New York Lightning

Hamilton already has a strong build for an 8th grader that plays with that New York City style mentality. Hamilton is a tough-nosed guard that excels at getting downhill and uses his strength to finish well at the rim and knows how to draw contact to get to the free throw line. He also displayed a nice jumper where he hit shots from multiple spots on the floor. Hamilton looks to be on track as being one of the top point guards in the 2025 class from the New York area.

2025 Kayden Mingo | New York Lightning

Mingo is the engine that makes this New York Lightning team go. He is always in attack mode and seems to have a good sense of what he wants to do when the ball is in his hands. He has a nice skilled handle and some shiftiness to his game. When Mingo is in trouble, he knows when to get rid of the ball, make a play for his teammates, or find the open man. While being a good playmaker, he can also score the basketball from his jump shot. Whenever Mingo is in attack mode, good things seem to happen for his team.