Myrtle Chaffin Classic Scouting-Guards

Over the weekend the annual Myrtle Chaffin Classic was held on the campus of Mt. Zion Prep. The field was impressive and included the likes of Mt. Zion, Sunrise Christian Academy, Massanutten Military Academy, International Sports Academy, Central Pointe, Spire Academy, Black Panthers (St. Frances) and Our Family (team made up of players from Poly). Over the early portion of this week, I’ll be releasing some scouting info from the action I took in. I was in attendance for the Friday night game where Mt. Zion defeated ISA and was there for the entire Saturday slate. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/09/Primo-Spears.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1055954" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/09/Primo-Spears-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> Primo Spears | 6’0 | Mt. Zion Prep ’21 Tough-nosed guard who is active and accurate in the passing lanes. Aggressive driver and welcomes contact on his way to the rim on in the air. Maintains good body control and finishes through fouls. Spears tallied 14 points in the win over ISA. Spears put forth an excellent performance in Mt. Zion’s dominant win over Sunrise Christian. From the start, Spears had an aggressive scoring mindset and when his jumper from outside is flowing, he’s extremely difficult to contain. He made good decisions in transition and didn’t force shots despite having a big scoring night. He used his gravity to his advantage to free up his teammates and found them for open shots. B.J. Francis | 5’11 | Mt. Zion Prep ’21 Table-setting 5-foot-11 guard who is a dependable ball-handler. Ensures execution in the half court and understands how to control the pace of a game from the point guard position. In both of Mt. Zion’s wins, Francis was instrumental in setting the tone early and putting his teammates in positions where they shine. Francis is a pesky defender who generated multiple steals in the game against Sunrise Christian and ultimately turned those steals into points for the Warriors. Gbolahan Aido | 6’3 | ISA ’21 6-foot-3 combo guard who showed some ability to operate off the bounce and make plays. Funky load up on the release of his jumper but can get his shot off with fluidity in the mid-range with regularity. Logan Murray | 6’1 | ISA ’21 6-foot-1 southpaw guard with decent handle. Can really do damage from three and gets tremendous arc and rotation on his shot. Provides energy on the defensive end and can guard his position effectively. High IQ player. Led ISA in their loss to Mt. Zion with 17 points. Chris Blauman | 6’3 | ISA ’21 Spot-up shooter who knows how to find open windows and make himself available without the ball. Plays within himself and refuses to shoot bad shots. Despite not being the most athletic player on the floor, Blauman knows how to use the backboard on his shots around the basket and exhibits soft touch. Finished with 12 points in a loss against Mt. Zion. Khryie Staten | 6’2 | Black Panthers ’21 Staten was his usual efficient self on both ends in the win over Central Pointe. He picked his spots well as a scorer in the half court using his quick first-step off the catch to attack open mid-range opportunities. He also made it a point to get out early on the break. Staten was active defensively and created multiple deflections in the Panthers’ full court press. I wasn’t in attendance for their game on Sunday against Spire Academy, but Staten was absolutely superb defensively. He was matched up against [player_tooltip player_id="779856" first="Gerald" last="Doakes"], a 6-foot-2 guard coming off a blistering 46-point performance from Saturday, and held him to just nine points. Staten also produced 21 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steal in a dominant win over Spire where the Panthers were without the services of [player_tooltip player_id="712747" first="Julian" last="Reese"]. Byron Ireland| 6’2 | Black Panthers ’21 6-foot-3 guard who was effective in transition where he did a nice job of putting pressure on the defense by pushing the tempo and finishing at the basket. Made good decisions and reacting quickly as a passer in transition as well. Ireland stepped up in the win over Spire and finished with a stat line of 18 points and five rebounds. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/Jahn-Lamothe-Jamie-Kasier.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1023605" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/Jahn-Lamothe-Jamie-Kasier-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="957025" first="Jahnathan" last="Lamothe"] | 6’3 | Black Panthers ’21 Lamothe wasn’t hitting his array of three-pointer as usual, but he didn’t allow that to impeded him from making an impact. He was active as a trapper in the Panthers’ full court press and consistently ran the floor, making himself available or easy lay-ups. Lamothe finished with 12 points in the win over Central Pointe. Lamothe boasted an impressive stat line in their win over Spire with 14 points, eight assists, six rebounds and two steals. Tauris Watson | 6’3 | Central Pointe ’21 Watson is a 6-foot-3 southpaw guard with a scorer’s mentality. Prefers operating off the bounce or in open space where he gets to the rim and finishes creatively. Underrated athlete who can surprise with above the rim finishes. Watson was pretty much the one consistent scoring presence for Central Point in their loss to the Panthers. Led Central Pointe in the loss to the Panthers with an impressive 30-point performance. [player_tooltip player_id="1041138" first="Cory" last="Barnes"] | 6’3 | Massanutten ’21 Barnes is a solid 6-foot-3 lead guard who can play as the primary ball-handler and ensure execution in the half court. Strong frame that absorbs contact on drives to the rim. Still improving as a shooter, but with time can make the defense pay for leaving him open beyond the arc. Effective defender at either guard position. Tremendous communicator as a defender. [player_tooltip player_id="927499" first="Umar" last="Lawson"] | 6’3 | Massanutten ’21 Lawson 6-foot-3 lefty who makes life extremely difficult as a defender. Pressures the ball constantly but moves feet laterally and doesn’t foul. Downhill scorer on the offensive end and comes equipped with athleticism to help finish above the rim. Strong frame that helps embrace contact on his finishes. Plus motor and plays with a competitive edge. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/11/Kanye-Clary.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1085340" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/11/Kanye-Clary-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="815583" first="Kanye" last="Clary"] | 5’11 | Massanutten ’22 Clary is a smaller guard, but extremely shifty with the basketball and can create space to get his shot off. The southpaw comes with a quick first step and can take advantage of limited driving lanes. He split time with Barnes as the facilitator throughout their win over ISA, but was always aggressive as a scorer whether he was on or off the ball. Clary led Massanutten with 23 points in their win over ISA. [player_tooltip player_id="779856" first="Gerald" last="Doakes"] | 6’2 | Spire Academy ’21 Doakes had one of the more memorable scoring performances I’ve seen against Our Family. The 6-foot-2 guard scored 46 points and put the ball in the hole in every fashion. He was a marksman from three, got to his spots quickly off the dribble, split defenders and finished above the rim through traffic all while being a consistent lob threat on the break. Tahj Stevaskie | 6’0 | Spire Academy ’21 6-foot lead guard who showcased great pace as the primary ball-handler. He has a balanced approach as a scorer and distributor that keeps his matchup guessing. He presented good pace on his pull-ups and exhibited sound vision as a passer on drives. [player_tooltip player_id="902040" first="Trae" last="English"] | 5’11 | Our Family ’21 English’s impact can be felt way beyond what shows on the box score. When it comes to on-ball defenders at the point guard position, there aren’t many who can cause havoc and turnovers simply using pressure. This was one of the better offensive performances I’ve seen English put on. He made the defense pay for leaving him free on the perimeter while putting constant pressure by pushing the tempo on transition opportunities. When he wasn’t finishing drives he was drawing fouls and converting at the charity stripe. English finished with 22 points in the loss.