Sunday Shootout 1/31: Three favorites
We attended Jon Ellis’s weekly Sunday Shootout on Sunday night at the Hive Sports Complex in Edmond, where a few local prospects caught my attention, which are listed below in no particular order. We warmly thanks Jon Ellis and the…
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Continue ReadingWe attended Jon Ellis’s weekly Sunday Shootout on Sunday night at the Hive Sports Complex in Edmond, where a few local prospects caught my attention, which are listed below in no particular order. We warmly thanks Jon Ellis and the Hive for accommodating the Prep Hoops Oklahoma staff on a regular basis, and you can support and find more information regarding his grassroots team on his instagram page.
Jayden Cincotta Jayden Cincotta 6'1" | SG Edmond Santa Fe | 2023 State OK | 2023 Edmond Santa Fe SG
There is a strong tendency for teenagers to become ball-dominant or forceful in transition if you let them play un-coached. However, there is little to worry about the maturity of Cincotta, who was perhaps the performer who stood out among the pack.
The Santa Fe sophomore shared the ball well, but he was selfish just to the extent that he was still beneficial to the altruistic sense of winning runs; and believe us, he can really score the basketball, primarily as a catch-and-shoot specialist.
Open runs are still beneficial, however, for players to explore new crafts, and Cincotta did a bit of that, as well. He worked on handling pressure in isolation situations, and he was just as aggressive, at times, in transition. Where his showcase was paramount to other performers was in the consistency that he converted shots. Where some other players played sequences at a net minimum to their team, Cincotta only took tough shots that he could finish, and he did very well against contact.
D’Narian Zeigler | 2021 John Marshall PG
Zeigler may be among the most under appreciated prospects in the 405-area code, and each time he shows up to Ellis’s runs, he only furthers that theory for us.
Even when sharing a court with some of the best local recruits, Zeigler is notably competent compared to many other unranked players (although we can assure you that his unranked status will be terminated soon). He handles the ball well, is smooth, crafty and does not often turn it over, while he also displaying impressive scoring talents.
Zeigler is very elusive with the ball in his hands, mostly credited to his change-of-direction when going down-hill that aids him in all of his euros and spins.
Ziegler’s pace is good, although he could stand to slow down, at times, to allow openings to develop and to show off all of those skills in his catalog that can really pick apart opposing defenses.
Price Bradley | 2023 Bishop McGuinness G-F
Bradley has exceptional perimeter skills to create shots for himself, especially among the crowd of slashers at Ellis’s run Sunday.
He is smooth, well-paced, now fast enough so that he is sloppy, but quick enough to really put defenders on their heels. His moves to separate himself at the arch are very defined, punctuated and polished so that defenders are mostly occupied with keeping their eyes on him, hopeless to predict the precise moment that he will strike, let alone actually contesting his shot.
Bradley transitions from the handle to the shot quite smoothly, and standing about 6-foot-2-inches, he has little trouble putting up shots with defenders below him.
I really would like to see Bradley develop (or simply showcase) talents more congruent to that of a three-level scoring threat. If you can post this kid up on occasion, or opposing teams have to constantly worry about him driving from the corners, and finishing in traffic, he could be a fantastic scoring threat at the high school level.