AAU Workout Visit: OTP Basketball 2022

<p>The name Jack Shaughnessy is well-known in Cherokee County, he the former Etowah star and college basketball player and coach. He’s brought his impressive pedigree back to his old stomping grounds to jump into this highly competitive market here in the ATL-Metro with his OTP Basketball organization, and from the look of his high-level, college-like practices, his group of mixed under-the-radar yet sneaky talented guys from Cherokee County and surrounds will seriously advance their basketball knowledge and preparedness for the next-level at worst.</p> <p>But they can play, and here are a handful of talented 2022 performers in a deep cast from Thursday night’s workout:</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1049037" first="Josh" last="Hughes"], PF, Etowah</strong></em></p> <p>Much like his station on Etowah, Hughes will be the primary post force for this group, and he’ll see some of the top big men in the state during their tour through the circuits. He has come so far in the last year, following up a summer that ended strong with a regular season that advanced his prospects even further. He’s added more strength and toughness at 6-5 to a growing reportoire of moves near the basket, and his defense has gone from excellent to next-level ready. A big summer awaits to add to his growing resume.    </p> <p><em><strong>Mihir Patel, PG, River Ridge</strong></em></p> <p>May have been the smallest guy on the floor, but the size of this spunky and skilled PG shouldn’t be underestimated coming off a really solid season running the show for a breakout River Ridge group. He’s poised, well-drilled, and can really knock down the 3-ball, and for a pass-first lead guard he will need that element to take advantage of the opportunities sure to come his way in the drive and kick system Shaughnessy had on display. He teams with another Knights prospect in 6-4 Michael Martinez, a hard-working, high IQ forward who never takes a possession off and stands to really benefit from a  summer under the OTP brass.</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1045843" first="Jonah" last="Hamilton"], SG, Etowah (pictured above)</strong></em></p> <p>One of last summer’s "shooting" stars, both in his rise up rankings boards and off the fingertips of his near-perfect stroke. Few can light it up with the kind of consistency Hamilton has shown, and I loved seeing him put the ball on the floor a bit Thursday night to try and wiggle himself free from hard close-outs. But as mentioned above, in Shaughnessy’s system he’ll see plenty of looks as a wave of slashing guards attack the paint and look for kick-outs to the 5-10 wing, who looks more mature and strong this spring and is a sleeper small-college steal of a shooting prospect.</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1020680" first="Dajuan" last="Devonish"], PG, Etowah</strong></em></p> <p>Shouldn’t be too big a surprise to see 3 Eagle players as lynch-pins for Shaughnessy, and all three have come from a Deep South Blue Devils program headed up by Lincoln Lahmann that was really well-run. Devonish played well all the times I saw Etowah this past regular season, particularly against Milton where he carved up both [player_tooltip player_id="870146" first="Bruce" last="Thornton"] and [player_tooltip player_id="820272" first="Kanaan" last="Carlyle"] for a big night. His burst with the ball and enthusiasm on the floor are both unteachable, and that together with a soft shooting touch will all be needed against the level of foes OTP will see.</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1049039" first="Dylan" last="Sears"], SG, King’s Ridge</strong></em></p> <p>This is a big summer for Sears, a tantalizing shooting prospect guard prospect with good size at around 6-1 who, like Hamilton, can really heat up from beyond the arc. He figures to move into a larger role with King’s Ridge next season for his senior campaign, and he will see the same chance here with OTP, another potential beneficiary of the drive-and-kick. Continued advancement of his dribble-drive game to go with a high IQ understanding of angles and defensive positioning should only improve his standing as he nears next fall.  </p> <p><em><strong>Parker Mayo, CG, Walton</strong></em></p> <p>Really sound stuff from Mayo all night, looking comfortable both on and off the ball and quietly doing damage with both his shooting and in attack-mode. His real shine came at the defensive end, where he was able to use good length at the guard spot to pester the other side<span style="font-size: 1rem;">. Notable graduation losses for the Raiders means Mayo will have a chance to step forward off this summer, and teaming with fast-rising SG [player_tooltip player_id="1131830" first="Luke" last="Flynn"] will make for a fun backcourt.</span></p> <p><em><strong>OTHERS TO WATCH: Caleb Moore, Javecckio Thomas, Flip Carswell (all Washington County, Moore a speedy PG, Thomas a physical wing and Carswell [not present] a 6-8 post presence), [player_tooltip player_id="1049038" first="Jackson" last="Lahmann"] (Cherokee), Derion Richardson (Model), JC Driggers (Creekview)</strong></em></p>