OTR The Opening: Sunday Standouts Part 2

<p>We put together an initial list of 8 from Sunday’s action at OTR’s the Opening, here are 5 more who made a statement:</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="870204" first="Keith" last="Robbins"], 6-3, SG, Team Dickerson (2022, St Francis)</strong></em></p> <p>Had perhaps the most dominant display I saw over my time there Sunday with a barrage of 3-pointers and power drives that were simply too much for whoever was guarding him, has as pretty a long-ball stroke as anyone I’ve seen in the class, but I loved how willing he was to not rely on that prowess while showing more than enough strength and savvy near the basket to be a major threat off the bounce, already a known quantity around town but established himself at least in my eyes as a must-fixture moving forward among the top of the SG’s in the class.</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1036789" first="Kyle" last="Burns"], 6-2, CG, Team Dickerson (2022, Wheeler, pictured above)</strong></em></p> <p>Playing on a deep HS team currently on a 2-year state championship run can mean the spotlight might not shine your way much, on this Dickerson team he will undoubtedly have the ball in his hands more and showed some of what he can do Sunday, good length and burst off the dribble at the guard spot allows him to get into and thru traffic and finish with a variety of mid-range J’s and floaters, a very sound on-ball defender who’s deceptively athletic in that it’s obvious by his frame he’s inherently gifted but it’s often not apparent how good a "basketball player" he is until he’s by you or knocks one down in your face, he’ll be one of the catalysts for the Wildcats run at a third title in a row next winter.</p> <p><em><strong>Duke Clayton, 6-7, SF, Norcross Heat (2022, Peachtree Ridge)</strong></em></p> <p>Won’t wow you with his frame or athletic gifts, what he will do is score on you in a variety of ways with a confidence and assuredness that is a commodity often overlooked, takes a lot of jawing from the opposition but goes out and simply produces, not afraid of the big moment or the big shot he appears most comfortable out on the wing facing the basket but can definitely get inside and be a factor on the glass with a wide body, this is a must-watch player who saw very little pub from his HS season, can play at the next level and with work on his body can become an absolute steal with his size and scoring chops.</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1047093" first="Chase" last="Ballard"], 5-9, PG, GA Canes, (2021 unsigned, Stephenson)</strong></em></p> <p>If he was 6-1 with the abilities he consistently shows he’d be submerged in offers from a variety of programs, this is just a sound basketball player who does everything you can ask from a modern-day PG - guards and pesters with great quickness, explodes off the dribble be it leading the break or penetrating in the halfcourt, a tremendous passer with elite vision, plenty of shooting range and a no-fear attitude about going after his offense at multiple levels, a small school program would see massive lift from scooping up this sleeper.</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1050045" first="Langston" last="Terry"], 6-4, SF, Atlanta Nets (2022, Lithia Springs)</strong></em></p> <p>Really impressed with the way his game has evolved from what I saw both last summer and this past regular season, he has improved his ballhandling and slowed the game down a bit to make it more of a  consistent weapon, can create space off the bounce for his equally-improved jump shot, a bit bigger and stronger as he’s matured he looked much more confident and controlled getting downhill to the basket as well and was a ton to handle in that respect, with this kind of ongoing progression he’ll definitely turn some heads this summer.</p>