AAU Workout Visit: BCB 16U/17U

<p>We talked a bit about the 15U’s in our first piece from my visit with BCB last week, now we dive into the older kids with a look at the 16U’s (2023) and 17U’s (2024).</p> <p><em><strong>16U</strong></em></p> <p>This is a deep crew of shooters/slashers of medium sizes all of whom can hurt you on this roster ... <strong>Matthew Rouse</strong> out of North Forsyth stood out early on, he has the look of a ballplayer in his movement and court awareness ... The 6-0 SG showed off a sweet stroke from 3 like nearly everyone in this organization, pretty good burst off the bounce allows him to score from multiple levels ... Two diminutive but crafty guards, <strong>Bryce Bracco</strong> of Lambert and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1156033" first="Jackson" last="Sousa"]</strong> of Dacula, showed similar skillsets revolving around deadly efficiency from 3-land, but both can handle the ball well and slice up defenses as distributors as well and require close attention even several steps out past the arc ... I liked <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="820304" first="Thomas" last="Malcolm"]’s</strong> (Providence Christian) game quite a bot last year with Reach Higher, he’s bigger and stronger this year and that’ll allow him to play through contact more effectively as he likes to put it on the floor in the mid-range ... The twosome of <strong>Hugh Pruitt</strong> (Chestatee) and <strong>Elijah Bowers</strong> (Jackson County), 2 more shooters who can handle the ball when needed and create offense for themselves or others, are still more examples of the spunky and spirited offense and defense you face in a game with BCB.</p> <p><em><strong>OTHERS TO WATCH: Harrison Morris (Walton), Blake Seitz (North Gwinnett) [player_tooltip player_id="1045089" first="Thomas" last="Chipman"] (Wesleyan), Bryce Pittman (Habersham Central), Will Sokol (North Forsyth), Keenan Gagen (Lambert), Tommy Morris (Lambert), Ryan Sander (North Forsyth)</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>17U</strong></em></p> <p>There was a ton of fire and energy from this bunch to go with sneaky skill that will surely be a lot to handle this spring and summer ... The night’s surprise was my first look at <strong>Aidan Kudlas</strong> of North Forsyth, who at 6-2 showed surprising lift to the basket and a ton of natural athletic ability that really stood out, with all the deep shooters on hand his slashing will be a crucial facet .. The backcourt isn’t littered with big guards per say, but there are athletes and high IQ players all over hovering a little above or below 6 feet ...Creekview’s <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1049042" first="Trent" last="Jackson"]</strong> comes over from GA Legacy and gives this team another steady ballhandler with great court savvy and efficient shooting from any spot ... He’ll share PG duties with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1131539" first="Jadon" last="Yeh"]</strong>, who stood out to me last summer whenever I got the chance to see BCB around town, and he too is clever and sly in his quickness off the bounce and was equally impressive with a sweet stroke from deep.</p> <p>On the wing impressive shooter <strong>Mehki Mawdesley </strong>(Newnan) is long at 6-5 with range for days, and has the kind of quick, college-ready release coaches love, this summer will be a great test to see how he develops his dribble-drive game ... Downhill attacker <strong>Sam Witt </strong>(Providence Christian) is a powerful and speedy athlete and has a ton of fight whether it’s at the rim or defending on the perimeter, when paired with Wesleyan SG <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="598765" first="Tate" last="Gilley"]</strong> (pictured above) on the other wing it can make for an interesting pair, as Gilley may not be all that big but does so many things well the Wolves leading scorer from this past season can be a tough matchup to figure out ... Up front, unsigned 2021 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="869635" first="Corey" last="Thomas"] </strong>(Cherokee Bluff) is surely a problem at 6-9 erasing shots, cleaning the glass or using a soft touch from 8 feet in, while 6-6 <strong>Bryce Blake </strong>(Jackson County) possesses some intriguing upside as a back to the basket post man, he’s got a good frame and gets up and down the floor and I think he’ll benefit greatly from the highly competitive summer BCB faces.</p> <p><em><strong>OTHERS TO WATCH: Luke Rogers (Pickens), Jones Harris (Lumpkin County), [player_tooltip player_id="1133904" first="Malachi" last="Dooley"] (Habersham Central, not present)</strong></em></p>