Exposure Breakout Standouts (Part 3)

<p>We took a trip down to Lake Point Sports Complex in Georgia for a big time event in the Breakout Exposure, an Adidas affiliated event. It featured some of the top Adidas programs from across the country, and many of the top prospects in the country in many of the classes. We checked out teams from multiple areas, and start with our part three of the many standouts, looking at some of the top players from Indiana, Florida, Tennessee and more that we got a chance to see.</p> <p><strong>Chris Livingston | 6’6” WF | WACG 17U ’22</strong></p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/04/Livingston-Chris.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1180357" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/04/Livingston-Chris-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p> <p>Livingston is considered a top 15 recruit in almost all of the national rankings, but I personally believe after watching him this weekend our Prep Hoops National rankings may have done the best job with him as they put him as a top 5 prospect and he was arguably the best prospect in attendance. The 6’6” forward has great versatility as he can guard almost every position, he’s strong and skilled with the ball in his hands and he’s an excellent shooter from deep which opens his game up to attack and use his strength when he gets downhill. He’s highly productive and efficient both on and off the basketball, he has a great IQ and toughness to his game and he’s a high character kid that’s an excellent teammate as well.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="787609" first="Jaden" last="Bradley"] | 6’2” PG | WACG 17U ’22</strong></p> <p>Bradley is another nationally ranked prospect coming off of a big time junior season at IMG in Florida, and the duo of Livingston and himself are about as tough to guard as you can imagine. Bradley is a strong and athletic lead guard that is lightning quick off the bounce, he’s shifty and has a great handle and he’s able to create space with ease to make tough shots off the bounce. He’s a big time athlete in transition and a good defender as well, and will likely be recruited by pretty much everyone moving forward.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1008433" first="Eli" last="Rice"] | 6’6” CG | EAB Tennessee 17U ’23</strong></p> <p>Rice came away as a guy I believe should have more consideration for national rankings, as he has a blend of size, skill and athleticism that is very intriguing moving forward. He already holds a slew of mid major offers, and playing up on the EAB team he was one of their most consistent players as he showed he can both score it and make others better and use his size as a mismatch on both ends of the floor. He can shoot it from deep when he’s left open, he’s shifty off the bounce and has good feel and he’s an athletic and strong finisher around the rim as well.</p> <p><strong>Somtochukwa Cyril | 6’10” C | EAB Tennessee 17U ’24</strong></p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/04/Cyril-Somtochukwa.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1180360" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/04/Cyril-Somtochukwa-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p> <p>While I haven’t seen too many national level 2024 prospects, I would go ahead and bet that there aren’t many that are more physically and athletically gifted as Cyril who plays at Hamilton Heights. Playing two age groups up, Cyril showed flashes of brilliance as he is a mobile and high motor big man who can run the floor, protect the rim and use his strength and athleticism to finish through contact. He still has a ways to go with his skill set, but he’s likely still growing and he showed a great motor and work ethic which bolds well for his improvement moving forward.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="999621" first="Brock" last="Vice"] | 6’8” PF | Hoop City 16U ’23</strong></p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/04/Vice-Brock.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1180365" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/04/Vice-Brock-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p> <p>Vice is the gem of all gems, as I saw him for the first time when he was a freshman at Blacksburg in VA and he moved to Tennessee to play for former NBA legend Mike Miller at Houston High School. While he played sparingly last year, he’s set to have a big junior season as he has improved immensely both in his body and his game since the first time I saw him, and he’s going to be an intriguing prospect as he continues to develop on the offensive end. He’s mobile and plays with a good motor, he can dominate the glass on both ends and he showed good touch out to about 18 feet.</p> <p><strong>Zeke Montgomery | 6’5” WF | Indiana Elite 17U ’22</strong></p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/04/Montgomery-Zeke.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1180366" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/04/Montgomery-Zeke-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p> <p>Montgomery was a warrior for Indiana Elite on both ends of the floor and was a big reason for their success when I watched them. He’s an athletic and strong wing that has a toughness and grit to him, as he is able to guard multiple positions and come help side to block shots, he’s an excellent slasher and finisher through contact and when he turns it on his athleticism makes him very productive in a number of ways. He’s a very underrated and under recruited guy that coaches should start to take note of.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="769682" first="Connor" last="Essegian"] | 6’4” WG | Indiana Elite 17U ’22</strong></p> <p>We often referred to Essegian as “Kyle Guy Jr.” as Guy also was a standout for Indiana Elite and Essegian’s mix of shooting ability and athleticism was an easy comparison to make. He was a marked man shortly after each game we watched as he would come out on fire, but he still worked well off the ball to get open and when they tried to deny him he did a good job either finding ways to be a decoy or finding ways to get open to make plays for himself or others. He’s a good secondary ball handler, he has good feel and a toughness to him and he can flat out shoot the rock as mentioned before.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="963905" first="Mason" last="Nicholson"] | 6’9” C | Indiana Elite 17U ’21</strong></p> <p>Nicholson was the gritty post guy for Indiana Elite and while he looks like an offensive tackle he was very productive and made winning plays using his size and surprising athleticism on both ends. He’s a high motor guy who runs the floor hard, rebounds and protects the rim and is able to catch and finish in the post even when guarded closely. He’s the type of guy that doesn’t need a ton of plays ran for him to be successful, and he is willing to do whatever it takes to help his team win.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1055726" first="Sammie" last="Yeanay"] | 6’7” C | Team Florida 15U ’24</strong></p> <p>When scouting a young big man, a lot of what you’re looking for is a good motor and an advanced skill set for their age, and Yeanay showed that when I watched them take on Team Loaded VA. He’s extremely intriguing with his athleticism as he showed he can guard multiple positions, used his athleticism to finish above the rim and run the floor and showed a good amount of toughness as well. He’s also versatile on the offensive end, as he showed he can step out and make shots from deep, put it on the deck and score in post up situations as well.</p> <p><strong>Riley Kugel | 6’4” CG | Southeast Elite 17U ’22</strong></p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/04/Kuger-Riley.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1180367" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/04/Kuger-Riley-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p> <p>If there was a gem in the ’22 class I think will see his stock rise this summer it had to be Kugel who did a little bit of everything for Southeast Elite. At 6’4” he’s a high motor combo guard who has a mix of athleticism, size and a great IQ and feel that allows him to make plays for others both in transition and in the half court set. He showed he can score from multiple levels as he made shots from deep and continuously got to the rim, he set the tone on both ends and was a natural leader and he made winning plays at the most important times for his team.</p>