A-Town Showdown: Top 16U Impression-Makers Pt 1

<p>Let’s take a deeper dive into some of those "22 Best", and some in later parts who just missed the list from the A-Town Showdown (in no particular order).</p> <p><em><strong>Mason Bennett | CG | 6-0 | Wood Elite | Cherokee</strong></em></p> <p>A weekend surprise and an easy First Team "All-6 Feet and Under" selection, does a little bit of everything and does it all really well, were he 6-3 doing what he does he’d be a top 35 player in the state, he may still make a push for a big jump on rankings board regardless, in abundance there’s -  hustle, defending, passing, rebounding, finishing at the goal, and enough perimeter shooting for it to be a viable weapon, watch him with a new Warriors coaching staff this coming winter.</p> <p><em><strong>Jaron Walker | CG | 6-1 | Big Shots Elite VA Nets (2024)</strong></em></p> <p>His 30-point performance Sunday against GA Stars was the high number I saw for the weekend, got those points in so many ways, he can bomb it from 3, has a fearless approach to getting at the rim, draws and scores through contact really well, added a bunch of assists in that game as he can drop 30 and still look and play very unselfishly, playing up a division he has the skills to play 17U frankly and is a big-time prospect out of the Old Dominion.</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1042849" first="Brandon" last="Rechsteiner"] | CG | 6-1 | Atlanta All-Stars | Etowah</strong></em></p> <p>Was nearly unconscious shooting it from 3 all tournament long, had 14 three-balls in the 3 games I saw them, such a pure stroke he can stop on a dime off the bounce and pull one or slide off the ball and be a catch and shoot nightmare, was coming off an ankle sprain 2 weeks prior but showed little to no effect as his movement was smooth and his game was sharp, can play the pure PG as a fine distributor with his head always on a swivel, set for a monster breakout his upcoming junior season on what should be a terrific Etowah team.</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="709243" first="Hayden" last="McCain"] | PG | 6-1 | Team Speights</strong></em></p> <p>Another premium shooter whose range was just as impressive as his efficiency from deep, hard to guard PG’s 3 and 4 steps past the arc but McCain makes you come all the way out, good burst off the dribble and is a fine athlete, prototypical modern scoring PG who slips between elite scoring threat and sound floor leader, on a loaded 2023 team with 5 or 6 special looking talents he shined the brightest.</p> <p><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id="1059030" first="Jaylen" last="Priester"] | PG | 5-9 | Georgia Express | Creekside Christian</em></strong></p> <p>The Express program is on the rise in year 2 and with a talent like Priester on hand that can only help both of them, he has a blow-by speed gear that is so good you can put your head down for a micro-second and he’s already past 2 defenders and on his way to the basket, add to that one of the best mid-range games of any guard I’ve seen since last fall as his pull-up j is sweet and pure, just flat out can play and size means nothing when you have this kind of talent, were he playing for ATL-area powers Grayson or McEachern he’d be a household name in the 2023 class.</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="793816" first="Cameron" last="Pope"] | CG | 6-0 | Wood Elite | Cherokee</strong></em></p> <p>Stock is rising at a frightening rate as Wood has been impressive across the entire breadth of tournaments they’ve played in, they have Pool A talent but ran roughshod through Pool B at A-Town and Pope was one of the engines, makes winning plays and smart decisions be it pushing pace as a lead guard or spotting up wisely for his superb J from deep range, he’s got some flair to his game getting to the rim but it isn’t wasteful or needlessly flashy, another 2023 sure to take on a key role for his Warriors club next winter and one to watch for sure.</p> <p><em><strong>Mello Branch | SG | 6-5 | Team Speights </strong></em></p> <p>Great size and length for the 2-spot if that’s where his future ends up, handles the ball quite a bit so he could fall in the CG category, with the ball in his hands he’s a fine distributor but it seems to negate his offensive skills to me, from the wing I saw him get to the hole effortlessly with a gliding stride and plenty of power to get through contact, not to mention his quick get-off on the 3-stroke where that 6-5 means he can shoot over a lot of folks, a mid to high major prospect when all systems are clicking.</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="820281" first="Evan" last="Daniel"] | SF | 6-6 | GA Stars Select | North Cobb (pictured above)</strong></em></p> <p>Has made monstrous strides from where he was this time last year, such athletic gifts and high-flying antics off the break and in the halfcourt obscure his development as a shooter and his growing prowess as an elite shot-blocking presence, the addition of a 3-point stroke and a willingness to face the basket and create off the bounce with confidence takes him from nice-looking slasher to big-time prospect with still more room to add positives to an already healthy list of top bullet points. </p>