SHR Summer Showcase: Standouts Part 2

<p>And here’s Part 2 of players who stood out at Southern Hoops Report’s Showcase from this past weekend.</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="598745" first="Alex" last="Acosta"], 6-6, PF, North Cobb, 2022</strong></em></p> <p>I frankly have missed a good deal of Georgia Legacy this spring with all of my travels, but what I have seen and what I saw Saturday was in line with the ever-growing profile for Acosta, since day one seeing him the motor and effort-level have always been top shelf, now with a still-maturing and even stronger-looking frame behind it he’s added more variety and skill around the basket to his downhill contributions off the break which have always been like a runaway train, would make any list of ATL-Metro hustle and glue guys as a well as top rebounders as he never gives up on a play, offers are beginning to roll in and I expect that to be fairly consistent into July’s live period.</p> <p><em><strong>Zailan Blue, 5-11, PG, HS TBD, 2022 (pictured above)</strong></em></p> <p>Among the top performers from Saturday and showed great enthusiasm and effort, smooth scorer who utilizes excellent burst off the dribble to create space for a jumper that extends easily to the arc, that same speed allows him to grind it into the teeth of the D where he has no qualms about banging through traffic, foot speed is wasted if you don’t D-up the ball and Blue makes superb use of his athletic gifts as one of the better defenders on hand Saturday as well, will undoubtedly catch eyeballs in July.</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1139776" first="Caleb" last="Smith"], 6-4, SG, SW DeKalb, 2022</strong></em></p> <p>Hard to miss is Smith as he’s got a college-ready frame already and like Blue a great personality on the floor, the two actually played together and we’re pretty devastating as they know each other from grassroots ball, Smith has all the makings of a player set for a big breakout, the confidence is growing and the game is backed up with good quickness off the dribble and a really smooth and sound jump shot, he’s plenty big and strong enough to hit the boards from the guard spot which can be invaluable at the next level, has already had a solid spring and July should be fun.</p> <p><em><strong>Damoni Harrison, 6-5, CG, Archer, 2022</strong></em></p> <p>My first extended look at Harrison this summer and all I can say is "whoa", the size as a PG prospect stands out immediately as he is long at 6-5 but doesn’t lack for quickness off the bounce to go with a frame that can push you around, as a finisher inside 10 feet he was nearly unstoppable against top-flight competition Saturday, better still was a jumper that ranged out past the arc and a composure-level that impressed me as a former coach, defensively he can guard at least 3 spots and I always enjoy watching guys from the Archer program because they’re hard-nosed and sound, this is a must-watch player on college radars moving forward.</p> <p><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id="820302" first="Kenric" last="Lanier"], 6-4, SG, Decatur, 2023</em></strong></p> <p>The prettiest jump shot of the day belonged to Lanier who caught my eye the first 5 minutes of shooting drills, it’s pure and looks like a training-video special coming off the right hand, together with the J and all the range that comes with it is good size and a nice on-floor IQ for the game, liked seeing him drive it as well as he didn’t settle for open looks and got downhill as most coaches insist these days, a junior-to-be on the move.</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1045097" first="Kenny" last="Orr"], 6-0, PG, Northgate, 2022</strong></em></p> <p>Orr like a lot of HYPE guys always catches my eye when I’m in the gym, he’s just so sound in the way he plays the game and is a pure lead guard who can play distributor and affect the game or go into scoring mode and hurt your from multiple levels, I look at PG’s these days and want to see the full salad bar of options and with Orr you get - poise, defense, scoring, vision and leadership with the ball in his hands, a really underrated guard in the ATL-Metro.</p> <p><strong><em>Carter Pengelly, 6-3, SG, East Paulding, 2023</em></strong></p> <p>Here was Pengelly again making waves with his blue-collar style and solid all-around game, he’s quickly found his way onto my radar as a stat-stuffer type who will help win you games beyond scoring, when it comes time for him to put the ball in the hole he has a nice array of options to hurt you whether it’s shooting it from range to using a series of crafty moves to drive it past or through you, an underrated athlete he is as mentioned in other write-ups a player quickly making waves out of Paulding County.</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="952583" first="Sebastian" last="Tidor"], 6-4, SG, East Paulding, 2022</strong></em></p> <p>Back to back EPHS guys and I’ve been fortunate to catch a bunch of Tidor of late, a slasher extraordinaire is the way to characterize Tidor as he can cut up a defense with the dribble as well as anyone I’ve seen this spring, plays so much bigger than 6-4 and can be an elite rebounder from the guard spot, loved seeing him knock down a few J’s from out near the arc as that makes him even more dangerous, offers are coming in and he’ll be hard to miss in July.</p>