Battlezone LA: Top 2024-2025 prospects

<p>Yes, it was sweltering. But despite the uncomfortable weather, the Draft Sports Complex played host to some good basketball this past weekend via the Adidas Battlezone. The event gave several Adidas "Gold" 16u and 17u programs a chance to play their way into the sneaker company's "3SSB" Bracket at this week's event in Omaha, NE. </p> <p>But the event also gave us a chance to see a number of younger prospects that - in some cases - we haven't seen since before the beginning of the pandemic. </p> <p>Which rising freshmen and sophomore prospects left the best impression? Here's my take. </p> <h2>Adidas Battlezone: Top 2024-25 prospects</h2> <h3>Brycen Mackenzie, 6-0 2024 G, Santa Fe Christian/ Gamepoint</h3> <p>The Gamepoint team won the top 15u Division, and Mackenzie was the catalyst. The stocky lead guard plays with great tempo and pace, and his ability to set the table for teammates was a big part of the chemistry that helped them overcome larger, more athletic teams. </p> <h3>Jack Jillson, 5-10 2024 G, Mission Hills/ Gamepoint</h3> <p>Jillson is a talented shot maker who is improving as a shot creator. He has a quick, compact release from deep, but it was his ability to break his defender down with the dribble and hit difficult shots from midrange that stood out. </p> <h3>Bradley McGlothlin, 6-4 2024 W, Mission Hills/ Gamepoint</h3> <p>The ultimate "glue" guy at the 15u level, McGlothlin has the most physical upside of anyone on the team. Freakishly long, McGlothlin is still growing into his body, but manages to impact the game in a number of ways, including knocking down shots on the wing, rebounding and defending players much bigger in the paint. </p> <h3>Eric Freeny, 6-3 2024 G, Corona Centennial/ Hoop Nation</h3> <p>Freeny ensures that the lineage of Corona Centennial guards will be in tact. The big, physical combo guard gets wherever he wants on the court, and has a very good midrange pull-up game. Freeny's uses his ability to get into the paint and draw helpside defense to create scoring opportunities for his teammates. </p> <h3><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Nikolas Khamenia, 6-5 2025 G, Portola/ BTI Select 16u</span></h3> <p>Khamenia, a long, skilled guard prospect, had his way against 16u teams this weekend. He plays with excellent pace, making high level reads out of the pick and roll, and burying shots from NBA range. He has high-major upside.</p> <h3>Liam Campbell, 6-5 2024 G, Harvard Westlake/ BTI Wolfpack 16u</h3> <p>Campbell is a skilled, assertive combo guard who attacks defenses getting down hill and scoring through contact. His court vision and passing allow him to carve up defense both as a scorer and a facilitator. His perimeter shooting has also come a long way over the past few months. </p> <h3>Dylan Benner, 6-6 2024 F, St. Bonaventure/ Los Angeles Elite 15u</h3> <p>Benner is a blue collar forward who gets it done on both ends. He is a skilled player around the block and has the touch to step out on hit shots from the college three. But his most impressive attribute is his ability to rebound both in the paint and out of his area, as he gives great effort. </p> <h3>Jake Hall, 6-1 2025 G, Carlsbad/ Multilevel 16u </h3> <p>Hall is a bucket getter who is wired to score. He has range out to the NBA three and can fill it up from midrange and through contact around the basket. One of the more impressive scorers in the class. </p> <h3>Rashaad Williams, 5-8 2024 G, Cathedral Catholic/ Lark's Elite</h3> <p>One of the biggest revelations of the event was Williams, the cat-quick point guard who carved up 17u competition in the Silver Division. Knocking down shots from all over the court, Williams effectively changed speeds and pace to get into the paint and score with runners and floaters, and was unafraid to take shots from the NBA three. At 5-8 (generously listed) he played hard on defense, getting a couple of blocked shots. </p> <h3>Charlie Hutchison, 6-6 2024 F, Mission Bay/ San Diego All Stars</h3> <p>Big, long and skilled, Hutchison often initiated the offense as a "point forward" and was adept at both scoring off the bounce or dropping dimes to teammates. He's a mismatch for bigs and guards alike, and one of the more intriguing long-term prospects in Southern California. </p> <h3>Marcos Korch, 6-1 2024 G, Mission Bay/ San Diego All Stars</h3> <p>Korch is a well-built lead guard with excellent court vision, plays with great pace and strength to finish through contact. He also can knock down shots off the catch from three. His development from more of a bully ball scorer into a very good point guard over the pandemic has been dramatic.  </p> <h3>Gavin Girouard, 6-0 2024 G, Mission Bay/ San Diego All Stars </h3> <p>A sharpshooter who can fill it up from three and midrange, Girouard's game is fundamentally sound and efficient. Girouard is also a very good on-ball defender and does a good job playing the passing lanes off the ball. </p> <h3>Blake Sullivan, 5-11 2024 PG, Coronado (NV)/ California Select 16u Gold</h3> <p>A true point guard who really knows how to pass the ball, Sullivan possesses the prerequisite quickness, pace and moxie that you love to see out of a young floor general. He gets into the paint, plays off of two feet and his eyes are always scanning the floor for open shooters. He probably had one of the highest plus/minuses this weekend, as his team struggled to get into offense without him on the floor. </p> <h3>Euan Davis, 6-1 2024 PG, El Camino/ Coastal Elite 16u</h3> <p>An athletic combo guard with great burst, Davis gets into the paint with regularity and scores it in the paint with runners or strong takes with his right hand. Defensively, he's got active hands and is a physical on-ball defender, what you come to expect from Ray Johnson guards. </p> <h3>Atreju de la Cruz and Maseyo Elliott, 2025 guards, San Diego All-Stars</h3> <p>A pair of incoming freshman to monitor will be de la Cruz and Elliott, who were integral in SDA 15s absolute dismantling of the Silver division. De la Cruz is a crafty scoring point guard who can finish in the paint with a nice floater package. Elliott is a very athletic and long combo guard who is an active on-ball defender and slasher on the offensive end. </p>