Brawl For The Ball: 2023 Under the Radar

Gregg Rosenberg July 14, 2021 @ 01:30 PM

On July 3rd-4th I attended the Brawl for the Ball Prep Hoops Circuit at Inspire Courts in Gilbert. AZ. The event featured 40 teams from the 15U-17U divisions. Players shine at different times during these events and we can only comment on what we saw when they played in front of us.   Here were some of the under the radar 2023’s from the Brawl for the Ball: [player_tooltip player_id="1076722" first="Chris" last="Parra"] Atricso Heritage (ABC NM 2023) -One of the top pure PG’s in the event from his class. He sprays the ball around to his teammates and gets the ball out quickly. He advance passes about as well as you could and also comes with skill. He had some of the deepest range at the event. He has a quick release and lets it fly beyond the 3pt line. He is quick with the ball in his hands and beats his man to get into the lane and will score it or make a play. His stock should go up in NM the next two years. [player_tooltip player_id="831121" first="Kota" last="Benson"] Mesa (PAL Elite 2023) (Pictured) -Another pure PG made the move from Baboquivari to the East Valley. He will showcase his skills in 6A next season. He has great pace to his game and understands the pick and roll game. He slips in pocket passes and will drive and kick making it look easy. He can pull-up from mid to the 3 and has a tight handle. Ahmad Jacquet SG 6'2 Lathrop (Lathrop Thunder 2022) -A talented guard seemed to improve as the event went on. He can post up his opponents plus shoot it from deep. His 3pt stroke looked clean and he can rattle them off. He has a nice handle to create his own offense and was one of the deep sleepers of the event. [player_tooltip player_id="996741" first="Deven" last="Johnson"] AZ Compass Prep (PAL Elite 2023) -A quickly growing guard is polishing up his skill as he gets older. He has deep 3pt range with a quick trigger. He can fill it up quickly and has a lot of confidence. He can pull-up off the dribble and shows a burst into the lane. With his added height he can score it better in the paint. Mason Juergens PG 6'1 Olympia/WA (Roots Academy) -Another top pure PG at the event from his class. He advance passes and comes with a stronger frame and a nice handle to take care of the ball amidst heavy ball pressure. He can get downhill plus hit the catch-3. He is a cerebral player that plays like an extension of a coach. [player_tooltip player_id="1005723" first="Anthony-Lamar" last="Wilcox"] AZ Compass Prep (Team RHJ 2023) -A long and lean shooter showed nice flashes of his abilities. He also hits his deep ball but was showing some wiggle with his handle and got in the paint and uses the floater well. He has good length to play the passing lanes, and once he fills in some more, the sniper from deep, will be even tougher to cover.