NIBC: Day 2 Standouts

Jonathon Gilbert January 8, 2022 @ 07:51 PM

Friday action at the NIBC La Porte Invitational saw the host team notch a victory over Oak Hill in front of a capacity crowd at the historic La Porte Civic Center. The headlining game matched the atmosphere. Following are five standouts from the loaded field. [player_tooltip player_id="949378" first="Aden" last="Holloway"] 6-0 2023 La Lumiere Prep (IN) (pictured at top of article) While fellow 2023 teammate Jeremy Fears might have had a bigger Thursday with his televised Michigan St commitmentg. Holloway had a huge hand in Friday’s victory over Oak Hill Academy. Came off the bench shooting and stayed hot all night. Didn’t just do it on the offensive end. Seemed really amped up to compete with fellow 2023 North Carolina guard Caleb Foster (Duke). Played aggressive on ball defense that kept Oak Hill from getting comfortable in their sets. Finished the contest with a game high 22 points are really made statement for a higher ranking in the class of 2022. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2019/07/Christian-Reeves.png"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-792265" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2019/07/Christian-Reeves-300x260.png" alt="" width="300" height="260" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="577877" first="Christian" last="Reeves"] 7-0 2022 Oak Hill Academy (VA) Reeves was big in the post all night for Oak Hill. Played a large role in putting La Lumiere frontline foul trouble. Reeves was able to contest well on the defensive end without fouling. While he did not get much offensive opportunity. Showed his improving perimeter touch by going a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line. That is where he got most his points as he finished with eight. Has impressive length to go along with a legitimate 7 foot frame. Duke is having a lot of success with a long rim running center this year in Mark Williams. With his rapid improvement I could see Reeves sliding into this role next year. That is a meteoric rise for a player who did not appear on many boards coming into the year. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/09/IMG_2062.jpeg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1280299" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/09/IMG_2062-300x225.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> Willie Lightfoot 5-11 2022 Wasatch Academy (UT) This always animated point guard had a little extra pep in his step. Understandable as he was playing his teammates from last year in Sunrise Christian Academy. Was all over the court defensively. Played a large hand in largely containing Sunrise’s backcourt duo of Dillon Hunter and Layden Blocker. While he struggled to get the three point shot to fall was still effective offensively. Drove fearlessly to the basket all night. Nearly finished with a double double with 14 points and nine rebounds. The Bowling Green commitment is one of the more high profile MAC pledges in a while. Could be a special player at that level. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/05/Noah-Batchelor-1.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1204494" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/05/Noah-Batchelor-1-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> Noah Batchelor 6-7 2022 IMG Academy (FL) After a sluggish start on Thursday owing partially to some travel difficulties. IMG came alive on Friday. Leading the charge was this multifaceted wing originally from Maryland. No other way to say it played a nearly flawless game. Only missed a few shots, was perfect from the line, and did not have any turnovers. Explosive athleticism was highlighted on consecutive possessions in the second half with two huge dunks. Hit four threes and finished with a game high 21 points. The Memphis commit might be flying a little under the radar due to depth of his team. Batchelor’s play on Friday belongs with the tape of any of the other blue chip recruits in the field. Could end of being a steal of a recruit in the AAC. Will Patterson 7-0 2023 Bishop Walsh (MD) Reeves wasn’t the only seven footer making noise on Friday night. Patterson struggled in a Thursday night clash against with IMG. The New York native looked more comfortable against Montverde’s frontline. Kind of counterintuitive as Montverde had a much more imposing frontline in terms of size. Went up against USC bound 7 footer Vincent Iwuchukwu. While playing better this matchup highlighted the the areas Patterson needs to improve on to move into the elite category. General agility improvement and increased explosion to the rim are the next steps. But he appears to know who he is a plays within himself. He’s not trying to be wing and is comfortable with his size. Speaking of size. He was listed a seven feet. I wouldn’t surprised if he has added an inch to two since that program was printed. He looks really big with plenty of corresponding length.