New Mexico Showdown: Day 1 Impressions

<p>The New Mexico Showdown takes place Friday, February 18th, and runs through Monday, February 21st. The event, hosted by ABC, features prep and post-grad teams from throughout the southwest The opening night of the event allowed me an opportunity to evaluate several prospects, some for the very first time. In this article, we take a look at my Day 1 impressions. </p> <p><strong>Cory Curtis</strong> <em>6’2 SG ABC Post Grad</em> - Terrific scorer with major 1 v 1 ability. Curtis showed range on his jumper out to the NBA line. He made a ton of contested shots, knocking down threes with a hand in his face on multiple occasions. The 6’2 wing was also effective in transition, getting several buckets in open court play. </p> <p><strong>Evan Coates</strong> <em>6’8 PF Phoenix Prep 2024</em> - Coates may have been the most dominant player on the court in his game against ABC Prep. He rebounded at a high level, battling for in traffic boards, He also showed that he could stretch the floor, using his one-handed jumper to knock down a few outside shots. What he did best was pass, the post player was able to find teammates from the high post, accurately distributing the basketball to cutters. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1172926" first="Marcus" last="Wilson"]</strong> <em>6’3 CG ABC Prep 2024 (#1PHNM 2024)</em> - It’s almost time for Wilson to start becoming a household name. He has always been a good athlete for his age, now he’s transitioned into a good athlete of any age. He was a beast in transition, using his bounce to finish at the rim. The combo guard caught a ridiculous tip dunk, that highlighted his day. When he wasn’t hanging on the rim, he was slashing to the cup and creating for teammates. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1280497" first="Timothy" last="Nitafan"]</strong><em> 5’10 PG ABC Prep 2022 (#26PHNM 2022)</em> - The best way to describe Nitafan is tough. The PG was a pit bull when playing on-ball defense, and it carried over to the other facets of his game. The lefty PG didn’t mind contact, both receiving and dishing it out on his way to the bucket. He played with a nice pace, and did a good job of making decisions on the fly, stopping and pulling up at the free-throw line on several fast-break opportunities. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1069704" first="Dylan" last="Chavez"]</strong> <em>6’5 SG ABC Prep 2024 (#2PHNM 2024)</em> - Chavez was close to dominant tonight. It never hurts to have a growth spurt in this game, as the wing has sprouted a couple inches since I last saw him. He kept his skills, however, displaying a smooth game that included knocking down threes and getting to the bucket for layups. I was most impressed with his defense, as he used quick hands to force several on-ball turnovers, leading to easy buckets on the other end. </p> <p>Follow </p> <p><a href="https://twitter.com/7outzbballclub1"><em>On Twitter</em></a></p> <p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/bruceprephoops/"><em>On IG</em></a></p> <p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/PrepHoopsNV"><em>Like Us On FB</em></a></p>