Favorite Players: First Team

<p>This past season I went to 64 games and wrote about 178 players. This article will cover my favorite players from this past season that I saw. This will not talk about the best players I saw but it will talk about the players I left the gym the most excited about. </p> <p class="p1"><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1201867" first="Zander" last="Sabin"] (2023) - PG 5’9 - Tuscarawas Central Catholic</b></p> <p class="p3">I saw Sabin at the “Jingle Bell Jam” at the Cedar Point complex in Sandusky. His team closed off this event versus Tiffin Calvert. They unfortunately lost but Sabin put on an absolute show and I fell in love with his game right away. His fierce and intense competitive spirit can be felt by everyone in the gym. He has that dog in him. Plays with very high energy and is the best leader I saw all season. He isn’t afraid to get into his teammates to get them going and they respect him for it and listen because they know all he wants to do is win. That is the kid I want on my team. </p> <p class="p3">Sabin also can ball! His height is something that might bring hesitation but do not let it. He is lightning quick with an incredible handle. Has a great right-to-left cross that gets any defender off balance. It reminds me of Allen Iverson’s crossover. He has a mean step back as well. These two moves are all he needs to get space to get shots up. Sabin can stroke it too. High volume scorer that hits multiple tough shots. He also knows exactly when and where to pass it as well as he usually attracts all the defensive attention. </p> <p class="p1"><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1398622" first="Tony" last="Fisher Jr"]. (2022) - F 6’3 - Whitmer <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/Tony-Fisher2.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1398922 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/Tony-Fisher2-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a></b></p> <p class="p3">I do not know if there is a bigger Tony Fisher fan in the entire state of Ohio. I have seen this kid play multiple times and every time he does he brings it. He has an incredibly high motor that is willing to do all the dirty work. He takes great pride in rebounding and gets tons of them. He can outrebound anyone. He is only 6’3 but he plays in the paint as if he is 7’3. His athleticism is something to marvel at. I have seen him have multiple two-hand dunks off of a no-step vertical jump. For a kid that is 6’3 that is not normal. He is also built very well and is a strong player. Fisher bangs and moves people around. He can guard pretty much every position on the court and will do whatever you ask of him to do. He is the player everyone leaves the gym wishing they had him on their team. It is not hard to fall in love with his game because of his high motor, athleticism, and willingness to be a star in his role. </p> <p class="p1"><b><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/2A898DBA-833E-4870-AFF5-24B66B84E3AC.jpeg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1369758 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/2A898DBA-833E-4870-AFF5-24B66B84E3AC-300x200.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a>[player_tooltip player_id="921745" first="Rich" last="Rolf"] (2022) - F 6’7 - Centerville</b></p> <p class="p1">Rolf has been climbing up the ranking in the 2022 class all season including ours for good reason. Rolf has it all. He is very long and has great height. Kid can shoot it too. When I watched him play against SoCal Academy this year he left the gym buzzing after scoring 16 points in the first quarter. He also has it athletically too. Moves very fluid and can guard almost all positions. Size and strength to bang in the post. Simply can do it all. A three-level scorer that I would like to see him develop a little bit more of a back-to-basket game but he puts himself in a position to score inside all the time. He has a very nice pull and midrange game as well. Rolf’s best skill in his game is rebounding. He takes pride in rebounding. He goes and hunts the ball. Gets it at his highest point. Has a great read and understanding of where it will go and puts himself in the perfect position for the ball. Does this on both ends of the floor setting him apart from most other players today. He is a can’t miss kid in my eyes. </p> <p class="p1"><b>[player_tooltip player_id="967170" first="Keylan" last="Williams"] (2022) - G 6’5 - Heath <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/Leylan-Williams33.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1400773 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/Leylan-Williams33-300x222.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="222" /></a></b></p> <p class="p3">[player_tooltip player_id="967170" first="Keylan" last="Williams"] is a player. He is a 6’5 point guard. Yes, he played point guard for a very good Heath team this year at 6’5. He has all the tools a point guard needs. He can handle it very well, good pace to his game, and runs the offense well. Williams has a very good IQ as he is always making the right read and passes. Very long and strong player. He has some very nice athleticism as well allowing him to score at all levels. With his size and playing point guard he is a walking mismatch. Most teams don’t have the size to match up with him and it showed. He balled out in the two games I saw Heath play, especially in their district finals game against Beechcroft. He finished that game with 17 points and 7 rebounds and willed his team to the upset victory in that one. He can shoot it and gets to the rim at will. He is a great finisher through contact and over bigger players because of his size and athleticism. He will make an instant impact at the next level. </p> <p class="p1"><b>Cam Gilkerson (2023) - W 6’3 - Hilliard Darby <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/02/Cam-Gilkerson1.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1396433 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/02/Cam-Gilkerson1-300x191.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="191" /></a></b></p> <p class="p3">Gilkerson plays the game in such a beautiful and simple fashion. He can do it all. He has unbelievable passing ability, can shoot it, and has the size to score inside and out. He is a great and unique talent as he only stands 6’3 but has great size allowing him to bang down low and get to the rim. He had a pair of very impressive and acrobatic layups when I saw him play. He plays with great energy and swag that can be felt. He does a great job of making the simple look beautiful and the difficult plays look simple. I quickly fell in love with his passing ability as he always found the open cutter, open guy on a kick out, and even some guys that he just simply threw open like a quarterback. Diming his teammates up opens the game for him so much more. Gets the driving lanes open and then once you worry about that he is going to make you pay for having your hand down. </p>