Geico Nationals: Arizona Compass vs Montverde Acad. (Pt. I)

Joel Francisco

April 3, 2022 @ 08:55 PM

Geico Nationals: Arizona Compass vs Montverde Acad. (Pt. I) FORT MEYERS, FL—It’s hard to believe but Geico Nationals is in its thirteenth year of existence and its been quite a ride with a staggering amount of players that have ended up in the NBA, including Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Jaylen Brown to name a few. This year is no different as there are a plethora of highly-talented ballers in Jordan Walsh, Chris Livingston, [player_tooltip player_id="546187" first="Dariq" last="Whitehead"], [player_tooltip player_id="781876" first="Keyonte" last="George"], and Gatorade National POY Gradey Dick. The Next Step [player_tooltip player_id="1227671" first="Chance" last="Westry"] (Arizona Compass) 2022, G, 6-foot-5, 190 pounds <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/11/IMG_E1701.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-1323060 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/11/IMG_E1701-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a> Joel’s Take: The Auburn-bound guard has all the physical traits of a D1 wing and his skill set is on the rise. Westry is a rangy defender who should be able to guard all three perimeter positions at the next level. Offensively, he has a quick burst and can slash his way to the rim, but his ball skills need to improve against pressure and his jump shot needs to be more consistent going forward.   Mr. Steady [player_tooltip player_id="954224" first="Dylan" last="Andrews"] (Arizona Compass) 2022, G, 6-foot-3, 185 pounds Joel’s Take: Andrews is a strong combo-guard who is one of the better competitors in his class. He is more scorer than a facilitator, but he can hand out the assist as well. He manages the game well, has a solid pull-up game, and he’s a capable 3-point shooter off the catch. These skills should translate well at UCLA. On the Rise [player_tooltip player_id="814898" first="Dillon" last="Mitchell"] (Montverde Academy) 2022, F, 6-foot-7, 195 pounds Joel’s Take: Mitchell, who is headed to Texas, is arguably the most explosive prospect in his class. The left-handed forward impacts the game with his explosive leaping ability at both ends of the floor. He rebounds using his timing and bounce and he just glides to the rim in transition. His offensive skills are on the come as witnessed by his post jumper, but overall he needs to continue to tighten up his all-around skills. Blue-Collar Guard [player_tooltip player_id="577854" first="Jalen" last="Hood-Schifino"] (Montverde Academy) 2022, G, 6-foot-5, 200 pounds Joel’s Take: One of the better jack-of-all-trade guards in the nation is Hood-Schifino. The Indiana-bound guard can play both guard positions and due to his physicality he can play in a three-guard line-up due to his size and physicality. He attacks the paint as well as any guard in the class and his pull-up game is tight. Shooter Alert [player_tooltip player_id="868223" first="Dravyn" last="Gibbs-Lawhorn"] (Montverde Academy) 2023, PG, 6-foot-1, 165 pounds Joel’s Take: Gibbs-Lawhorn, who is an early Purdue commit, was a nice late-season add-on for Montverde. He is a sharpshooting guard who gets great lift on his shot and his mechanics are tight. He shows good ball skills against pressure and he can even play above the rim on his finishes.