Nike EYBL Session II: Saturday Standouts

INDIANAPOLIS -- Breaking down some of the top performances from Saturday's action at Nike EYBL Session II...   [player_tooltip player_id="1142119" first="Bennett" last="Basich"] - 2024 - SG - Phenom University Basich made a number of scrappy plays on Phenom’s comeback win against City Rocks. Late in the first half, Basich took a charge, which knocked him out of the game for a bit after he hit his head on the hardwood. It didn’t deter his physicality, however. During a second half push, Basich had a couple of offensive rebound putbacks, ripping the ball away from the opposition. Basich is a shooter, equally good on and off the ball, but he comes off the bench and gives Phenom some juice. A 6-foot-4 guard that plays with an edge, Basich isn’t afraid to mix it up by getting after loose balls, hitting the offensive glass, and sacrificing his body. Basich hit a huge 3-pointer in Saturday night’s win over Vegas Elite that sent the game to overtime as well. [player_tooltip player_id="1151197" first="Daniel" last="Freitag"] - 2024 - PG - Howard Pulley<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/04/u9iak8.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1438567" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/04/u9iak8-300x155.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="155" /></a> Freitag dropped 30 points in a loss to Team Griffin, including 26 in the second half. Freitag was 10-of-17 from the floor and also had eight rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes. A top 50 potential prospect, Freitag is a high quality leader and floor general with takeover ability. Freitag is a bouncy, athletic guard that plays above the rim with ease. His jumper looks vastly improved since last year and he’s not as dependent on getting to the rim. The scoring ability is exciting, but Freitag also possesses lead guard skills -- willing to make the extra pass, get his team’s offense set, and run the show. Freitag owns early offers from Iowa State, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> 2024 PG [player_tooltip player_id="1151197" first="Daniel" last="Freitag"] with a 30-piece at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nikeeybl?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#nikeeybl</a> Session II. Iowa State, Minnesota, and Wisconsin were all looking on.<a href="https://twitter.com/DanielFreitag_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DanielFreitag_</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PulleyHoops?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PulleyHoops</a> <a href="https://t.co/Uk3KXr2sX3">pic.twitter.com/Uk3KXr2sX3</a> — Evan Flood (@Evan_Flood) <a href="https://twitter.com/Evan_Flood/status/1517972735112134657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> [player_tooltip player_id="1055713" first="Anthony" last="Gilkes"] - 2024 - SF - Vegas Elite A top 50 prospect nationally, Gilkes showed why he’s going to be a high priority for a lot of good programs. LSU and Ole Miss have already offered the athletic, three-level scoring wing. While Gilkes was slowed in the second half against Phenom University, liked how he didn’t force things and make bad decisions when extra attention came his way. Gilkes wowed early with a couple of highlight plays at the rim and breaking down the defense off the dribble. You need 4-6 feet in the paint when Gilkes catches and your gap defense better be sound as well, because Gilkes is so explosive and can change directions to evade multiple defenders. He finished with 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting and also dished out four assists against Phenom University in an overtime loss. [player_tooltip player_id="953943" first="John" last="Kinziger"] - 2023 - G - Team Herro<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/04/20220423_103922.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1438568" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/04/20220423_103922-300x155.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="155" /></a> Kinziger had a huge weekend, highlighted by an 18-point, eight assist performance against Team Final. He then dropped 24 points on 17 shots against Pro Skills later in the evening. Mid-majors should jump in here fast after what Kinziger did in Indianapolis. Like most smaller guards, Kinziger is seeing schools hesitate on pulling the trigger despite the evidence pointing to the contrary -- he can play against bigger, stronger, athletes. Toledo, who is not wavering, offered early and tracked him closely all weekend. A sniper with in the gym range, Kinziger was phenomenal shooting the ball. Three reasons why I overlook the size of the 6-foot guard, he’s got some point guard skills, he’s a relentless worker off the ball that will open the floor for others at the very least, and over the weekend he was able to shake defenders in the halfcourt and get to his spots in the mid-range. [player_tooltip player_id="1142123" first="Kon" last="Knueppel"] - 2024 - SG - Phenom Univesity Was fun to see Knueppel in a different element. With Wisconsin Lutheran, he plays more to their equal opportunity system. He’s not a "me" guy, but Knueppel reminded us how dangerous he is offensively when he gets let loose and there’s less structure. Knueppel poured in a game-high 26 points as Phenom rallied from an early 16-2 hole to beat City Rocks. A sweet shooting wing who can score from all three levels, Knueppel is a swiss army knife offensively. He’s an elite catch and shooter presence, can pull up and score in the mid-range off the dribble, play with his back to the basket, and is a very underrated cutter without the ball. Knueppel also has an advanced feel for the game and knows to manipulate defenders with his eyes and set up his teammates for easy buckets. Knueppel came back with 23 points in the nightcap, including back-to-back 3’s in overtime against Vegas Elite to lead Phenom to a 3-0 record in pool play. The 6-foot-5 sophomore owns offers from Notre Dame, Iowa, Wisconsin, Texas A&M, Minnesota, Marquette, Illinois, and USC thus far. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"> 2024 SG [player_tooltip player_id="1142123" first="Kon" last="Knueppel"] dropped 26 points for Phenom University this afternoon. Offers from Texas A&M, USC, Illinois, Marquette, Iowa, Minnesota, Notre Dame, and Wisconsin.<a href="https://twitter.com/KnueppelKon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KnueppelKon</a> <a href="https://t.co/YUoSRxHQx7">pic.twitter.com/YUoSRxHQx7</a> — Evan Flood (@Evan_Flood) <a href="https://twitter.com/Evan_Flood/status/1517942431710425089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>   [player_tooltip player_id="1282617" first="Xzavion" last="Mitchell"] - 2025 - F - Team Herro In contention for the No. 1 spot in the initial 2025 rankings, Mitchell killed CP3 Saturday afternoon. The opposition had no answer for the 6-foot-7 forward throughout the game. Mitchell is excellent at catching in the high post and slashing to the rim, using his length to finish over the top. He’s also a terrific threat in transition, able to run the floor, catch passes away from his body, and glide to the bucket. Finishing needs some work, as does his outside shot, but there’s a very high ceiling here. Mitchell also impacts the game greatly on the defensive end as a shot blocker. At Oshkosh North, he also thrives at the top of the 1-3-1 zone and creates a lot of turnovers. [player_tooltip player_id="953944" first="Milan" last="Momcilovic"] - 2023 - F - Phenom University<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/04/20220423_103859.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1438570" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/04/20220423_103859-300x155.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="155" /></a> Just love how Momcilovic is never in a rush on the block. He’s going to get a ton of different looks from the opposition and Momcilovic remains poised, able to dissect things with his eyes before he makes a move. Momcilovic dropped 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting in a win over Team Final. The versatile 6-foot-8 forward knocked down three triples, scored effectively in the high post/mid-range with his fade away, and was also face able to face up and attack a bit. Momcilovic has been one of the top scorers in the EYBL this spring. Looking to take his game more to the perimeter, Momcilovic is now running off screens and hunting 3-pointers as well as trying to pull bigs away from the rim and size them up off the dribble. Dylan Warlick - 2024 - SF - Team Griffin Warlick is an unconventional prospect, but he’s certainly effective. The 6-foot-6 forward is a strong, versatile, tough prospect. He’s kind of a tweener at 6-foot-5, but Warlick can hurt teams in a variety of ways. Warlick uses his body really well near the rim and knows how to muscle in shots or put his shoulder into the defender to neutralize any size advantage they may have. Warlick can also handle the ball in the open floor and shoot it a bit from the outside. While he’s a big, strong kid, Warlick also has some surprising bounce, able to dunk off two feet without momentum towards the rim. Warlick had a great game against Howard Pulley, posting 22 points (9-15), eight rebounds, and two assists.