#PrepHoopsLive 2024 Friday First Impressions
Twitter and then the pages of Prep Hoops blew up with reaction to the opening performance by Brogan Madson, a 9th grader playing two levels up. The 2025 point guard played with confidence and took over the game against SSA…
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Continue ReadingTwitter and then the pages of Prep Hoops blew up with reaction to the opening performance by Brogan Madson, a 9th grader playing two levels up. The 2025 point guard played with confidence and took over the game against SSA Hoops Elite Black, at one point scoring something like a dozen straight points for his team. He wound up with 18 in a surprising comeback victory for MN Rise 2023.
Here are a handful of other first night impressions from the 2023s in Lawrence:
Ball4Lyfe turns the game into a track meet:
You can get tired just watching Ball4Lyfe race up and down the court. With a group of players with great quickness and explosiveness, they tear into their opponent with full-court and mid-court pressure on the ball. They constantly have their hands in the passing lanes and make dribbling up court an adventure. Anquan Boldin and Kyle McNeal are the first to jump out at you, but they are only part of what makes this team electrifying. They didn’t shoot it well from deep, but they had no problem against a much bigger (and older) Arizona Select that was made up of all 2022s. Aidan Singleton (pictured) was another guard who impressed with his shifty ball handling and some really nice finds in transition.
Devon Wood is a nice complement to Ahmere Carson:
Carson is a unique and entertaining guard for EG10 2023. Plenty will be written about him before this weekend is over. But Wood was huge in EG10s comeback win over OWE Friday night, tormenting ball handlers and getting his hands on passes at the defensive end and picking up the scoring when OWE took Carson out of the game. The 5-foot-10 Wood is lightning quick and gets open shots in the paint. After going scoreless in the first half, he led the team with 15 second-half points and was the spark that got things going.
Tyson Ruud makes plays for SSA:
The 6-foot-6 forward just affects everything for SSA. He scored 9 points in the opening-round game, but that hardly quantifies his impact. He gets his hands on every ball that’s in the air, and he’s a huge presence on the glass. He blocked several shots, pressures guys on the wing and intimidates everything in his area. He worked the high screen game with the SSA guards effectively. And one of the most impressive things he did was pass the ball aggressively up court, finding runners with long passes.
Dallas Bear is a long wing with game:
Bear is a 6-foot-8 forward for the Iowa Barnstormers Gold who really impresses the first time you see him. He’s really long, can put the ball on the floor and push it confidently. Once inside the arc, he backs down defenders setting up a really nice jump hook from midrange.