The Stage: Ramsey’s Weekend Notebook
The first live recruiting period of the spring is officially in the rearview mirror. College coaches and media alike descended upon Indianapolis, Indiana for the weekend as the city featured several big time events loaded with some of the top…
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Continue ReadingThe first live recruiting period of the spring is officially in the rearview mirror. College coaches and media alike descended upon Indianapolis, Indiana for the weekend as the city featured several big time events loaded with some of the top prospects in the country. Our Prep Hoops staff brought you wall-to-wall coverage of The Stage and will continue to recap the weekend’s action over the next couple of days. Then, this coming weekend, we will do it all over again for the Chi-Town Tip Off. Now it is time to empty out the notebook from Saturday and Sunday. You can go back and checkout my notebook that I posted early Saturday morning detailing all of Friday evening’s action.
Team GRIII 2023 Elite Dominated the Weekend
They’ve gotten plenty of publicity already, but Team GRIII 2023 Elite became the talk of the weekend at The Stage. A handful of Division I coaches were courtside first thing Friday evening to begin the live period to see A.J. Lux (Crown Point H.S. 2023), Cooper Farrall (Culver Academy 2023), and company. Lux immediately shined knocking in six three-pointers. His hot shooting continued throughout the weekend as coaches buzzed about his performance. It is likely just a matter of time until someone pulls the trigger for his first Division I offer.
The 6’5″ Farrall was excellent as well showcasing his athleticism and strength on the wing. He is a very good shooter as well, but really impressed with his playmaking ability at his size. Another 6’5″ forward that played well was Brandon Trilli (Munster H.S. 2023). He is incredibly skilled around the basket and continues to improve his shooting ability. Trilli is definitely one to follow on the Prep Hoops Circuit this spring and summer.
Class of 2025 Showed Out
At different points on Saturday and Sunday I made sure to check out the young prospects competing at The Stage. Across the Grit Region, the Class of 2025 is extremely talented. The first team I had the opportunity to see was the Mac Irvin 2025 group that likely was the best team in the class at the event. Led by potential high-major Division I prospect Kaden Magwood (Western H.S. 2025) out of Louisville, Mac Irvin rolled through their competition. Magwood is an explosive guard with elite ball skills. Equally impressive was his 6’9″ teammate Stefan Cicic (Notre Dame College Prep 2025). Cicic, a re-class kid originally from the 2024 class, had 17 points and 15 rebounds in an easy win over D1 New Mexico.
Team Teague 2025 was another impressive young group. There were several players on that team that got significant varsity experience as freshmen and that has carried over to the spring. Mark Zackery IV (Ben Davis H.S. 2025) and Shane Sims Jr. (Evansville Memorial 2025) were the most impressive in the game I saw. Zackery is an elite two-way player with great ball handling skills and playmaking ability. Sims Jr. is a big time shot-maker with great size on the wing at 6’3″.
Jeremiah Fears (Joliet West H.S. 2025) was another high-level young prospect that played very well while running with the Hoops 4 Health 2023 team. He is a great outside shooter with quickness off of the bounce. It is easy to project what he may become as his brother is a 4-star Class of 2023 prospect committed to Michigan State.
High-Potential Forwards Garner Attention
Running with 5Star Basketball 2023 out of northern Indiana, 6’6″ forward Davion Goins (Ross Beaty H.S. 2023) was one of the first big men to impress. He is a strong, physical presence that runs the floor very well and can rebound outside of his area. Down south in Tennessee, 6’4″ Deandre Minor (Northside H.S. 2023) was an intriguing one. He played with a non-stop motor and scored in a variety of ways. Minor scored on the rim-run, off of offensive rebound putbacks, and on short right hand drives to the basket. Bouncy and mobile forward.
One of the more impressive long-term prospects that I saw at The Stage was 6’8″ forward Jason Jakstys (Yorkville H.S. 2024). The big man from Illinois impressed with his rim protection and rebounding ability, along with the way he finished inside offensively. Staying in Illinois, 6’7″ Andrew Soenksen (Plainfield East H.S. 2023) played well for the Illinois TWolves. He finished above the rim, blocked shots defensively, and even showed off a little face-up jumper. Very active forward on both ends of the floor.