GASO Memorial Day Weekend Standout 2024/25 Forwards

<p>Check out my scouting reports and analysis on some of the top prospects in attendance at the GASO (Great American Shoot Out) Dallas Fort Worth Memorial Day Weekend tournament! These guys really popped during their time on the court, expect them to begin to garner some real attention over the next few circuit months! </p> <p><strong>Trenton Burns </strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">2024 7’0 PSAT Academy (Houston Hoops 15U EYBL)</span></p> <p>Trenton was one of the most impressive prospects in attendance with his ability to truly do it all on both ends of the floor. He possesses tremendous size and athleticism which allows him to wreak havoc on the defensive end of the court, blocking shots from all three levels of the floor. He has good foot speed to keep up with quicker guards and wings on the perimeter, and his size allows him to protect the paint. He had one play where he got two blocks in the paint, snatched the rebound, made the right outlet pass to his teammate and then spotted up for a trailer three. Burns has unlimited potential on both ends of the court with his perfect blend of size, athleticism and skill. On the offensive end of the court, he loves showing off his smooth stroke from the outside, routinely spotting up in the corners and is deadly as the trailer option. Defenders were terrified of letting him get past them to finish in the paint, and no one could rise up high enough to even get a hand in his face to contest his jumper. I was blown away with his smooth control with a live dribble, and how he could get into a one to two dribble pull up whenever the defense gave him space. At times he takes too many looks from the perimeter, and I would like to see him search for his shot more in the midrange and with his back to the basket. Burns is a division one lock in my eyes with his incredible fluidity and ability to affect the game on both ends of the court, easily one of the most impressive 2024 prospects in the entire country! </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1125998" first="Jalen" last="Shelley"] </strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">2024 6’9 Frisco Lone Star High School (ProSkills 16U EYBL)</span></p> <p>Jalen is a dynamic prospect with his ability to handle the basketball and score from the perimeter, but also use his aggressiveness and tenacity to go after every rebound on both ends of the court. I was very impressed with how well he used his energy to affect the game on offense and defense every second he was on the court. Shelley is elite at getting downhill with his live dribble, and can do some in the full court and the half court. He consistently got around bigger defenders with his speed, and used his frame to step through smaller defenders. One of the best aspects of his game was his ability to create looks for his teammates, and find them with pinpoint passes no matter where they were on the court. He made two very impressive plays, one finding a cutting teammate and his pass hit them right in stride for an easy look in the paint, and one where he found an open shooter on the back side of the defense, firing an incredibly impressive one handed pass around a defender on the baseline. It is no wonder he calls himself a point forward, he is one of the best examples of this kind of prospect. On the defensive side, he offers tremendous rim protection with his ability to reject shots and clear defensive possessions by grabbing defensive rebounds. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1358198" first="Jed-Ethan" last="Nansha"] </strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">2025 6’8 Dallas Hillcrest High School (Crab5 16U)</span></p> <p>Jed is an impressive forward prospect with his willingness to do all of the little things necessary to help lead his team to victory. Nansha was one of the most impressive prospects on the Crab5 16U roster that made a lot of noise during the Memorial Day GASO, going 4-0 in the elite division. It was done through him chasing rebounds around every inch of the court, and outworking older and stronger bigs down low. I was very impressed with his ability to finish on the interior, and how he used his energy to time up rebounds and tip ins. On the defensive end of the court, he is a great rim protector and can jump multiple times to affect his opponent’s shot. He is smart at cutting off his opponents driving angles, and forces them to pass out of their shot. I would like to see him work on his ability to come over as a help defender and sliding over at the right time while still cutting off the passing lanes to protect from the dump off passes.  Nansha is one you have to keep your eye on as he continues to develop over the next few years.</p> <p><strong>Jalon Thompson </strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">2024 6’8 Desoto High School (Dallas Showtyme 16U Elite Rise)</span></p> <p>Jalon is a dominant team defender with his ability to protect the paint and rebound the basketball at a high level. I was very impressed with his ability to high point rebounds to come away with second chance opportunities and finishing up defensive possessions. He is a very smart outlet passer after collecting a defensive rebound, he always has his head up scanning the court for the home run pass, but makes good decisions in making a smart pass to a teammate who is leading the break on the wings at mid court. He has a great frame and explosive athleticism for his size already and he is a hard worker on the court, allowing him to affect the game through his constant energy and how well he boxes out his opponent and seals them from having a chance at contesting him. I loved his consistency that he displayed in the paint, constantly finishing through contact and cleaned up easy second chance points for his team. </p> <p><strong>Kelson Jones </strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">2024 6’7 Canyon High School (Canyon Varsity)</span></p> <p>Kelson is a high energy forward on both ends of the court who knows how to use his frame to affect the game through his consistency on the interior. I was very impressed with his ability to affect the game as a screener, he set hard screens that created space for his lead guard and smartly slipped to the basket once he recognized his defender is cheating up to trap the ball. He showed consistency by operating out of the high post, and showed an ability to play alongside other forwards. He showed great ball skills for his size and an ability to not only play out of the triple threat, but also by spinning out of the post and turning the corner on his defender. On the defensive end of the court, he has great defensive instincts and can jump multiple times on the interior to change his opponents shot or outright throw their shot into the stands. I would like to see him work on speeding up his release from the perimeter, as well as speeding up his overall foot speed and agility. He moves very well already, but there is some room to grow! </p> <p><strong>Shane Barrett </strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">2024 6’6 Chisolm Trail High School (Texas Force Tha Answer)</span></p> <p>Shane is an elite defender in all aspects of the game, and has the ability to flip the game on its head with his non stop energy and how many turnovers and blocked shots he forced. I loved watching him bait opponents into committing to shots in the paint and sliding over to erase them. He came up with multiple blocks as both the help defender in the half court but also some emphatic blocks in transition as well, coming from behind and sending the ball onto another court. He is a very smart on ball defender as well who was good at angling his opponent towards the sideline or the help defense in transition. I would like to see him get more confident with a live dribble and continue to score off the bounce in transition and attack the rim. </p>