2023 standouts from Wednesday at Under Armour

<p>The Under Armour basketball association got their third session underway in Atlanta on Wednesday and some big time players stood out. In this article I’m going to be breaking down the 2023’s who impressed me the most.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="820274" first="Stephon" last="Castle"], 6’6 SF Newton (GA) 2023 Atlanta Xpress: Castle is one of the highest rated players on the Under Armour circuit and stood out in an early afternoon win over Nebraska Supreme. Castle has a great frame to play the wing position and has good balance and strength to make plays when attacking the basket. Multiple times Castle went up to attempt a layup and at the last second dished to a teammate for an open shot. Castle was also tough to stop from getting into the lane, so the defense backed off him and went under screens. That didn’t work either as Castle got going from the outside as well.</p> <p>Braden Pierce, 7’0 C IMG Post Grad 2023 Atlanta Xpress: Pierce is an interesting late-blooming big man who since announcing he was taking a post-grad year at IMG is starting to blow up. I liked the body on Pierce with some strength at 7’0 to bully in the paint. Pierce is a bit raw skill wise, but had an impressive two dribbles into a jump-stop for two points in traffic. Pierce also brought the house down with a huge dunk near the end of the third quarter, putting his stamp on the game.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="922602" first="Ryan" last="Nutter"], 6’3 PG Dublin Jerome (OH) Nova Village: Nutter did what he usually does, which is lead his team to victory from the point guard position. When things got tough for Nova, Nutter scored time and time again from the post, showing his offensive versatility. Nutter is a great passer, when he’s able to get into the paint off the bounce he’s going to find the open man. Nutter’s best play was when he grabbed a rebound and took it the length of the court, jump-stopped like he was going to pull-up for a free-throw line jumper but bounce passed it for an open layup. Nutter also was near the game lead in rebounding, a rare trait for a point guard. I wish Nutter had a bit more scoring talent and shot it better from the outside, but there’s a lot to like about his game and Division II coaches should make Nutter a priority this summer.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="867941" first="CJ" last="Hornbeak"], 6’2 SG Toledo St John’s (OH) 2023 Nova Village: Nova went in a bit of a scoring drought in the second and third quarters, and it was Hornbeak who made timely plays to keep them hanging around till a late run pushed them over the top. Hornbeak is tough when attacking the basket and either finished or drew a foul most of the time when he shot around the basket. Hornbeak also is a shooting threat, providing floor-spacing for Nutter and [player_tooltip player_id="1052784" first="Peyton" last="Frey"] to work the offensive glass. Hornbeak is another prospect who I think Division II programs should be taking a close look at.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1116655" first="Teagan" last="Moore"], 6’5 SF Owen County (KY) 2023 Griffin Elite: Moore was head and shoulders the top player in Griffin Elite’s comfortable victory over PSB. Moore grabbed a ton of rebounds, looked super composed when making plays for others and likely led the game in scoring as well. Despite being a below the rim athlete, Moore has the strength to score around the basket off one or two feet and knocked down two open 3-pointers to keep the defense honest. Moore is getting a lot of mid-major interest and some offers and that makes a lot of sense based on what I saw today.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1459039" first="JP" last="Estrella"], 6’11 C Brewster Academy 2023 Middlesex Magic: Estrella leads a Middlesex Magic squad that is regarded as one of the top grassroots teams in the nation regardless of circuit affiliation. I saw what makes Middlesex so tough to beat, with their unselfish ball-movement, ability to create open shots and size for rebounding. Estrella is a main reason why each of those reasons are true. At 6’11 he was able to get a lot of tip-in’s over shorter bigs and was good at protecting the rim on the defensive end. Estrella also can space the floor and when he was doubled, usually made the right pass to a shooter.</p> <p>Vasean Allette, 6’3 PG United Scholastic Academy (ON) 2023 Canada Elite: The breakout performer of the day, Allette was dominant going for over 40 points in a tight loss to Middlesex Magic. Allette was hitting some circus shots at the end, double-clutching on back-to-back 3-pointers with three minutes to play. Allette was also making pull-up 3’s earlier in the contest and getting to the rim at will. Allette also threw some impressed alley-oops to Efeosa Oliogu. Allette was also getting after it defensively, causing turnovers with his ball-pressure which led to fast break chances. Allette only has three Division I offers but I think he could get some high major interest after his performance today.</p>