Week 2 Top Performers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Week 2 of the high school basketball season kicked off with plenty of local games I was able to catch. Throughout the week I caught plenty of talented juniors that combined as household names and some newer faces. Below were the top overall performing players during the week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Isaiah Williams</strong> (2025) <em>Beavercreek </em>6'2 PG- Williams had himself a day against Meadowdale last Tuesday with a 20 point performance for the Beavers. The lefty was great off the bounce and got whatever shots he wanted in the paint. Once the Lions took away the driving lanes, Williams got his feet set and connected on some pull-up midrange shots over the defenders. While his shot itself is flat and does not look the prettiest, it connects. Williams is trending towards being a scholarship prospect and will be a player worth monitoring for college coaches.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1068243' first='Bransyn' last='Copas']</strong> (2024) <em>North Adams</em> 6'0 PG- Copas is considered one of the best players in the 2024 class in Southeast Ohio, and showed this in the home opener on Friday. The junior guard is a shot-first player with his team and certainly settled for some shots early on against Chesapeake. His court presence and awareness, along with solid vision gave him some passing lanes to setup teammates. Defended the opposing guards good, moved side-to-side and kept the ball in front. His explosiveness off the dribble has improved and shows me he can be a multi-dimensional scorer with more work.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1617831' first='Dannie' last='Maynard']</strong> (2024) <em>Chesapeake</em> 5'8 PG- Maynard impressed me quite a bit in the loss to North Adams Friday night. While undersized, he plays bigger than his stature at times and was instrumental in facilitating the Chesapeake offense. Possesses a clean and swift handle of the ball. Handled okay when he played off two feet, but found himself in the air to make passes at times which became turnovers. Hustles his tail off and is the first guy hustling back on defense after a turnover. His size is a concern but is worth monitoring for D3 programs in the state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1467912' first='Devin' last='Rakestraw']</strong> (2024) <em>Chaminade-Julienne </em>6'6 PF- Rakestraw played a big role for the Eagles in their win over Meadowdale on Sunday. At 6'6, he controls the paint and is automatic on the glass. Offensively just outhustles guys and is building confidence using his size. Possesses good hands and will continue to turn heads as he improves his finishing on either sides of the rim. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cal Weatherspoon</strong> (2024) <em>Chaminade-Julienne</em> 5'10 PG- Weatherspoon was the example of a hustle player on Sunday as he made plays on both ends of the floor. Possessing a motor that most guys don't get to, Weatherspoon was covering a ton of ground defensively and was impressive moving side-to-side against the Meadowdale defense. Offensively can beat his guy off the bounce and showed his ability to stretch and make some shots on the perimeter. Weatherspoon's biggest question mark will be his size, but this could be answered as he matured and gets older.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->