EYBL Session II: National Standouts (Pt. 2)

Devin Ugland May 1, 2023 @ 03:15 PM

<p>MESA, Ariz. — The NIKE EYBL circuit doesn't come this far west very often, so when a short drive to see some of the top prospects from across the country presented itself, we had to make the most of the opportunity.</p>   <p>Session II of the EYBL tipped off Friday evening at Legacy Sports Complex just outside of Phoenix and the teams and we were in attendance for the 12-plus hours of games on Saturday night. Below we detail the top national (non-California) performers that we saw.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Elliott Cadeau, 2024, NH Lightning</h4>   <p>The North Carolina-commit is the leading assist man on the EYBL Circuit through the first two sessions and it's easy to see why that is. The 6-foot-1 point guard is of the traditional mold of the position to where he is looking to be a table-setter for his teammates in both transition and half-court offense. Cadeau has elite feel and vision which leads to his timely and accurate passes to his cohorts in the spots he knows they can score from. The Link Academy (MO) product lives in the paint because of his ability to utilize ball screens or break a defender down in isolation. When he gets in the lane, he plays off of two feet which gives him pass or score options. Cadeau is averaging 10.5 assists per game through the first eight EYBL games.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1054787' first='Jahki' last='Howard'], 2024, NH Lightning</h4>   <p>Howard is a dynamic athlete which lends to his overall dynamic scoring ability from all three levels of the floor. The 6-foot-6 wing, who most recently played for Overtime Elite, can knock down the three-point shot with consistency and get to a mid-range jumper with elevation that makes it difficult for defenders to closeout to and disrupt. Where Howard thrives most is in transition where his speed, leaping ability and ability to absorb and finish through contact is where he does a lot of his offensive damage. Howard is averaging 17.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1110315' first='Jasper' last='Johnson'], 2025, Team Thad</h4>   <p>If I was forced to define Johnson's game in three words, which would be hard to do, I would say: smooth and confident. The 6-foot-4 lefty is of the combo guard mold because of his scoring acumen and tendency to lean on that part of his game, and luckily for Team Thad, he has been doing that efficiently over his first eight games. Johnson has a smooth pull-up jumper that extends to three-point range, both off the catch and off the dribble. He's also a creative ball handler who can lose defenders with changes of speed and direction to get into the paint and score craftily over rim protectors.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1217893' first='Justin' last='Begg'], 2024, Houston Hoops</h4>   <p>Begg was a spark plug in multiple facets of the game in Houston Hoops' win over NH Lightning. The 5-foot-10 guard plays much bigger than his size and showed that as he notched an impressive 17 point, seven rebound and eight assist stat-line. Begg is a fearless driver and finisher around the basket who has great touch on his floater and a crafty inside-hand finish that allows him to nullify shot blockers. The Epsicopal (TX) high school product was also knocking down catch and shoot three's with no hesitation.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1055791' first='Karter' last='Knox'], 2024, Florida Rebels</h4>   <p>Knox is a "wired-to-score" type of shooting guard/wing who can fill up the scoring column from all over the floor. At 6-feet-6, Knox has a smooth and fluid release on his jumper that extends out to NBA three-point range. When putting the ball on the deck, Knox is a good mid-range jump shooter who creates space with his ability to stop on a dime and pop into his leaning jumper from 15-17 feet. </p>

MESA, Ariz. — The NIKE EYBL circuit doesn't come this far west very often, so when a short drive to see some of the top prospects from across the country presented itself, we had to make the most of the opportunity.