Magic Memorial: Best 16u Shotmakers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>ANAHEIM — Open Gym Premier played host to the annual Magic Memorial Day tournament which is consistently one of the better late-May events on the west coast. We were in the gym Saturday for the BattleCup championship and third-place games on the 17u and 16u levels and saw plenty of talent from Southern California and beyond. In this piece we take a look at some of the better shotmakers we saw among the prospects on the 16u level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1300982' first='Braden' last='Frager'], ETG Midwest</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Frager is a true inside-out scoring threat. The 6-foot-6 lefty wing is a smooth three-point shooter off the catch and his ability to knock those down with consistency opened up driving lanes for him to showcase his athleticism and fearlessness when attacking the basket. Frager has plenty of pop in his legs and isn't afraid to take off and dunk over multiple defenders.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1630628' first='Dillan' last='Shaw'], Compton Magic</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we saw many times throughout the 22-23 high school season, Shaw had his face-up mid-range game dialed in against ETG Midwest in Saturday's 16u BattleCup championship game. The 6-foot-7 forward was efficient from 15-feet and out behind the three-point line in both catch and shoot and catch and face situations. Shaw, a junior-to-be, has become one of the better stretch forwards in SoCal's 2025 class.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1630651' first='Joshua' last='Palmer'], Compton Magic</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Palmer's best attribute is his smooth three-point shot and he didn't disappoint Saturday. The 6-foot-2 shooting guard was in rhythm from the opening tip and didn't turn down any open look. Palmer stepped into perimeter jumpers with confidence and mixed in some pull-up mid-range game, as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1384639' first='Kellen' last='Hampton'] Jr., Team Lillard</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hampton is an intriguing next-level prospect because of his combination of true size and shot-making ability. The 6-foot-7 wing possesses all of the physical traits you look for in a college prospect: broad shoulders, length, physicality and a strong base. Hampton is well-known for his ability to knock down catch-and-shoot three's and pull up jumpers from 15-17 feet but we saw another layer of his offensive game begin to show and that was his driving and finishing in both transition and half-court settings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1702937' first='Rashod' last='Cotton'], Team Lillard</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cotton, a class of 2026 point guard who had an impressive freshman campaign for Modesto Christian, is one of those players whose scoring feel is mature beyond his years. The dynamic 6-foot guard excels in just about any offensive role. Whether he's on the ball or off the ball, Cotton finds a way to impact the scoring column. His quickness and ability to create space off the dribble is special and his ability to stay balanced on dribble jumpers and knock them down from multiple ranges and angles falls into that "special" category, as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->