Midwest Live: Saturday PM Standouts
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Midwest Live was a great event that had high level action at the Cedar Point Sports Center during the second June live period. Teams either played on Friday and Saturday morning, or Saturday evening and Sunday. In this article I’ll…
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Continue ReadingMidwest Live was a great event that had high level action at the Cedar Point Sports Center during the second June live period. Teams either played on Friday and Saturday morning, or Saturday evening and Sunday. In this article I’ll break down some standout performers I saw on Saturday evening.
Morgan has been a steady contributor on the prep hoops circuit and is showing that he can also make a big impact with his high school program as well. An impressive shooter for his size, Morgan and Brunswick can make it rain from downtown. A mismatch forward, Morgan can take slower defenders off the bounce with a couple and-1 finishes off drives to the hoop. Expect Morgan to have a big year as Brunswick should be one of the top scoring teams in NEO.
One of my biggest surprises of the weekend was the production of McFadden for Pickerington North. A big time athlete, McFadden had a couple slam dunks off cuts from the dunker spot. I also was impressed by his ability to finish with his left hand at the rim. A high motor undersized forward, McFadden brings a lot of energy and explosiveness to the Panthers. McFadden could be a big time stock riser this winter.
Highlights
Greer had been hurt and missed a majority of his sophomore season and came back in June with a new high school squad. It seems like Greer is fitting in well with the Knights as he shot the ball at an extremely high level this weekend. Greer was hitting time and space 3-pointers, 3-pointers running off screens and quick release 3-pointers. A shooting specialist, I’ll be curious to see how well Greer is beating defenders off the bounce and finishing at the rim as he continues to get back in the swing of things coming back from his injury.
Continuing to show improvement each time I watch him, it’s no surprise that high major programs are starting to closely monitor West as Xavier and Penn State have offered the talented guard in the past few weeks. Showing more poise as a ball handler and looking more confident with crossovers, West is creating more space and lowering his turnovers. Also improving as a shooter, West has always been a shot maker but is hitting shots off the bounce that are contested at a higher rate. Defensively, West blocked a guard driving to the hoop looking to finish at the rim. Whitmer lost a lot of seniors who made big impacts last year but the evolution of West’s game means they will once again be one of the top teams in NW Ohio.
Highlights
Jabbi moves to Akron from North Carolina and is one of the tallest prospects I’ve seen in Ohio. Pushing seven feet tall, Jabbi has a body that looks physically ready to compete at the highest levels of college basketball. Late coming into the sport, Jabbi is a huge project but showed some intriguing flashes on Saturday evening. For starters, Jabbi commands the paint with his pure presence and did a good job high pointing rebounds and using his height advantage. Also finishing a couple plays at the rim including a post hook and lefty transition layup. If a JUCO or post grad program continued to develop Jabbi, there’s no telling where he could be in a few years.
Westerville Central has an experienced group returning and Brown was their most impressive guy on Saturday evening. With good size to play either wing forward position, Brown was crashing the offensive glass and got a couple easy put-back layups. Also showing impressive touch around the rim, Brown used spin to make reverse layups with both hands. A guy you can’t leave open as a shooter, Brown nailed a corner 3-pointer and hit a baseline 6-8 foot jumper. If Brown continues to crash the glass and play with the energy he showed, his stock will rise and be a priority recruit for small college programs.