Phoenix, AZ Congratulations to the middle school players of the class of 2027 and 2028 who recently showcased their skills competing against high school players at Section 7 The premiere High School evaluation event in Phoenix, Arizona, held from June…
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Congratulations to the middle school players of the class of 2027 and 2028 who recently showcased their skills competing against high school players at Section 7 The premiere High School evaluation event in Phoenix, Arizona, held from June 23rd to 25th. Their participation in such a prestigious event at a young age is remarkable and demonstrates passion, talent, and determination. Despite being up against more experienced opponents, they embraced the challenge, gave it their all, and in the process began to put their names on the recruiting radar. Let’s take a look at some of the top Middle School performers at Section 7 last weekend.
Nikolov was a stud this weekend, theres no other way to put it. Despite Gorman going 1-3 in the event, he more than held his own. In fact the staff had so much confidence in him that they ran the last play for him in the one game they did win. Needless to say the future freshman came through, burrying the game winning three. He will be a terrific infusion of talent for a Gaels team that is one of the top programs in the West.
Cooper will enter his High School career as one of the highest ranked players in his state class. He has size and length, and flashed some skill during the weekend. He has an explosively quick first step, which allows him to get by defenders. He did a good job of using long strides to attack the rim with two dribbles or less. He looks like a fluid player with a prototypical high school wing frame.
Wall played hard this weekend, especially on the defensive end. He showed that he has more than enough speed and lateral quickness to be a valuable on ball defender. His offense has always been his strength, and that proved to be so even against older opponents, as he displayed the ability to knock down shots from outside the three point line.
Parker is a big strong physical post player. He’s a guy that I’ve seen quite a bit over the summer, and it’s clear that his motor is going to get him on the floor. He battled hard against older more expirienced post players providing tough interior defense to a game Democracy Prep squad, playing up against some tough competiton. I don’t think I saw him take one shot during the weekend, which only proves how valuable his defensive contributions are to the team.
After just completing his 7th grade year, Brown competed in the biggest high school event of the Summer. He looked anything but rattled out there, as the young PG showed some good mechanics on his shooting stroke, knocking down multiple jumpers in the game I saw. A high IQ PG, the experience he gained competing in an event of this magnitude, should help him as his career moves forward.
I didn’t get to see a ton of Heinge, but I liked what I saw. The guard showed good instincts for the game, playing with a strong IQ. He was able to hold his own on the defensive end, playing with good physicality against older players who attempted to bully him down low.
Hutson came in with a reputation as a scorer. What I was more impressed with was his poise and ballhanding. The PG did a good job of protecting the basketball when he was pressured and showed a little shiftiness, using a nice crossover COD to escape defenders.
Keep an eye out for Mercado in the future. He has good positional size, which allowed him to earn minutes at the PG spot despite playing against tough competition. In addition to his size and frame, he was one of the best young passers I saw on the day, throwing several hit aheads and dimes, helping to create easy baskets for teamamtes.