Phenomenal Freshman (Part 2)

Jack Herron January 18, 2024 @ 07:21 AM

While we're still less than halfway through the high school season and many young players are still waiting to breakout, there have been some impressive freshmen so far this season. Here's a look at part two of some of the 2027 prospects to keep an eye on moving forward.   [player_tooltip player_id='2194710' first='Brian' last='Mitchell Jr.'] | 6'4” WG | Varina   Mitchell played a big role in LCA almost winning a state championship as just an eighth grader, and now he's looking like one of the best young players in Richmond over at Varina where he's stepped into a very nice role this year. The 6'4” wing is a knock down shooter who can spray it from deep off the catch and already has very good range, he's strong and gets downhill where he's a good finisher and he can play and guard multiple positions as well.   [player_tooltip player_id='2470569' first='Jemal' last='Smith'] | 6'1” PG | Highland School   Smith is playing on a Highland team that has a lot of talented upperclassmen in the backcourt, but he's shown so far this year that he can play with anyone and has a chance to be very special moving forward. He's a lightning quick guard with a tight handle that changes speeds and directions well, he's able to break down defenders in isolation or work in the pick-and-roll where he makes excellent reads and he's shown the ability to make tough shots from multiple levels when he needs to.   Keaton Gregory | 6'9” C | Trinity Episcopal   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/Gregory-Keaton.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/Gregory-Keaton.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2310848" /></a></figure>   Gregory has had a great start to his freshman season, as the 6'9” big man anchors the paint for TES and has given them steady production while also showing a lot of upside for this group moving forward. He has great feel for his size and age and is a very good passer out of the paint and on the perimeter, he shows good touch around the rim with both hands and he has the ability to rebound and protect the paint too.   [player_tooltip player_id='2353653' first='Noah' last='Farley'] | 6'0” CG | Floyd County   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/PHN-Noah-Farley.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/PHN-Noah-Farley.png?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2186608" /></a></figure>   Farley has wasted no time showing that he'll be the next big time shooter out of Floyd County, as he's put up some very impressive numbers for the Buffaloes who are looking like they can make a deep run in March this year. It's easy to see that Farley played a lot of basketball when he was younger as he already understands spacing and how to move off the ball to get open, he has a quick release with effortless range and he shows maturity and confidence well beyond his years with his ability to score the basketball.   [player_tooltip player_id='2353625' first='Andrew' last='Ross'] | 6'3” PG | St. Stephen's St. Agnes   Ross is another impressive young guard in the NOVA area to keep an eye on, as he checks a lot of boxes at a young age that makes it seem like he's going to be a special guard moving forward. He already has good size and couples that with a quick first step and good burst with the ball in his hands, he can create and make shots from all three levels off the bounce and he has all the tools to be a very good on ball defender as well.

While we're still less than halfway through the high school season and many young players are still waiting to breakout, there have been some impressive freshmen so far this season. Here's a look at part two of some of the 2027 prospects to keep an eye on moving forward.