Border War: 2025s Ready for Big Summers
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A collection of Oklahoma 2025 prospects who caught the eye at last weekend’s Border War hosted by The Circuit, in Norman, Oklahoma. Kobe Freeman OK #27 PG #5 HEIGHT 5'11" POS PG CLASS 2025 View Profile Kobe Freeman Instagram Twitter…
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Continue ReadingA collection of Oklahoma 2025 prospects who caught the eye at last weekend’s Border War hosted by The Circuit, in Norman, Oklahoma.
After Freeman led his Wolfpack squad to a 3-0 mark on the weekend, the Purcell guard was named MVP of the 17U Divison by The Circuit’s official site. He’s one of the most polished lead guards in Oklahoma’s rising junior class. Especially from a scoring standpoint, where he filled it up from all over the court. Freeman is a dead eye from beyond the arc, with strong off the dribble shooting ability. Which helps open up his driving capabilities. Where he’s equally as likely to drop a nice feed to a teammate at the rim, kick-out to a shooter or stop on the dime in the mid-range with a jumpe/floater over out stretched arms. It was a strong start to what should be an impressive summer. Freeman is a quick guard who will turn the heads of college coaches who are willing to take chances on smaller guards.
Garcia closed out Saturday with a complete performance on both ends of the court. He was a pest on the defensive end, seemingly always in the passing lanes and finding his way to scoop up loose balls. Then he always in control on offense, which allowed the Crooked Oak 2025 guard to leave his mark all over an overtime victory.
Garcia’s ability to always look calm and quickly process plays on offense was possibly his most impressive trait. He has great misdirection skills with his movements, that left defenders guessing on drives where he would score himself or fire good passes to teammates. The unselfishness in particular was a great trait to see out of him, as he got his teammates involved with feeds in transition or hitting open shooters. His off the ball movement was also a strong indicator of how he’s the complete package from a lead guard standpoint. Two of his threes in the contest came on plays where he first drove, drew a crowd, kicked to a teammate. Then he relocated to the perimeter and drained open jumpers.
Team Trae Young ‘s 3SSB Gold team looks set to be one of the better teams in Oklahoma. The addition of versatile forward prospect Burri is a big a boost to their roster, as he brings size and athleticism needed to compete with out of state programs. He also played with an outstanding motor on Saturday with a very active day on the glass and getting out in transition where he showed off his plus athleticism by running the floor hard and bounce around the rim.
Right now his production profile is that of an undersized forward, who can play bigger than height thanks to wingspan, athletic ability and motor. But he has the athletic profile to potentially become more of a perimeter threat as a 3/4 hybrid. Young for his grade, Burri looks set to be a player who could make one of the bigger jumps of any 2025 prospect.
Brown once again delivered with sky walking type moves on both ends of the court. He simply glides with the way he rises to challenge shots on defense and elevates past defender to finish at the rim. But in a Saturday evening contest, he showed a big step forward in his game. Passing. There’s been times in the past that Brown has looked like a blackhole on mid-range attempts and driving into crowds. Pressed with similar decisions, he made correct reads and fired great passes all over the court. The high upside 405 guard’s game in past viewings had looked more like a two guard or even a wing. The promise of unselfish play and good vision could be a sign that his game is about to rise to new levels during a pivotal 17U summer.
Woods looked strong as a secondary playmaker and off the ball shooting threat next to Freeman with the Wolfpack. When left open, he’s seemingly automatic from beyond the arc, and he’s very capable of making defenders pay when ran off the line. His mid-range game is strong and he had a few highlight worthy passes with “no looks” and other feeds. Footspeed and maximizing his lateral ability on the defensive end are one area of improvement when projecting him to the next level. But the size and shooting he brings as an off the ball guard, who can help create as a secondary threat make him a very appealing collegiate prospect.
Highlights
A shifty point guard, “DJ” can put defenders on skates with a style of play that is fitting for the more wide open nature of grassroots basketball. His ability to keep the ball on a string, and quickly get into pull up shots makes him a threat. That threat allows him to open the floor for him to score himself and set up his teammates. The skill level has always been there for Stephens JR, but his AAU and school development course has been a bit up and down. Now he could be set for a big summer as the lead guard for a talented squad filled with scorers and athleticism.