EYBL Session I: Friday/Saturday 17 U Standouts
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EYBL Session I started with some intense 17 U action on Friday and Saturday. With each team only playing one game per day at the 17 U level, these games were intense and some players shined under the spotlight of…
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Continue ReadingEYBL Session I started with some intense 17 U action on Friday and Saturday. With each team only playing one game per day at the 17 U level, these games were intense and some players shined under the spotlight of the first EYBL session of the spring. In this article, I’m going to break down four players who stood out at the 17 U level on the first two days of the event.
On a court of EYBL athletes, Lawson stood out as a tier above the rest on Friday night against Team Final. Getting numerous steals that led to transition layups and dunks, the trapping pressure that All Ohio threw at Team Final was perfect for Lawson to increase the tempo of the game and get easy buckets off turnovers. When the game is going up and down, Lawson is at his best. Shooting has always been the major question mark around Lawson’s game. As a Junior at the high school level he started getting more comfortable as a rhythm shooter. On Friday, Lawson knocked down two catch and shoot triples, a key swing skill. With his athleticism, defensive upside and downhill slashing ability, Lawson is a point guard who I expect to see his recruitment take a major spike between May and July.
Without a true center getting minutes for Team Final, Kropp ate on the inside and there was little the opposing front-court could do to stop him. Using his body to create contact with his back to the basket, Kropp simply backed weaker defenders down in the post before turning and scoring more often than not on a variety of post moves. Able to finish with either hand at the rim, if Kropp gets a clean look going over either shoulder it’s usually a bucket. A tough cover if you can’t play Kropp one on one, he’ll almost always find the shooter when he gets double teamed in the post. While Kropp was guarded by smaller defenders who were easier to post up, he started the game with a quick rip and go move with his left hand off the dribble to show his versatile offensive game. When Kropp’s matched up with a slower big, that’s usually how he wants to attack. After a strong Junior season for Olentangy Liberty, Kropp started the EYBL session with a monster opening game.
Leaving All Ohio Red to play for Team Final, the scheduling gods set up a prime match-up to open up EYBL play as Easter and company went up against his old program. Settling in well early wearing new colors, Easter looked comfortable rocking the teal blue and yellow Team Final jersey. Setting up the offense and not letting the ball stick to his hands were key for Easter as Team Final relies on ball movement to create shots over isolation scoring. To open up the game, Easter threw an alley-oop on a set play for an assist and that was a sign of things to come. According to the EYBL website, Easter had eight assists in that game, which tracks what my eyes saw in regards to his passing ability. As a driver, Easter was patient and scored off a couple give and go’s, attacking closeouts and scramble plays. When Easter can get the defender on his back attacking the rim, he’s tough to contest, it usually ends in either a bucket or a foul. I do want to see Easter be more confident as a shooter from the outside, he passed up some open looks and with more in-depth scouting I expect teams to force Easter to prove to them that he will make them pay for leaving him open from 3-point range. Easter knocked down just one 3-pointer all weekend according to EYBL’s stats page.
One of the bigger sleepers in the 2025 class from the midwest, Koehler is unranked nationally on all other national rankings sites. Finishing with 27 points in a double OT loss to Houston Hoops, Koehler’s upside was easy to see. Shooting the ball with a ton of confidence from the outside, Koehler had his feet set and knocked down shots was the ball was swung to him. Hitting a step-back 3-pointer with just a few seconds left to send the game into overtime, Koehler made some huge plays down the stretch for his team. Koehler also beat hard closeouts with shot fakes and either mid-range pull-ups or floaters when attacking downhill. I also thought he passed the ball well when driving to the rim, with some impressive live dribble skip passes.